Month: March 2021

The shouting stones: Jealousy of the heirs…

Fr Dr Saji K Mathew2 Comments

The aim of this blog is to meditate on the vitality of praise as a natural expression of gratitude towards divine providence. In doing so, this write up identifies the praise shouted out by the stones (gentiles) as the articulation of extreme gratitude which made the natural children (the heirs) jealous. The first part of this blog mediates on ‘praise’ and in the second part, the shouting of the stones and jealousy of heirs are briefly meditated upon. 

The term providence represents  the protective cover that God freely extends to His creation. The expanse of God’s providence covers everything that He created which includes the seas, the earth, the rain, the wind, the vegetation, the animals, and most importantly, the human beings. This providence characterises and represents the nature of God which is agape (unconditional love). There is nothing visible or invisible that is excluded from God’s providence (Colossians 1:16) which would otherwise limit the scope and span of God’s love. Therefore, the creation has a greater responsibility in praising the creator for his unconditional providence. 

‘Praise’ is often misunderstood as a reciprocal relationship between man and God, thus representing a give and take approach. This means God earns praise from human beings only by answering their prayers and granting their material wishes. Further, this school of interpreters frames praise on explicit and verbal articulations in a flashy manner. Such interpretations of ‘praise’ have a selfish underpinning that could limit one’s spiritual progression. Moreover, such (mis) understanding reflects the Western culture within which interpersonal relationships are regulated by a rather conclusive ‘thank you’ (for your help) approach in contrast to the Eastern approach of extended relationship of gratitude.

‘Praise’ on the other hand is a natural, perpetual (Psalm 145:2), and unconditional acknowledgement of our eternal relationship with God Almighty. A close analogy could be the cry of a baby at birth. Following the medical interpretation, the ‘first cry’ (of the baby) represents the kick start of its lungs when it starts breathing the air for the first time. Likewise, a person born in Christ is a new being (2 Corinthians 5:17), brought into the spiritual world through baptism. And, praise is the first cry that demonstrates the spiritually newborn’s relationship with God. In other words, the newly born in Christ kickstarts breathing the pneuma (air, which is the Holy Spirit). This spiritual breathing is what praise predominantly represents. This is further intensified by verbal praise (Revelation 7:9) when the newborn joins the world of fellow beings, the cloud of witnesses (Hebrews 12:1; cf. Psalms 142:7b). 

‘Praise’ therefore is a natural phenomenon in a spiritually newborn, in the same way as breathing is. Referring back to the analogy, as soon as a baby is born, its nostrils and the mouth are cleared of any amniotic fluid so as to enable uninterrupted breathing. The very first clearing of nostrils was undertaken by God Himself – Adam was brought to life after God breathed life into his nostrils (Genesis 2:7).  However, ever since the fall, mankind has failed in expressing gratitude to and praising God. Romans 1: 21  says for though they knew God, they did not honour Him as God or give thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their senseless minds were darkened. 

As said above, praise is an unconditional acknowledgement of our gratitude to God, and hence should be diffused in our breathing so that it becomes a non-stop exercise. In the same way as the ceasing of breath pronounces death, the ceasing of praise results in the spiritual death of human beings. King David said, ……so that my soul may praise you and not be silent……..forever (Psalm 30:12). King David could not stop praising even when his lips stopped, hence said, when I think of You on my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of night…(Psalm 63:6). He again said, At midnight I rise to praise you….(Psalm 119:62). David could not even think of a moment without praising the Lord. For him, even the time of his sleep is a loss because he could not praise God when he is asleep.  He felt being distanced from God as he could not praise God in his sleep. And not praising God was nothing less than being dead for David as we read in Psalm 6:5. The suffocation that he experienced could be understood as the reason for his rising up in the midnight (Psalm 119:62) to praise God. 

Praise, therefore, needs to be discerned as a natural phenomenon unlimited by rituals and institutions. This means, praise cannot be timetabled and factored in as part of the ritual such as different forms of church worship only, nor can it be dictated by the churches in terms of ‘how’ and ‘when’, Praise is the umbilical cord between the creator (God) and the creation (humans), the relationship and communication which the recipient keeps seeking for, day and night. Hence it is something to be taught and encouraged as a natural phenomenon. Isaiah (26:9) defines this as the ‘yearning of the soul and the spirit, day and night’. 

