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The Great Lent: A Pilgrimage to Re-discovery.

Fr Dr Saji K Mathew6 Comments

Once again we are entering into the season of divine wash, a journey of forty days to get refreshed in the passion and eventual resurrection of Christ.

Great lent is core to the spiritual life of Christians, especially for the Orthodox believers. It is a combination of solitary march and collective procession looking forward to renewed salvation gracefully showered by Jesus Christ.

The Great lent helps us to renew our relationship with Jesus Christ by way of knowing Him better as well as committing ourselves to His kingdom with gratitude, for the reason that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, Jesus Christ to us (John 3:16). God the Father unselfishly gave His most precious treasure, His son to us. Though we cannot pay it back in the same coin, there is a natural obligation, What shall I return to the Lord for all His bounty to me? (Psalms 116:12).

My soul yearns to know (Psalms 84:2) who this Father Son duo are……..and then I discovered that Jesus had showed me the way (John 14:6) by physically going through the journey of lent (Matthew 4:2).

Therefore, I need not waste my time trying to find a way or develop a tool or instrument to know the duo, as the third member (Holy Spirit) guides me to follow Jesus’s way (lent). I find this amazing trinitarian unity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) the driving force of my Lenten journey.

As was Jesus’ journey, walking on the earth for three and half years, Great lent is an advancement through the toughs and terrains of this world. Concomitantly, we are aided by the Holy Ghost (Matthew 4:1) and holy angels are close by waiting to see us triumphant (Matthew 4:11).

This blog is an attempt to caution the readers about the traps laid by Satan to sabotage our Lenten journey:

1. Richard Dawkins, renowned evolutionary biologist and author of many books is a hardcore atheist, as evident from many of his writings and related activities. He was once asked how should one respond to a person who believes in God. Dawkins’ answer was: ‘mock them” and “ridicule them”. Mocking and ridiculing are a couple of things one may have to encounter in the course of the Lenten journey. Jesus, during His passion was mocked and ridiculed by the Jews, Roman soldiers, and even the thief nailed besides Him (Matthew 27:31, 41; Luke 23:37).

Shaming by way of ridiculing and mocking would be the first of several steps Satan may adopt to dissociate the pilgrims of lent. Satan does not always need hardcore atheists like Dawkins to get this done. Neither does he need to burn midnight oil to find people to do this. It could be from our own family members, friends or wider society. Satan’s goal is not only to sabotage our lent, but he also uses this opportunity to de-civilise the faithful and may even go to the extent of de-humanize them. Jesus has already cautioned about this: They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed an hour is coming when those who kill you will think that by doing so they are offering worship to God (John 16:2).

Even if such extremes may not happen to most of us, still we are prone to mocks and ridicules, from our immediate circles as mentioned above. But this is a  compulsory part of our Lenten journey in the same way as was it with Jesus Christ. Jesus being God still had to go through the hardcore temptations.

So what do we achieve passing through this tumultuous journey?

The benefits are bi-pronged. The first prong is all what we achieve in this life; and the second one is the ultimate reward waiting for us in heaven.

In terms of the immediate achievement, the hardships such as facing and undergoing mocks and ridicules would help us to shed the absolutes and prejudices. Absolutes and prejudices are evident in the words of Satan in his conversation with Eve in the Garden of Eden, You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God (Genesis 3:4-5). This absolute statement was an attempt to make Eve believe that Satan knows the inside out of God. On the contrary, for the faithful, knowledge about God is not absolute but an ongoing quest. The Bible says, No one has ever seen God (John 1:18; 1 John 4:12); Who has known the mind of the Lord (Isaiah 40:13: Romans 11:34; 1 Corinthians 2:16).

Same as absolutism, prejudice also is demonic as it distances one from the will of God. Saint Peter’s prejudice about gentiles (Acts 10:14) worked against evangelism for which he was called. Hence God dismantled it when he was taken to Caesarea as instructed by the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:19-20). And we read later in Acts 10 that the walls of prejudice was completely dismantled, representing a milestone in Saint Peter’s missionary journey.

Therefore, by withstanding and surviving the mocks and ridicules as well as many other temptations (this could be both physical and mental), Lenten pilgrimage enables to alternate the course of Christian life towards achieving better proximity with God.

2. By explaining about the potential hurdles, I have not tried to be an absolutist, or else I commit the same mistake against which I took a stand. This puts me in a situation whereby I am in a state of retreat during the lent season. As we know, a retreat is a temporary withdrawal to reflect, think through and re-strategize so as to advance better. This puts our Lenten journey into ‘silent mode’.  Lent is a time to talk less, avoid all loose talks and restrain from similar things. Saint Paul instructed Ephesians, Entirely out of place is obscene, silly and vulgar talk; but instead, let there be thanksgiving (Ephesians 5:4).

John Keats (+1821), an English romantic poet, in one of his poems criticizes Sir Isaac Newton for destroying the beauty of rainbow by analyzing light with a prism, and splitting it into different colours. What this means to us is God and His works are to be experienced rather than to be put under the lens or dissected on the table. Evidence based approach to faith is insignificant in comparison to experience based faith. In fact faith is the conviction of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). Saint Paul had not seen Jesus but just heard and experienced him, starting from the gates of Damascus (Acts 9:3-6). Saint John talks about things that were heard, seen and experienced (1 John 1:1) but never claimed that he knew Jesus well (though he was the dearest of all the disciples). We also read Jesus’ words to Saint Thomas, ……………blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe (John 20:29).

My intention is to focus on anti-absolutism and drum-beating. The tentacles of social media is so far reaching that it is not difficult at all to see anything and everything related to the divine uncovered and made explicit. Orthodox tradition insists life with Jesus as a divine mystery. This entails there are things, such as our partaking in the body and blood of Christ, that should be treated in confidence. Great lent is a journey to reach and receive the body of Christ which was broken and the blood of Christ that was shed on the cross, for our salvation. Therefore, given the tough terrain of lent that a faithful has to tread through, one should not wear the robes of a propagandist (of lent) during the Lenten period. Lent is not a show object nor should one attempt to exhibit as had Jesus cautioned in Matthew 6:16:18.

In the same way as a rainbow pleases our eyes, lent is a spiritual enjoyment. If I attempt to explain lent, I am probably forgetting my most important challenge, to defeat the temptations of Satan. Jesus could have continued with His ministry alongside the forty days fasting. But He did not. He placed Himself in solitude talking only to God the Father. So should we during the Lenten season. Psalms 46:10 tells us Be still, and know that I am God.

As a priest, I shall maintain utmost silence by endeavoring not to set the pulpit on unholy fire by bullying the innocent faithful and hammering them with unbearable guilt and remorse, and simultaneously claiming my lent as the best lent in comparison to the lent observed by my parish members. Rather, my silence should be my sermon, and a guiding spirit to all the faithful.

3. So what do we achieve by observing the Great Lent?

An Orthodox Lenten prayer goes somewhat like this, Oh Lord, if my wrongdoings are taken into consideration, I will not be able to stand anywhere near you. But I depend on and plead for your mercy.