The brief conversation between the Pharisees and Jesus on His triumphal entry to Jerusalem brings forth the former’s ignorance or rather misunderstandings about praise. The Pharisees did know that only God Almighty deserves praise (Psalm 115:1). However, they probably did not know that praise is a natural phenomenon like breathing, which the creation cannot hold back, especially in the presence of the creator. 

In the same way as the newborn cries, if a person maintains the characteristics of a newborn, praise will just occur. Jesus had already stated explicitly …..unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the Kingdom of heaven (Matthew 18:3). The Chief Priests, Pharisees and the scribes were spiritually mature and should have actually led the praising of the Lord who was in their midst. Unfortunately, they were so myopic with materialism that they neither could recognise ‘Immanuel’ nor could guide anyone to Him. Jesus once rebuked them as ‘spoilers’ who lock people out of the Kingdom of heaven, neither going in themselves nor allowing anyone to enter (Matthew 23:13). 

When the Chief Priests, the Pharisees and the scribes opposed the praising, Jesus had to remind them with a counter question, …..have you never read, Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise for yourself? (Matthew 21:16). In other words, Jesus asked them to do their homework before raising an issue about the umbilical cord that connects the creation to the creator. Unfortunately the custodians of faith did not know or rather conveniently forgot Psalm 8:2 which Jesus had to remind them. Jesus also added, I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out (Luke 19:40), again reminding them of what was written in the Old Testament book Habakkuk 2:11. 

The second quote of Jesus (from Habakkuk 2:11) links praise to ‘the children’. This can be better understood by referring to John the Baptist’s warning …….God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham (Matthew 3:9). These Pharisees should have been the same people who lined up to get baptised by John the Baptist (see Matthew 3:7). Whilst anyone who gets baptised is turned to become a new creation, the same seems to have only hardened the Pharisees as they were trying to kill Jesus, as He reminded, If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing what Abraham did, but now you are trying to kill me……this is not what Abraham did (John 8: 39-40). It means the natural children of Abraham (the Israel) could not sustain their status and God started looking towards stones (the gentiles) to get children for Him. 

The brief conversation between the Pharisees and scribes on one side and Jesus on the other, could be numbered as the third and final opportunity granted by the Lord to the former to repent and change, and reactivate praise as spiritual breathing. The first opportunity was at the time of their baptism, the second one in their conversation with Jesus and the third one again immediately before the triumphal entry of the Lord to Jerusalem. From a spiritual perspective, the Pharisees and their allies had the final opportunity to return to a praise oriented relationship with the Lord, before He ascended to heavenly Jerusalem. Sadly, it did not happen as evident from Jesus’ lamentation Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing (Matthew 23:37); and ….if you, even you, had only recognised on this day the things that make for peace (Luke 19:42). 

The chosen children of God (Israel) rejected their Father, as a result of which the stones (gentiles) were given the opportunity to receive that status (Matthew 8:10-12). The entry of this new group of children could be termed as the glorious and historical moment in God’s Kingdom. The new entrants who were accepted as the children of God received an opportunity to praise the creator, a privilege that rested with God’s chosen- the Levites were officially appointed to praise God walking before the ark of the Lord (1 Chronicles 16:4), and later to offer praise to the Lord in the temple (1 Chronicles 23:5). 

The quality of the praise by the gentile converts is given in Acts 10: 45-46 where it states that the Jewish converts (to Christianity) were astounded by the way the former were praising the Lord. The discerning factor here is the realisation of John the Baptist’s statement about raising children from stones (Matthew 3:9), and more importantly, Jesus’s warning which implied ‘if you keep quiet, these stones will shout out’ (Luke 19:40). 