Lent is a vehicle that takes us to God’s throne of grace to receive His mercy (Hebrews 4:16). The mercy that we receive is not because of our zero-defective works but due to God’s great love (Ephesians 2:4-5; Psalms 51:1-2; Psalms 103:8; Micah 7:18). As mentioned in the early lines of this blog, God so loved this world………, that He is gracious enough to cover us with His mercy.

Having said, God’s love cannot grow or flourish in malicious, contaminated and polluted environment. Unfortunately, this world is full of those things and hence filthy. But God has given us the Great lent to attempt cleaning our lives, which would then help clean our environment. Therefore, it could be said that lent is an act of systemic cleansing which is not confined to a few peripheral acts such as restraining from a set of food items but a holistic process.

Lent is central to our spiritual life. The Great lent helps us to make Jesus the joy of our life and our temporary difficulties (such as fasting and abstinence) a peripheral thing. As we read in 2 Corinthians 4:17-18, For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, for we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.

Therefore, Great lent is an attempt to make Jesus central to our lives. The temptations of Jesus demonstrates the preferential option of the centrality of faith over the centrality of worldly life. In fact Jesus’ first response to Satan builds the umbilical cord between the two, faith in God and worldly life, in the sense that life in this world is nutritiously fed by the faith in Jesus Christ.

Jesus never negated the significance of life in this world. If Jesus told Satan I am not worried about my life, it would have given devil an opportunity to claim the ownership of the lives of people. In fact, life is a gift of God. It was God in the Garden of Eden that breathed life into the nostrils of the first man, Adam (Genesis 2:7). It should therefore be assumed that Jesus was careful in His conversation with Satan during the temptation.

Lent is a training to equip us to fight back the nefarious designs of the devil, a forty days journey of perseverance, till our faith is entrenched in Jesus Christ, as a conviction rather than a leisure or an extracurricular thing.

Soon after Hitler visited Paris in 1940, Andre Boulloche, a courageous member of French Resistance wrote a letter to his father:

The country can only be saved by a complete moral resurrection, something that will require the works of men of all good will………I think I can contribute a great deal. And if more troubles lie ahead, isn’t my duty present?

As we get ourselves dirty toiling and moiling throughout the year, and moreover Satan has found an opportunity to deceptively benefit from our tiredness by visiting our weakened faculties of life, as the above quote says, it is time for us to stand up, against devil and defend not only our families but our church to pave way for a spiritual resurrection.

In short, the achievement from Great Lent is a renewed self, vibrant family and a Church that re-emerges to witness her spouse, Jesus Christ.

O Holy Lent, come in peace.

Amen.

Being shut-in under divine protection: an analysis of the dynamics of comfort versus discomfort.

Fr Dr Saji K Mathew5 Comments

The Lord shut him in (Genesis 7:16)

The background of this verse is detailed in Genesis 6 & 7. Accordingly, we get to know that Noah was shut in the ark ahead of the great flood.

As people began to multiply on the face of earth (Genesis 6:1) sin took a parallel course. As a result of the multiplication of sin, the contemporary generation of Noah deteriorated to such a wicked state that the place became a cradle and repository of sin and embodiment of a soul destructive life style. Though, this section of the Bible does not list the type of sins the gravest of them all, sexual perversion is identified. As we know, perversion is the corruption and distorting of something resulting in deviation from the fundamental goal. It could be inferred that the divine gift of procreation bestowed on human beings was demonised to such an extent that people were brazenly in pursuit of (sexual) perversions. Homosexuality, sexual abuses, sex with animals, combining alcohol and drugs with sex etc., are only a few examples of such perversions. Noah’s contemporary generation was depressingly  one step ahead from even the current generation as we are still exploring alien life but during his time the relationship was well established (see Genesis 6:2).

Perversion is adultery at its core and is something intolerable to God – no matter whether it is our personal or spiritual life (though these cannot be separated). For instance, when the sons of Aaron the high priest, Nadab and Abihu, corrupted the ingredients to create unholy fire, they committed spiritual adultery and consequently were consumed by fire from the presence of the Lord (Leviticus 10:1-2).

In a situation where corruption, perversion and adultery are a way and part of life, the righteous are decimated. Noah was in such a situation but he swam against the worldly flow by remaining loyal to God (Genesis 6:9). It might not have been easy for Noah to survive in such a hostile world where perverted pleasures were a way and part of life. He might have undergone name-calling, bullying and other forms of abuses. However, one should be assured that Lord cannot tolerate the sufferings of his children as we read in Exodus 3:7: I have observed the misery of my people. Noah never was bowed down or run over by any of these adversities. Instead his ears were trained only to hear the Lord, and his walks as always directed by the Lord (see Psalms 119:105).

There are two times a righteous person is shut in by Lord, during the earthly life and life after death. When Lord shuts us in we are not simply locked from outside but fully covered by Him. In fact, Lord’s covering is for the entire creation, especially the human beings. But, it is for us human beings to decide whether we want to remain shut-in the divine covering or sneak out of it. Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden were covered by Lord. But when they walked out of that covering they were exposed (to evil). Psalms 91:4 says that God will cover us under his pinions and secure under His wings. God’s children are covered with the shadow of His hand (Isaiah 51:16).

There are two types of covering in our earthly life, visible and invisible:

Visible covering is for the spiritually weak and evolving persons. For instance, the people of God led by Moses from Egypt were not spiritually strong as we see that their faith was weak. Therefore, as a sign of His assurance, and to build confidence, God provided a visible covering, with pillars of cloud and fire throughout the days and nights of their journey through the wilderness. As the people were spiritually immature, it is said that Lord physically guided them by being in both the pillars (Exodus 13:21).

 Jesus’s physical presence on earth and His physical leading of disciples could be understood as a visible covering. Jesus said, the wedding guests cannot fast when the bridegroom is present (Matthew 9:15; Luke 5:34; Mark 2:19). The physical presence of Jesus Christ warranted full protection to His disciples and ardent followers. In John 11:21 we read Martha grieving to Jesus, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But Jesus explains to her the importance of having faith instead of merely seeking His physical presence (John 11:23-27). This statement points to the physical presence as a temporary guiding phenomenon and a helping hand so that one may be strong enough to walk in faith rather than being parasitic on physical presence (of God). In light of this, we may want to rethink on our over reliance on (often) stage managed miracles which has become ubiquitous (sorry no offence please).

Invisible covering is meant for those who do not need visible signs and miracles to believe, but lives by faith. Jesus said, a wicked and adulterous generation seeks for a sign (Matthew 12:39). Those who are spiritually- strong, mature, and entrenched in faith do not need physical signs as they experience the spiritual covering more than seeing with their naked eyes. For instance, when Elisha the prophet and his servant were surrounded by the army of King Aram at Dothan, he was unmoved (unlike his servant) as the prophet saw with his spiritual eyes the Lord’s covering which was invisible to the aid (2 Kings 6: 15-17). Whilst, the righteous (Elisha) saw the invisible covering, the less spiritually mature (attendant) could only see the covering (of horses and chariots of fire) after his eyes was opened following Elisha’s prayer. When Saint Thomas insisted that he will only believe after seeing Jesus physically, Lord appeared and encouraged the saint to practice faith without always depending on physical eyes (John 20:29).

The righteous does not need a visible sign but is covered invisibly by own faith. In fact the righteous live by faith (Habakkuk 2:4). The Psalter says, those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved (Psalms 125:1), for Lord covers them with favour (Psalms 5:12), and will never allow his faithful to see decay (Psalms 16:10).

Having said, the life of a righteous, as mentioned above, is not at all a cake walk on this earth (Psalms 34:19). In fact, Bible witnesses the lives of people who lived for God as miserable, especially in the New Testament. Jesus Himself was nailed within 3 years of His public ministry. The disciples had to endure sword, poverty, hunger, thirst, harassment, stoning and several other hostile situations culminating in brutal death (see 2 Corinthians 4:8-10). One might wonder where the cover was during these horrendous sufferings. In fact, it was the cover that enabled them to boldly undergo those sufferings. And, the cover worked as a protective shell of God’s grace, power and support within which the saints are shut so that they could develop and grow themselves fully, and ready for an eternal life with Lord in heaven. Saint Paul foresaw this with his spiritual eyes and prophesied For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands (2 Corinthians 5:1).

In the course of our preparation for a heavenly life being shut-in helps us to endure and persevere without fail and fall.  Apparently, this contradicts the message of infamous prosperity gospel which demonises suffering and divinises material well being and worldly glory. True followers of Christ have a different message, of that of willingness and ever ready to sufferings, as they are shut in the love of Christ. Hence the bold statement, for I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38-39).

To be shut in may be felt as inconvenient and suffocating, especially for those who are framed in their worldly comfort zone. It is essential to realise the worth of being shut in as a process of disciplining ourselves in preparation for an eternal life. Hebrew 12:11 states No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Successful completion of the discipline process qualifies one to be received in the kingdom of God. Saint Paul said, I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge will award to me on that day- and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing (2 Timothy 4: 7-8). Jesus asked Saint John to write to the church in Sardis, if you conquer, you will be clothed like them in white robes, and I will not blot your name out of the book of life (Revelations 3:5).

The second shutting in occurs in our life after death. At the outset, souls of the faithful departed are sent to rest for a while. As evident in Bible, they are shut in again by Lord, now within the holy of holies, under the altar (Revelations 6:9): I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered for the word of God and for the testimony they had given. This implies that our departed souls have yet another stage of transition before the revelation of final glory, directly being with God. In response to the query of these souls, God ask them to wait for some more time until the numbers would be complete, and this period is termed as resting in white robes (Revelations 6:10). This shutting in could be discerned perhaps as yet another disciplinary process, this time the final preparation to be with Lord and worshiping Him day and night, non-stop (Revelations 4:8).

Yet another example could be found in the parable of rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31). Here we see that Lazarus is placed by the side of Abraham whereas the rich man is outside and far away from the divine cover. The words of Lazarus are particularly interesting to this topic …between us and you a great chasm has been set in place…. (Luke 19:26), denoting that Lazarus is shut in and not allowed to go out of the covering, even if he wanted to help the rich man.

Being shut in and covered by Lord is in fact not arresting one’s freedom but a better way of being guided to live a spiritually systematic life. As mentioned above, when Adam and Eve walked out of God’s covering, they felt naked and exposed (Genesis 3:7) and had to seek for cover behind the trees. Divine covering is a covenant that we become a private property of God (Ezekiel 16:8). When Noah was shut in divine protection, though there was flood around and little contact with the outside world, still he and his family were safe. However, the moment he walked out of divine protection, was immediately came under demonic attack; and we see Noah exposed and lying naked in bed (Genesis 9:21). On the eve of the grand exodus, the Israelites were shut in their homes and sealed with the blood of lamb in order to be protected from the final plague (Genesis 12:7&13).

Reflecting upon, at the end of year 2016, God’s children may want to assess how much comfort and discomfort they have felt whilst being shut in divine grace. Depending on individual situations we may have been shut in various different ways, by means of being stopped from doing what we wanted to do; were restricted from achieving our worldly aims and objectives; sometimes or often not getting an answer to our prayers or wishes granted; and so on. From a worldly point of view, we may have undergone a lot of frustrations and disappointments. But, looking at the broader picture and the macro environment, we may want to thank God for protecting us from calamities, accidents, diseases and death, losses and debacles. This does not imply that we are better human beings but it is only the grace of God; and of course for a purpose. For all those who are disappointed and frustrated, including myself, let us remember the words of Saint Paul, For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all (2 Corinthians 4:17).

I have used two concepts in this blog, shut-in and covering. This is not to confuse the readers but to convey the message that being shut-in by God is not leaving us in darkness to starve and die. But, whilst we are shut-in, we are powerfully covered by God’s grace, the grace that saw Noah and his family float on the same water which created havoc and destroyed the entire creation. To conclude, being shut-in simultaneously places us under full cover of God.

Let praise be to the Holy Trinity. Jesus is coming soon.

The power of Jonah’s sign

Fr Dr Saji K Mathew2 Comments

In the Biblical context, especially in the gospels, miracles are mostly termed as signs, for a miracle foreshadows the sign of divine intervention in the economy of masses. Jesus started his public ministry by turning water into wine, the first of his ‘signs……..’ (John 2:11). A sign could be viewed as a holistic process whereby the ripple effect of it electrifies not only the focal subject but all those in the vicinity. For example, when the crowd witnessed Jesus healing a paralytic, they were awestruck and glorified God (Matthew 9:8). In this case, we see the sign not only affected the paralytic but the community present at the scene. Almost every day, we get to see divine signs in various forms of blessings, through the lives of people around us, in our families, among our friends, neighbours and communities. We ought to reflect as to how, as true children God, do we respond to these signs. As a true follower of Christ, we should ideally be praising and glorifying God for the blessings showered on my neighbour, friends and so on; and thank Lord for showing yet another sign of divine presence to us. Over and above, such signs should help us to repent and transform towards God’s glory.

A sign could either be just a visual treat or an intensively transforming experience. Sign, as a mere visual treat, are materialistic and have little spiritual value. Such signs could be termed as mere magic and hence are demonic in nature. For example, the signs performed by the magicians at the court of Pharaoh to imitate the signs of Moses (Exodus 7-12). Moses was sent by God and the signs he performed were divine whereas the miracles performed by Pharaoh’s magicians were demon inspired. Visual treats are short-term and so are signs performed for visual treats. The magicians did succeed in imitating Moses but the signs performed by Moses had an overpowering effect on the former.

Divine signs, as we see in the Bible, are meant for the transformation of individual to either effect or further the faith of individuals. They are in no way meant for mere visual treat. For instance, in John 6:2 it is reported that a great multitude of people followed Jesus because they saw the signs He had performed, by healing the sick. Now, one may try to draw support for the stage performances as we see today, drawing this instance as an example. However, it needs to be understood that this performance of sign, of healing the sick, was not just a visual treat for those who witnessed it, rather an empathetic and intensive realisation of the members of the community. It should be discerned that the whole community felt the pain and suffering of the sick, and when Jesus walked into, the whole community embraced Him with a true and pure heart. As a result, whilst the sick were physically healed, the entire community got spiritually transformed. Remember what Jesus instructed His disciples, ‘if the house or the city does not receive you……….go out……..shake the dust off your feet’ (Matthew 10:14). We also read that Jesus could not do any miracles as Nazareth did not accept Him (Mark 6:5). In short, it could be stated that signs/miracles are meant for internalisation, a process by which the divine intervention is felt deep within the spirit of the people who witnesses them and gets spiritually transformed. This transformation is evident in the statement of Saint Paul when he said, ‘and it is not I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me’ (Galatians 2:20). This audacious statement by Saint Paul is the external sign of an internal reaction stirred up as a result of his realisation that Christ was crucified for his sins.