If the praise of the newly born children of God (the gentile converts) were found astounding, it must have been a zero-defective praise. The Jewish converts would have only expected a deficient praise from the gentile converts as they were just born and missing could be obvious. As the chosen children of God, the Jewish Christians might have thought that only they knew how to praise in perfection. In fact they cannot be blamed just in case they thought in that line because there are seven types of praise identified in the Old Testament which obviously the gentiles would not have known. 

These seven types of praise are: 

1. Barak (to kneel or bow down before the Lord) (Psalm 72:12-15 & Psalm 103); 

2. Halal (to shine, boast or celebrate) (1 Chronicle 16:4 & 23: 5) ; 

3. Shabach (to shout loudly or command) Psalm 63:1-4; 

4. Tehillah (to sing unrehearsed, or unplanned praises) (Psalm 34:1 & 40:3); 

5. Towdah (to extend or raise one’s hands to give thanks for something that has not been received yet) (Psalm 50:23 & 17:26); 

6. Hodah (to extend hands vigorously as in complete surrender) (2 Chronicles 20:21 & Psalm 9:1); and 

7. Zamar (to touch the string in rejoice) (Psalm 150 & 92:1-3). 

The meaning of the Greek word to describe the praise of the gentile converts used in Acts 10:46 is ‘extol’ which is not just ordinary but a higher and enthusiastic form of praise. This means the praise by the newborn children of God covered all the seven types of praise- no wonder why the Jewish Christians were astounded. Moreover, it would not be a surprise if the heirs became jealous of their privileges being shared or even taken away. 

We can draw an analogy of this incident to that of what happened at the return of the prodigal son. In Luke 15:25-27 the elder son was caught in a similar situation where he felt his status as the heir to his father’s household being challenged. The music and dance at home could be equated to the praise of a newborn, which the father explained to the elder son that his brother was dead, but is now a newborn (Luke 15:32). Praise as an expression of gratitude is something that could be discerned in the prodigal son when he was unconditionally accepted by his father. Jesus gave the example of two debtors and asked Saint Peter, who would love the money lender more, to which the disciple replied, ……the one for whom he cancelled the greater debt (Luke 7:43). 

This means, the degree and quality of praise has  a strong relation to gratitude which would be more who are accepted not on merits but by the grace of God. Hence, the people like the prodigal son and the sinful woman (Luke 7:36f) who otherwise had no hope in their life, when forgiven of their sins, started praising with full intensity, outstanding the natural heirs. For instance, even though Nicodemus was a high profile Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin, still struggled to understand what Jesus meant when he was told to be born again (John 3:3). Whereas, the sinful woman in Luke 7:36-50 wasn’t told anything but from the very moment she saw Jesus, knelt down in tears and started bathing His feet with her tears and drying them with her hair (Luke 7:38). The reason for her act was because there was no one else in this world except Jesus who could bring her back from her sinful past to a normal life. The gratitude of the woman flowing through her tears could be discerned as natural praise for us to emulate during the Lenten season, and especially during the Passion Week. 

The Great Lent and especially the passion week facilitates everyone to be born again. The forty days of Great Lent could be considered as our journey to the heavenly Jerusalem. In the same way as Jesus’ entry to Jerusalem was ‘triumphal’, we too have the opportunity for a triumphal entry to the heavenly Jerusalem. We can only triumph if we become like a newborn. In order to enter, we need to raise up the weights of our sins unto the Lord. Psalm 55:22 says Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you. 

Therefore, let us lift our burden of sins up along with the palm leaves during the Palm Sunday procession and the worship throughout. In that way every stone will change and will become eligible to shout out. It will of course be an envy to the fallen (Satan), but a proud moment for the children of God. 

May God bless us.