Performance of miracles to satisfy the mere visual needs of the audience has a dubious intention towards personal glory, popularity and of course material wealth. When Simon the sorcerer saw that the Spirit was bestowed through the laying on of the Apostle’s hands, he offered them money to buy this power (Acts 8:18), so that he could make more money out of it. Similarly, in Acts 16:16 we read that there was a girl who used to earn a great deal of fortune for her owners by fortune-telling. Even in this so-called ‘modern age’ it is not rare to see people, including believers of Christ, chasing for, and running from pillar to post seeking such visual treats. It appears lately that the spiritual world has sunken to a level where only performers of such visual treats can survive in the ecosystem of Christian spirituality.

The Pharisees and Sadducees approached Jesus asking to show them a sign from heaven. Jesus’ explicit exposure of them as an evil and adulterous generation (Matthew 16:4) draws parallel to the situation many of us are in today, full of evil deeds and adultery. And the sign for such a corrupt age is apparently the sign of Jonah- the one and only sign, as stated by Jesus.

There are two significance of the sign of Jonah.

Jesus said, ‘For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so for three days and three nights the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth’ (Matthew 12:40).

  1. Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster:

At the outset, Jonah was a prophet. A prophet is a chosen person of God who acts as His mouth (Deuteronomy 18:18), passing on the messages to the people. Easy said than done is to be the mouth of God, for being the mouth means the prophet is supposed to speak out whatever God wants to communicate. In other words, being the mouth means speaking out without thinking because it is not the prophet who is speaking but God using the prophet’s mouth. To analyse this phenomenon in a secular context could mean speech by a non-sensible person or by somebody who is out of mind. This is the reason why we see that almost all the Old Testament prophets were rejected by the people. Jesus also is seen blaming the Jews for denying and destroying the mouths of God in His statement, ‘Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it….’ (Luke 13:34). The pain and agony of God is clearly articulated through the words of Jesus Christ here.

The making of a prophet is an intensive process involving a lot of planning and preparation. When people are in bondage or trouble God plans to send a prophet. For example, centuries before, God promised to send a prophet (Deuteronomy 18:18), a promise about messiah. A prophet needs to be prepared even before s/he is formed in the womb of his mother (Jeremiah 1:5). Prior to be formed in full as a prophet, the person needs to be further purified so as to see God and His throne (Isaiah 6:1). The mouth of the person is to be purified so as to become the mouth of God (Isaiah 6:6-7). Most importantly (and could be discerned as an oath), the prophet is expected to commit himself impartially to God (Isaiah 6:8).

Once this commitment is explicitly stated, as Isaiah did, the prophet is sent for combat mission as God sent Isaiah (Isaiah 6:9-10). I call this ‘combat’ for the simple reason that prophecy is one of the nine gifts of Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:10) and the Spirit of Lord always work against the evil spirit.

An ideal prophet will only speak and dare not to withhold the word of God. The most ideal of all the prophets that we see in the Bible is Jesus Himself, and He was fully confident that He spoke only what He heard from His Father (John 12:49). Moreover, being an ideal prophet Jesus did according to the will of His Father who sent Him, and not His own (John 6:38). This is the point where Jesus as the true prophet contradicted Jonah, as well as many Pharisees and Sadducees who supported false prophets.

Jonah the prophet was chosen by God for a very important mission. He was assigned to communicate the word of God to the people of Nineveh with an aim to deliver them from complete destruction- a full deliverance from the extreme demonic forces ruling the people and the city (Jonah 1:2). The prophecy against the Nineveh was meant to be a sign of the forthcoming wrath of God.

However, what we see in the book of Jonah is the deviation of a prophet who discarded the assignment and went on his own way. A prophet that rejects God’s call is in fact rejecting the will of God. Such prophets create unrest and imbalance in nature, and are threats to people’s lives, as we see in Jonah’s case (Jonah 1:4-5). Rebellion against God leads to darkness and misery (Psalms 107:10-11), ending up in a place where there is nobody to help. Jonah’s disobedience dragged him down to the stomach of the sea monster.

Jonah was a prophet of God who falsified himself by committing disobedience. Deuteronomy 18:20 says that a prophet who presumes to speak in the name of God that He has not commanded shall die; because they are false prophets who goes to the people in sheep’s clothing (Matthew 7:15). Such was the pathetic situation during the time of Jesus that the prophecy of Isaiah literally was fulfilled, ‘…these people draw near with their mouths………while their hearts are far from me’ (Isaiah 29:13). We further read in Jeremiah 23:26 ‘How long? Will the hearts of the prophets ever turn back- those who prophecy ‘lies’, and who prophecy the deceit of their own heart?’

To sum up, the prophetic ministry as we see during the time of Christ was a corrupted version, apparently by the custodians of faith, the Pharisees and Sadducees. This is the reason why Jesus responded negatively to their demand to perform a sign. In other words, Jesus’s reply is judgmental, that the hypocrites and false prophets will meet the fate of Jonah, or even worse, that they will be thrown deep down, an indication of hell which is termed as a ‘bottomless pit’ (Revelations 9:1), and the destiny of Satan (Revelations 20:2). In short, all those who collude with Satan to perform signs, and prophecy lies will be dealt with as is destined for Satan. In fact Jesus has cautioned that false prophets will come and perform great signs and omen (Matthew 24:24).

 2. Jesus said that He will remain in the same way as Jonah remained underneath, three days and three nights.

When the people in the ship realised that Jonah was the reason of the turmoil, they threw Jonah into the sea (Jonah 1:15). Therefore, Jonah went down for his sin, as well as for the sake of the lives of the people in the ship. On the contrary, Jesus was sinless, and He went down for the sake of the sins of this world, from Adam to the end of generation until His second coming. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says that God made Jesus who was sinless to be sin for our sake. When Jonah went down he was forced to carry the sins of Nineveh with him because he did not enable the opportunity for them to repent. The prophet who was expected to facilitate repentance for the people of Nineveh acted as a stumbling block for them. Jesus blamed the scribes and Pharisees for locking the people out of the kingdom of heaven into which neither they enter nor allow others to enter (Matthew 23:13). Unfortunately, Jonah’s act was similar to the nature of the Scribes and Pharisees.

The religious and spiritual institution of Jews were so corrupted during the time of Jesus that the leaders and the followers were materially bound and commercially oriented. Signs and wonders were manipulated or artificially created for fame, personal glory and above all was money minting business. Jesus prophesied that this will happen again in the course of history (Matthew 24:24) which apparently we get to see at least in some cases around us. As a result of this selfish spirituality, people would less understand about the sacrificial nature of one person bearing the sins of others, let alone the entire humanity. But Jesus is determined to show them that this is possible, and moreover, is the best sign a prophet can perform. Thus, Jesus by going down underneath through death shows the entire humanity the sign of God’s love. Therefore, the death of Jesus could be termed as the ‘sign of all the signs’.

So what does the world need today? Mere performance of signs and wonders and stage shows for personal glory? Signs have become derivatives, in the sense that they are conducted for personal well-being and material prosperity. It is quite common to see people chasing signs for mere material benefits, and asking for more and more just for the sake of visual treats. However, Jesus said, I have no other sign to perform except my own death for your sins. This is what the disciples did- they portrayed Jesus Christ as crucified for the sins of mankind (Galatians 3:1). People during the time of the disciples were also after signs and wonders, but the disciples denied such demands as is evident in 1 Corinthians 1:22-23: ‘For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified…’.

As the prophecy of Jonah as a sign of the forthcoming wrath of God led Nineveh to repentance, the sign of the cross can lead to true repentance and real transformation of lives. May this Nineveh lent held us to see and experience the sign of the cross of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

To my fist love, I have a New Year gift for you….

Fr Dr Saji K MathewLeave a comment

‘Let us go out early to the vineyards……………There I will give you my love’  (Song of Songs 7:12).

This book of the Old Testament, Song of Songs is glorified as the ‘Song of all the songs’. It is also known as The Song of Solomon. Romantic in nature as one could discover reading through the chapters, interestingly, and ironically, it won’t be wrong to discern that it is also a lamentation of a lover who was apparently the greatest, wisest and richest of all the Kings living on earth, none other than King Solomon (2 Chronicles 9:22; 1 Kings 4:30).

As mentioned above, this poetic book is a lamentation (we may also discern it as self-realisation) of King Solomon, who is the anti-hero in this book. Though Solomon was great with his fame spread to all nations (1 Kings 4:31), he felt so bogged down being a failure to win the heart of a poor peasant girl, a Shulamite, and heroine of this poetry. He used his entire machinery to woo and win the heart and love of the Shulamite girl only to realise that ‘….if one offered for love all the wealth of one’s house, it would be utterly scorned’ (Songs 8:7). This is a lesson for many of us too who are in pursuit of the riches, glories, fame and name of this world which has nothing to do with our eternal life in heaven. In fact Jesus has cautioned us- ‘for what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life’ (Matthew 16:26). Though Solomon had at his feet all what he wanted including women, this seems to be his first true love as such, as he wrote ardently in Proverbs 5:18 about the love of one’s youth. This regret happen after his fall from God Almighty, when Solomon’s foreign wives dragged him off to idol worship (see 1 Kings 11).

It is perhaps very interesting to note that the hero of this real life story is not as loud as Solomon the anti-hero is. Apparently, there is no comparison either between the hero and anti-hero, for the latter is at the apex of ‘this worldly’ delights whereas the hero is just a shepherd (Songs 2:16; 6:2). The hero is not rich, nor handsome as Solomon is- no army, nor anything else to match Solomon’s fame and glory. Yet, and interestingly, he commands love that no wealth and power could conquer.

Songs of songs being incorporated as a book in the Bible points to its spiritual importance than looking at it as a carnal entertainment. Origen (184-254) was the first of the Church fathers who interpreted The Songs as a unique scripture in which the nuptial relationship between Christ as the bridegroom and Church as the bride is present. Accordingly, this book embeds a spiritual romance encompassing a love triangle with Jesus Christ, the shepherd boy as the hero; the Church, the Shulamite girl as the heroine, and Satan disguised as King Solomon as the villain.

Further zooming into the context, we get a better clarity that this is a struggle of the heroine to re-discover and live eternally with her first love, and her hero, the shepherd boy. More clearly, this book is a narration of the living experience of the bride, in terms of her memories of love, the beauty of the bridegroom, the distractions in her journey, her realisation of the fall and eventually going out in search of her lost bride groom, and her final discovery when she has a special gift to share with him on the dawn of New Year. I term this ‘New Year’ so as to link this with the beginning of 2016, and more importantly to highlight the fact that when we as the Church re-discover our Lord Jesus Christ, it is the beginning of a New Year for us. St Paul said, ‘so if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation’ (2 Corinthians 5:17).

This blog is an attempt to analyse the journey of the bride in search of her true love, the bride groom. This write up aims to help reawaken and rejuvenate the Church, the bride of Jesus Christ. In order to achieve this objective, I have divided the journey of the bride into three parts:

  1. First encounter and the budding of romance
  2. Fall back and temporary distraction
  3. Re-discovery of true love, and re-union with the first love

1. First encounter and the budding of romance

 The first appearance of the hero as a vibrant young person happens at river Jordan when John the Baptist exclaimed ‘Look here is the lamb of God’ (John 1:36). His appearance was so dashing that Andrew, brother of Simon Peter and another disciple left everything and followed Jesus (John 1:40). The same glittering appearance is witnessed in Matthew 17:2 and Luke 9:29 when our Lord Jesus Christ was in his full glory; and the disciples did not want to leave Him or the place.

Isiah prophesied the beauty of the bridegroom- ‘How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger……’ (Isaiah 52:7). (This prophesy of Isaiah was fulfilled by Jesus Christ through his sermon on the mountain, as detailed in Matthew 5-7). The bridegroom is so handsome that the Psalmist (27:4) just wants to behold His beauty.

The Shulamite girl when asked about the importance of her lover over all other lovers becomes so eloquent that she does not misses a single feature in her detailed description about him (Songs 5:10-16). By doing so, the bride is witnessing her Lord with gratitude, an opportunity well utilised; and an eye opener for every follower of Christ. This reminds me of the young Polish Priest, Father Stephan Kowalski, in Dominique Lapierre’s novel ‘City of Joy’. Stephan chose to live, starve and die with the slum dwellers of Kolkata. One day when he was praying in front of the picture of Jesus, a slum dweller came and asked who the person was on the frame. Stephan well made use of this opportunity to witness His beloved Lord, as did the Shulamite girl.

Psalms 116:12 says, ‘What shall I return to the Lord for all His bounty to me’. Hence witnessing our Lord ought to be with gratitude because Jesus utilised his charm, radiance, words and deeds not for self but for us. The feature wise description of her lover by the Shulamite girl exhibits not only her physical attraction towards the bridegroom but also weaves in her personal experience with each of those features. Let me explain this a bit further:

Songs 5: 10 –‘My beloved is all radiant and ruddy’- I have already mentioned about the radiance of Jesus Christ, as witnessed by Peter, James and John during transfiguration. On the mountain, it was not a mere performance by Jesus but was meant to help the core pillars of the Church to be firmly rooted in the Son of God. Moreover, this beauty was fully spent on his bride, the Church. Jesus did not care for scorching sun or for any adverse weather conditions but worked tirelessly for His bride, the Church. Hence in this verse, the beloved is termed ‘ruddy’ as well.

Songs 5:11- ‘His head is the finest gold’- This is an acknowledgement of the bride that her groom is ‘the best’. St Paul said, ‘For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the Church’ (Ephesians 5:23). Being termed as ‘the finest gold’ the bride expresses her gratitude for being well taken care of with the best, and nothing inferior.