Fr Saji. K. Mathew

‘Statement’ as the weapon of war: The spiritual dynamics of Great Lent

Fr Dr Saji K Mathew3 Comments

This blog meditates on the role and power of verbal statements in our spiritual life. At the outset, a statement could be defined as something that is said or written to inform in a ‘formal’ or ‘definite’ way. The two words ‘formal’ and ‘definite’ correspond to ‘responsibility’ and ‘surety’ respectively. A person making a statement is bound by and responsible for it. Hence s/he should be confident about what is being stated. Moreover, it is a matter of accountability as well. Jesus said, For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned (Matthew 12:37). Proverbs 6:2 says you are snared by the words of your mouth. The power of a statement is unambiguously represented in Proverbs 18:21a: Death and life are in the power of the tongue. Our words/statements can get us eternal life or divine reprimand, a choice God wants us to make, using our free will. The above quoted verses reasons to justify incorporating statements in our conversation (prayer) with God so as to win His grace and mercy. Equally important is the power of statements as a means to witness the grace and mercy of God.

The above introduction opens a pathway to enter into the spiritual world of the Great Lent. It is an established belief that the key purpose of the Great Lent is individual and communal repentance aimed at spiritual rejuvenation. The Lenten prayers of the Orthodox church are frequented with virtual signposts pointing to the examples and experiences of the lent observed by many great personalities from the Old Testament. For instance, the lent observed by Moses (Exodus 34:28), Elijah (1 Kings 19:8), Daniel (Daniel 10:2-3), and the young men (Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah) (Daniel 1: 3-16) are used as examples to motivate us during the Lenten season. Whilst these Lents were not of repentance, the prayers for the Great Lent also cite the Nineveh lent (Jonah 3:6-9) to appeal the faithful to seek forgiveness, mercy and compassion from God. Noteworthy too is the prayer (Bovutho/Bovusso) of Saint Ephrem which is sung as part of the Soothoro (before bedtime) prayers: Both Moses and Elijah; Fasted forty days and nights; As our Lord also fasted; And conquered the evil one.

The church fathers are in no way wrong as the profundity of the prayers written by them is clearly visible as a journey that starts with repentance but immediately advances to the battlefield, where one is expected to fight the devil. This means, the Great Lent is not expected to be confined to repentance which apparently characterises the Old Testament (Nineveh) lent. The predominant discourse of the New Testament lent is grounded on the one that Jesus observed by fasting forty days and forty nights (Matthew 4:2). Jesus did not spend those days and nights repenting to God the Father. Instead, He was on an ‘operation desert’ mission which involved direct fight with Satan. Mark 1:13 states that Jesus fought the devil continuously for forty days, until He won. Jesus of course was sinless (Hebrews 4:15; 1 Peter 2:22) and hence did not need to repent. But human beings definitely need to repent – hence the church fathers have incorporated prayers that lead to repentance, but only as a starting point to make the faithful qualified and strengthened for the great battle. In other words, repentance leads the faithful to the battle field. The primary duty of a frontline solider in the battlefield is to fight. If a soldier ignores this responsibility and stays back in the barracks surviving on the provisions, the battle may turn to defeat. Analogically, instead of battling the demon, if a faithful prefer to survive on God’s mercy and compassion, it could only be viewed as laziness or rather cowardice. God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power (2 Timothy 1:7). Hence, instead of living in fear, God wants His faithful to fight the devil. This does not negate the fact that we are dependent on God. In fact, our dependence on God is rooted in the freedom (power) for which we are called (Galatians 5:13).

The freedom that we enjoy in Christ (John 8:36) is the outcome of our repentance, of course granted by grace. This freedom powers the faithful to fight Satanic aggressions and bondages. The gift of repentance is the transformation of our spirit to be strong. This transformation should be articulated by the very first statement against Satan: “greater is the one who is within me than you devil” (see 1 John 4:4). Simultaneously, we get ready for the battle by wearing the full armour of God (see Ephesians 6:12f). After this, we are in full combat mode. In this battle, we follow our Lord Jesus Christ who had already won, and should never deviate from it. Saint Paul cautions about the danger of deviation as getting outwitted by the devil (2 Corinthians 2:11). This means, in the same way as a soldier is expected to behave in the battlefield, we need to be cautious, active, alert, and sensitive throughout the war against Satan.

Saint Paul in his discourse on spiritual warfare exhorts that though we are human beings, we do not follow human standards to fight the devil. Instead, our weapons have divine power to destroy strongholds (2 Corinthians 10: 3-4). These words point to the power of our statements – as the most lethal weapon (to inflict casualty and destruction on Satan and his army). Revelation 12:11 clearly states …. they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. Whilst the blood of the Lamb (Jesus Christ) represents our deliverance through repentance, our statements deliver the ultimate blow to Satan leading us to victory.

Ephesians 6:17 too identifies the weapon of our war as the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. This verse is a clear guidance about how to make statements. The statement that we make should never be hollow (Ephesians 5:6) as it will only land us in trouble (see Matthew 12:36). Instead, we draft our statements using the Word of God which has the power to work as a sharp double edged sword (Hebrews 4:12). This is the strategy that Jesus used in His fight against Satan during His lent. As we read in Matthew 4:1-10 and Luke 4:1-13 the three statements of Jesus to counter the devil were quotes from Deuteronomy 8:3; 6:16; and 6:13. And the outcome of this battle was Satan’s defeat. Likewise, in our battle with Satan, we only need to follow Jesus’ footsteps (1 Peter 2:21) and make bold statements. Jesus set an example for us to do the same thing He did (John 13:15). This means, the more the Word of God we are armed with, the better we are positioned in our battle with the devil.

As mentioned in the beginning, the purpose of our statement can attract grace and mercy from the Lord. We have the finest of examples reported in the synoptic gospels – Saints Matthew (8:2) Mark (1:40) and Luke (5:12) reports using the same words, the powerful statement made by a leprosy patient, on his knees: Lord if you choose, you can make me clean. This statement of the leprosy patient must have impressed and amazed Jesus for the simple reason that the former did not just beg with a few self-crafted words but paraphrased a quote from the Old Testament- Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved (Jeremiah 17:14). Though no explicit linkage is drawn to this quote by the authors of the synoptic gospels, it does set the reader to discern how the Word of God could transform a sinner to repentance followed by physical and spiritual transformation. The disease itself was the consequence of sin as could be understood from Leviticus 13 &14 (hence the mention of guilt offering in Leviticus 14:12-13).

The transformation as the first step in the journey through the Great Lent (please refer to my previous blog on Wedding at Cana) should enable us to demonstrate spiritual dynamism by way of making bold statements to Jesus as well as on behalf of Jesus, to the world. A person unsure of the next step post transformation is stuck and may just decide to bury it (Matthew 25:18). For those who are unsure, the leprosy patient appears in the second week of the Great Lent to show the way. He shares the mantra to win the Lord, make spiritually bold statements. The Tuesday morning office of the Great Lent includes the prayer of Saint Jacob (Bovutho/Bovusso) which exhorts: O mouth, speak and speak and gain the One who hears you. Yes, our spiritual statements have the power and capacity to attract the Lord’s grace and mercy, as long as they are genuine and honest.

The dual nature of our statements – repentance and the seeking of grace and mercy is evident in the appeal of the leprosy patient. His statement simultaneously acknowledges the power and authority of the Lord to accept his repentance and deliver him from the demonic bondage of leprosy. Similarly, Saint Peter, in response to Jesus’ repeated question Do you love me? responded finally with a statement Lord you know everything; you know that I love you (John 21: 17) reflects his repentance as well as seeking Jesus’ mercy to strengthen him from wavering in his love for the Lord. The same spirit of repentance and mercy seeking is reflected in Saint Thomas’ statement My Lord and my God (John 20:28). In both these latter cases we see that grace and mercy of the Lord were showered on Saint Peter and Saint Thomas, after fetching statements from them.

Secondly, we should aim to witness the Lord with statements. Since, He has forgiven our sins, and blessed us with grace and mercy, we should be looking for ways and means to share them with our brethren, in line with Psalm 116:12: what shall I return to the Lord for all His bounty to me?. The answer also comes from King David who asked the question, I will tell of your name to my brothers and sisters; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you (Psalm 22:22).

Strengthened by the Holy Spirit, Saint Peter stood in the midst of the rulers, elders and scribes, and made one of the most powerful of the statements: There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12), which witnessed Jesus and reflected His words I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6). There are in fact so many such bold statements recorded in the New Testament as we journey through the ministry of the Apostles.