Songs 5:12- ‘His eyes are like doves’- The power of the eyes of Jesus is seen in the Bible as being used to bring human beings to forsake everything else and follow Him. For instance, Jesus’ look helped to identify the weakness in an otherwise perfect man (Matthew 10:21); Jesus looked at the tax collector who was looked upon by the society with contempt, and asked him, ‘follow me’ (Mathew 9:9); Jesus’s piercing look at Peter immediately made him to repent and get transformed (Matthew 19:26).

Songs 5:13-‘His cheeks are like beds of spices yielding fragrance’- Jesus’ cheeks were given to us when He silently accepted slap on your face (John 18:22), not for His fault but to entrench us in His teaching ‘if someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also’ (Luke 6:29).

Songs 5:14-15 ‘His arms are rounded gold….His legs are alabaster columns….’- There are several instances to quote from the gospel where Jesus used His hands and legs. For instance, Mark 1:31; Mark 9:27 identifies the work of His hands; and (Matthew 14:25) mentions about His legs used to convince the disciples that He was there when waters were formed.

Songs 5:16- ‘His speech is most sweet’ (His lips are lilies, distilling liquid myrrh- vs. 13)- The gospel says that the people around Jesus were very much attracted to His words, as reported in Matthew 7:28; Matthew 22:33; Mark 11:18; Mark 12:37. Jesus credit this speaking style to His Father (John 12:49), further humbling the self. Every word Jesus spoke has later become fountains of spring and honey for His bride, the Church to live on.

Songs 5:14 also describes the beauty of the groom’s body. I left this part above, so as to highlight the extreme importance of it in a separate paragraph. If every other feature led to the budding and flowering of a holy romance, Jesus’ body and the blood that flew from His body is the final moment when the nuptial note is tied. By the body and blood of Jesus we are fully united with Him, into an eternal relationship. Thus we are one body in Christ (Romans 12:5), and also one in spirit with Him (1 Corinthians 6:17). This unique and perfect wedlock is unbreakable and hence the Shulamite bride says ‘I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine’ (Songs 6:3). Similarly, the Church wedded to Christ is expected to commit to a holy and devout relationship.

The above analysis helps us to understand why witnessing ought to be with gratitude, for it is a lived experience of the bride with her groom. The witness by John the evangelist parallels the witness of the Shulamite girl in his statement, ‘we declare to you….what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands…..’ (1 John 1:1).

2. Fall back and temporary distraction:

Being in this world, we are always prone to demonic distractions. Every moment of our marriage with Christ is a struggle as the anti-hero is hell-bent to break this holy relationship. Jesus knew of this, hence said, ‘you will face troubles but take courage for I have conquered the world’ (John 16:33). Every day, hundreds and thousands of marriages are in shambles in the absence of this empowering promise of the eternal bridegroom ’take courage, I have conquered the world.

The Shulamite girl, for once fell in the worldly glitters of King Solomon, a clever trap laid by Satan against a committed love. It is evident that the girl was not completely out of her past exposures when she served King David (1 Kings 1:4). This fall back contradicts the Church’s marriage with Christ, that if anyone is in Christ everything old has passed away (2 Corinthians 5:17).

The luxuries, and more badly the sexual spirit present in David’s court (remember David’s adultery with Bathsheba- 2 Samuel 11:4) seems to have entered into the Shulamite girl as she also fell for Solomon at one point which is portrayed as a (bad) dream in Songs 5:2f). But suddenly she is awakened in her spirit by the knock on the door, in the same way as the Lord calls each one of us (Revelations 3:20). However, it is sad to see that the groom walks away (Songs 5:6). What else could the man do when he discovers that his lover has another man in her room?

It is noteworthy to see here that the bride now leaves Solomon’s harem to chase her true love. However, there is one shortcoming here that she has not repented nor washed in her groom’s blood before setting after Him. As a result she gets beaten up and wounded (Songs 5:7). Jesus said, whoever wants to follow me must deny themselves and take up their cross…….. (Matthew 16:24). This self-emptying act is the washing away of sins and securing complete deliverance from evil spirits. Remember the incident when the sons of Sceva were beaten up and had to flee wounded and naked (Acts 19:14-16).

The Shulamite girl finds her groom only after she faint in love (Songs 5:8). Fainting in love could be discerned as a total commitment in love which is the pinnacle of perfection. This is when she is not afraid of openly witnessing her love as we read in the following verses of chapter 5. The Bible says, ‘there is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear’ (1 John 4:18). It is not uncommon to hear so many excuses in terms of witnessing Christ. It is sad to see people concerned about physical dangers and social exclusions if stepped into the area of evangelisation. The above verse further states that ‘whoever fears has not reached perfection in love’. Fainting in love is an extreme emotional condition as seen in God’s love stated in John 3:16- ‘For God so loved the world……..’ In this heightened state of love there is no ‘self’ but only love for others, and hence involves sacrifice.

It would be incomplete if the role of Satan in this fall is not exposed here. Though the Lord God spoke directly to King Solomon and blessed him with all comfort and glory, he fell into the trap of Satan by entering into unholy alliances with pagan woman (1 Kings 11:1-3), thereby defying God’s commandment. He could also be considered as a person who destroyed the institution of marriage and its holiness by having around 1000 wives. A person united in spirit with God is seen falling to an abysmal level by uniting himself with demonic spirits through the pagan women who were idol worshipers. There is no question of secularism here for Holy Spirit cannot unite with evil spirit under any circumstance.

Satan tried to destroy all the features of the bride groom, Jesus Christ which the Church gloriously boasts of, as did the Shulamite girl boasted in Songs 5:10-16. For example, a crown of thorn was placed on His head (John 19:2) to destroy the bride’s claim that His head is the finest gold. Similarly, his cheek was destroyed, and face distorted beyond recognition, with slaps and pulling off the beard (see Isaiah 50:6). Moreover, His hands and legs were pierced; His body punctured and crushed into pieces as we read about the torture culminating in crucification. The extreme violence committed on the bridegroom is Satan’s all out act of destruction so as to abduct the bride from her faith as she has proclaimed openly to the daughters of Jerusalem.

But, the groom is quiet, as He is confident that the bride will return to His fold one day. ‘He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth….’ Isaiah 53:7). Even in this age, when Jesus’ bride, the Church which includes each one of us, falls away from Him, leading a non-committed, demon inspired, lazy, lascivious, and spiritually criminal life, remember, Jesus is waiting with utmost patience for us as did or even more than the father of the prodigal son waited for his return (see Luke 15:11-32). However, the power of the bridegroom’s silence is articulated using the mouth of his friends, ‘you have abandoned your first love’ (Revelations 2:4).

 Re-discovery of true love, and re-union with the first love

 3. In Songs 5:2 we see that though the bride temporarily fell into darkness, she was awakened by her inner spirit to realise her mistake. Now the bride is re-discovering the realities of eternal life as opposed to temporalities. In a similar situation we read how the prodigal son realises his lost glories of life at his father’s house (Luke 15:17). The Shulamite girl once again envisioned the eternal life with her true love, and decided to deny all worldly riches offered to her by King Solomon. Neither the palace, nor the fragrances, nor the number of servants, ornaments or garments could fancy her because her beloved was distinguished among ten thousand (Songs 5:10). Further, she is convinced, ‘I am my beloved’s and his desire is for me’ (Songs 7:10).