Saint Peter’s statement stirred up the soul of individuals leading them to repentance (Acts 2:37), demonstrating its power. The responsive statement of Saint Paul, Whether quickly or not, I pray to God that not only you but also all those who are listening to me today might become such as I am-except for these chains (Acts 26:29), made King Agrippa and his entire court to stand up to agree of the former’s innocence. The most powerful statement ever, was made by none other than Jesus Christ Himself, at the Garden of Gethsemane: I AM (John 18:5), which forced the soldiers and the police who came to arrest Him step back and fall on the ground. As could be discerned from these examples, our spiritual statements could have a range of effects- to make people repent, agree or instil awe.

The above reflection points to a visible difference between the Old and the New Testament lent. Whilst the former entails dependency (on God), the latter proceeds to empower those who are dependent on God. This means the Great Lent is a journey of empowerment too, to walk in the footsteps of Jesus and fight the devil in the same way as He fought non-stop for forty days. The power to wage this forty days battle with the devil requires the grace of God. One of the finest examples could be found in 2 Corinthians 12:7-9 where the frustrated Saint Paul pleads God to put an end to his battle with Satan by granting him victory. But God denied his plea but assured full grace in his battle with Satan.

This incident leads us to a brand of New Testament lent which makes us even more responsible in this world – to confront the devil upfront and wage battle against him. As we are covered by His grace, and armoured with truth, righteousness, proclamation of the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, and the Word of God (Ephesians 6:14-17), the victory is ours. Prior to this the epistle exhorts to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His power (Ephesians 6:10) which further empowers with the boldness in Christ to fight the devil.

Jesus does not want us just to remain as mercy seekers but expects to demonstrate the freedom that He has already granted us from His cross. As Galatians 5:1 says For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm therefore…This verse indicates how we are upgraded from mercy seekers to responsible partakers in the Kingdom of God. As partakers, our status is elevated from servants to friends (John 15:15) and to heirs (Romans 8:17). As the latter verse further states, if we are heirs, we suffer with Him so that may be glorified with Him. It is an agreed fact that there is suffering in every battle, but the victory is ours.

The whole discussion points to the maturity that one needs to demonstrate during the Great Lent. Spiritual maturity is achieved when we are empowered by God’s grace and realise our status as heirs. This means our spiritual status is upgraded from receivers to responsible adults. As James 1:22 exhorts, we are not mere hearers of the Word but doers of the Word. The forgiveness of sins that we receive through His grace and mercy needs to be articulated. During the Lent season, this articulation is by way of battling Satan, throughout for forty days. We have Jesus as our role model and icon in this fight. We just need to copy the same strategy that Jesus applied to fight and defeat Satan.

The advantage of this Great Lent war is that we are fighting a defeated enemy. Jesus disarmed Satan and his army and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in it (Colossians 2:15). Therefore, Great Lent is not a season of difficulty as many of us often perceive or feel but rather a joy to defeat the defeated. We fight Satan during the Great Lent (and to that matter anytime) with the power and authority of the Word of God articulated by way of bold statements. In this battle, nothing should confront us as a difficult proposition. The food restrictions, the fasting, the offices (prayers), the kneeling down and kissing the cross of our Lord (40 times) or other self-disciplinary actions are not difficult at all when compared to the glory about to be revealed to us (Romans 8:18). Yes, we are soon going to be glorified and declared winner once again in the battle against Satan. When we stand at the foot of the cross on Good Friday, we should be able to make our final statement: I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for His appearing (2 Timothy 4:7-8).

This blog meditated on the role and power of (verbal)statements as spiritual weapons to fight Satan and his army. Great Lent is a time when repentance transforms us to combat mode. The Word of God embedded in each of our statements has the power to inflict heavy casualty on the devil. Satan has never won any battle, nor will he ever win any battle against God and His children. Therefore, as confident and courageous soldiers, let us come in fellowship to fight this battle out. Let us make bold statements and work our way up to the cross of Jesus Christ and His resurrection.

In Lord’s service

Fr Saji K. Mathew

Amen.