 Hebrews 11:25 witnesses Moses’s sacrifice that ‘he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, and chose rather to share ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin’. This happened when Moses grew up, and re-discovered that true love of Christ is greater wealth than the treasures and palatial pleasures of Egypt (Hebrews 11:26).

The rediscovery of true love in Christ, the bride groom makes Saint Paul categorically declare that ‘neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:38-39). Saint Paul rediscovered his true love and is now committed to be united with his true love. And, he is not shy or afraid to declare that ‘it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me’ (Galatians 2:20).

In accordance with his rediscovery of the self in Christ, Saint Paul realises that ‘woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel’ (1 Corinthians 9:16). Therefore, it could be concluded that rediscovery of true love in Christ triggers us to resolve that in return to Lord’s bounty, ‘I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord, I will pay my vows, in the presence of all his people’ (Psalms 112:13-14).

To work tirelessly in Lord’s vineyard is the true articulation of commitment to His love. This contradicts the characters in Jesus’ parable of the wicked tenants (Matthew 21:33-41). When the bride groom returns He will ask for the fruits of the labour, the number of souls saved through our witnessing of Him.

The arrival of the bridegroom is in fact a new dawn for his bride. There is no better happiness for her than to receive the bridegroom after a long wait. That in fact is the actual New Year for her.

The number of souls saved through our preaching, teaching and witnessing equates the number of fruits that we produce. And, these produces is the actual New Year gift that the bride has kept for her true love.

This is exactly what the clever Shulamite girl did for her beloved. When her beloved arrived, she said to him,

Come my beloved,

Let us go forth into the fields,

And lodge in the villages;

Let us go out early in the vineyards,

And see whether the vines have budded,

Whether the grape blossoms have opened

And the pomegranates are in bloom.

THERE I WILL GIVE YOU MY LOVE

(Songs 7:11-12).

 

Solomon had 1000 wives but in his old days he was left to grieve in the absence of true love, perhaps his first love.

From unbecoming to becoming: the transformative power and dynamics of the Word of God.

Fr Dr Saji K MathewLeave a comment

The Word became flesh and lived among us (John 1:14)

The Word mentioned in the above verse is God Himself (John 1:1) that came down to earth and identified as the Father’s only Son (John 1:14).

The ‘becoming’ of flesh by God could be discerned as the greatest sacrifice by God for the sake of humanity; and this sacrifice is non-selfish, and out of sheer love. This kind of love is termed agape in Greek language.

We do have examples of agape- as witnessed from the lives of many saints and social reformers who have sacrificed their better living conditions for the sake of divine or social causes. However, these samples are only like one in a million if not billion, of the population. This means the process of ‘becoming’ for a self-less cause is fast facing extinction. On the contrary, ‘becoming’ for a selfish cause is booming, especially in the modern days, as we get to either hear, view or read from the stories of material achievers such as business, political and silver screen personalities. It may be quite appropriate to quote Psalms 53:2-3, where God is looking down from heaven for people who have selflessly ‘become’ (or are trying to ‘become’) His children but find none.

The above paragraph identifies a difference between self-less ‘becoming’ and selfish ‘becoming’. As stated above, the birth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God is without doubt, a selfless ‘becoming’, and an act out of unselfish love, as could be understood from the discussion below:

 Irenaeus, the bishop of Lyons (130 – 202 AD) said that God became man so that men may become gods. Whilst Jesus is the only son of God (John 1:14, 18; 3:16; 1 John 4:9)¸ He is not selfish to safeguard that status but gave each and every one of us the freedom to be called sons and daughters of God (Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6). This is a very good example for many of us that struggle to safeguard the achievements including power and status. Termed ‘sustainability tactics’, in line with modern rhetoric, this exercise of not sharing or parting is a love only towards the self and a lack of God’s love within. I recommend the writings of Dr Geevarghese Mar Osthathios on this topic for a better understanding of the importance of sharing. Jesus’ act of divine sharing contradicts selfish acts of extreme individualistic pursuits by ignoring the co-beings. Whilst Jesus Christ wants every one of us to ‘become’ like Him, we human beings do not want others to ‘become’ like us, especially when we are well off than others.

Saint Paul wrote that Jesus did not regard His equality with God so as to keep his status firm (Philippians 2:6). Instead, the apostle states that Jesus emptied Himself by taking the form of a slave being born in human likeness (vs.7). This descending act of God is a lesson on ‘becoming’ for both Satan and the mankind. Human beings are often found reluctant to move out of their worldly comfort zone, especially after enjoying many worldly luxuries. In the spiritual realm of life, it is not uncommon to see people expressing their displeasure and intolerance towards lent, fasting and sometimes even prayers. Such people either craft questions about the relevance or need of these things, or come up with parallel systems appealing to those who do not want to leave their comfort zone. They may define lent and fasting as not necessary and prayer as too time consuming which could be otherwise utilised. Remember, Satan approached Eve in the same manner asking, do you really need to obey God by not eating the fruit of the tree; ‘believe me you will not die’ (Genesis 3: 4). Adam and Eve were misguided into the trap that they could still live comfortably in Eden without making the sacrifice of avoiding to eat from the tree marked by God. It is this same demonic force that work even today propagating against lent and fasting especially, with the intention to avoid mankind to ‘become’ what God wants, free from demonic hold. Jesus said ‘But this kind does not come out except by prayer and fasting (Matthew 17:21; Mark 9:29). Therefore we could discern that prayer, lent and fasting are mould to ‘become’ what God wants of us- a means for the flesh to ‘become’ divine in nature.

Jesus did not come into this world for holidaying. Instead, every moment of His life on earth was a sacrifice. Being the King of kings, He was born in a manger, being the Ruler of rulers, He accepted to live as a refugee in a foreign land (Egypt), He had no place to lay His head (Matthew 8:20; Luke 9:58) even when He could easily live in a palace of His choice. Jesus submitted Himself to be obedient to His earthly parents Luke 2:51) when He could easily ignore them. Most important of them all, Jesus lived every moment of His life on earth with sinners of various degrees, and finally laid His life for their (and our) salvation. Imagine if we have to share a room or live for a few days with people with contagious diseases. How many hours would we stay with them? This is how we should be evaluating (though God is beyond human evaluation) the sacrifice of Jesus which was a natural derivative of the love of God (see 1 John 4:10-11). Saint Paul rightly states that Jesus lowered Himself to the abysmal point of death (Philippians 2:8).

The above paragraph may portray a contrast to the charitable activities that we see around now a days. It is sad and sometimes sickening to see many modern charitable activities revolving around fame and popularity minus sacrifices. Charity is not a one off event to decorate the pages and frames of media, but an ongoing sacrifice derived from the ocean of God’s love. It is in fact a true ‘becoming’ in God’s image. Jesus exhorted to ‘live’ in His love (John 15:10), not to be a visitor of His love. Visit lasts for a few minutes, hours or days but living is perpetual. Charity is neither a replacement for lent, fasting and prayer. Instead it is an ongoing articulation and fulfilment of God’s love collected through them. Since the love of God is not momentary, charity also should not be short term but an ongoing process of ‘becoming’ like Him. Jesus said ‘just as I have loved you, you also should love one another’ (John 13:34), and it is apparent that Jesus’ love is reflected through His sacrifices for us.

Jesus’s sacrificial decision to descend from heaven is a blow to Satan’s mindset as well. Whilst Satan wanted to ascend and raise his throne above the stars and God, and ‘become’ like the Most High (Isaiah 14:13-14), Jesus decided to humble His equality with God (Philippians 2:6), and decided to ‘become’ flesh in order to win back the mankind for His Father. As a reward to His work, Jesus was exalted by God the Father above all names (Philippians 2:9) whereas Satan who out of his greed conspired for this position was thrown down to Sheol, to the depth of the pit (Isaiah 14:15). Jesus said, ‘all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted’ (Matthew 23:12; Luke 14:11). In other words we can say, all who humble themselves will ‘become’ like Jesus, and all who exalt themselves will identify with Satan.

Humility is an essential component of agape (unselfish love) which is a proprietary of God Almighty. In fact, God is Love (1 John 4:8 & 16). But Satan has no element of agape in him. Rather, Satan is a deceiver (Revelations 20:10) and a liar (John 8:44; Genesis 3:4-5). Hence, love, humility and sacrifice are not Satan’s essential nature, rather he is averse to all these. The love of God towards mankind is expressed in His humility to ‘become’ one like us in essence but at the same time without being touched by sin. Accordingly, he ‘became’ like any other human being, grew like us, ate and drank like us, walked like us, thought and felt like us, laughed and wept with human beings, incurred assault, oppression, pain, hunger, thirst and finally death (see Galatians 3:1).

Is it then possible for us to ignore to ‘become’ like our Lord Jesus Christ? Can we walk away from ‘becoming’ like Him, humble and full of divine love, and making sacrifices for our co-beings? After receiving Jesus into our lives can we now turn away from Him (Galatians 3:3)? If we neglect so great a salvation then we won’t escape God’s wrath (Hebrews 2:3). Let this nativity be an opportunity to do away with our flesh related malice such as anger, wrath, impurity, slander, abusive language, deception and so on, and cloth ourselves with the new self, by ‘becoming’ a true reflection of the image of Christ (Colossians 3:8-10). 

It is good news for the entire creation that the Word has indeed become flesh. Let us become like Him as God became like us.

 

Faith in Jesus versus Reasoning: Who should I follow?

Fr Dr Saji K MathewLeave a comment

Matthew 2: 2

‘Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we have observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage’.

The magi mentioned in this section are popularly believed to be wise men functioning as advisors to monarchs, and practiced astrology and dream interpretation.

If we look closely into the above verse two forms of nature could be seen:

The first part of the verse in question form ‘Where is the child………king of the Jews’ displays a more human nature whereas the second part of the verse, “For we have observed his start at its rising…….’ has a divine nature.

Looking further closely into the verse in terms of its chronology, we can see that the second part of the verse happened prior to the first part of the verse. Therefore, to begin with, the wise men observed an unusual star at its rising. Reading further down through the chapter, the star at a later stage guided them to the birth place of Jesus.

We see a gap between the first viewing of the star and the same star guiding them later, after leaving Herod’s place. This means, after observing the star they probably did not follow the star but instead decided to go to the King’s place. This was apparently a wrong move as we can see later in the following verses.

The observation of the star was not because of their human capabilities (wise men) but divine mercy, as we read in Luke 1:78. It appears that the wise men probably were overweighed with their own mental faculty rather than spiritual guidance. This is not uncommon in our spiritual journey. In the book of Revelation (2:4) the angel of the church in Ephesus brings the message of Jesus Christ- ‘But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first’. Jesus spoke to a rich man ‘……you lack one thing…….’ (Mark 10:20). The one thing that we lack is the first love of God and the memory of our experience at the beginning of our journey with Lord.

After witnessing the star at its beginning, the wise men might have sat down together and started using their secular knowledge to scientifically analyse about the star and the way to Christ. When Jesus speaks to us through dreams, revelations, signs, or messages via God’s servants, we tend to analyse them in terms of its benefits, risks, social stigmas and so on before believing or following. We must remember that there is a parallel demonic force constantly trying to induce negative thoughts and distractions working in this world (see 1 Peter 5:8). Also remember, Satan tried to distract even Jesus Christ through temptations. If we follow the demonic way, we will end up losing God’s long term plan for us.

Divine revelations can only be analysed and understood through divine wisdom as opposed to worldly wisdom, ‘for the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God’ (1 Corinthians 3:19). As we read in the book of Daniel (chapter 2) Daniel and his companions did not interpret the dream using human wisdom but rather sought God’s help. Unlike Daniel, Jonah tried to work out a human alternative (Jonah 4:2) for God’s revelation and subsequently set off to a different direction against divine will (Jonah 1:3).  Daniel acknowledged that ‘…….for wisdom and power are his’ (Daniel 2:20). It was only after complete submission to Lord that Daniel received the interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. We also read in this book that human wisdom failed to interpret the dream (Daniel 2:11). A complete submission to Lord could be termed as ‘faith’.

‘Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen’ (Hebrews 11:1). Faith is the armour to drive away Satan’s distractions (see 1 Peter 5:9).

One may wonder how to obtain this faith. Faith derives from the word of God. Romans 10:17 says that faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ. Therefore, faith has its roots in the word of God. If the word of God abides in us we have the assurance of faith (John 15:7). The strength of our faith could then be linked to the strength of the word of God in us. Joshua was assured prosperity and success in leading the nation to the Promised Land, provided he did not get distracted from the word of God (Joshua 1:8).

A reasoning mind or the quantity of secular knowledge is no match for divine faith. If Abraham followed his reasoning mind he would not have become the father of many nations (Romans 4:18); instead he hoped against hope, which means he completely submitted himself to the faith in Lord when a son was promised to him at the age of around 100 (Romans 4:19).

The wise men must have followed their minds of reasoning which eventually took them to Herod’s palace looking for Jesus. From a worldly perspective where else should a king be searched for? Had they followed the star right from its beginning, they would have been taken straight to Jesus. Unfortunately, the reasoning mind must have distracted them. We must have a strong conviction of faith that nothing of this world should be able to distract us. Saint Paul testified his faith when he said, ‘Who will separate us from the love of Christ?’ (Romans 8:35). Where there is love there is faith. Our love of God is either false or selfish when we do not entrust full faith in Him.

When the wise men came out of Herod’s palace, the star was again visible and it guided them to Jesus (Matthew 2:9). When Jonah repented Lord forgave him (Jonah 2:10). When the wise men completely surrendered to God by kneeling in front of Jesus Christ (Matthew 2:11) they were given further revelations about their future course of action. Jonah’s complete submission led him to be recommissioned for God’s mission (Jonah 3:1).

Let us sit back and reflect: are we following our worldly rational mind or divine soul. Rational mind always look for the satisfaction of the mind through reasoning whereas faith follows unseen realities. Saint Paul wrote to Corinthians, ‘for what can been seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal’ (2 Corinthians 4:18).

Let us pray:

Oh Lord Jesus, please empty my mind of reasoning and strengthen my faith in you, for you are the way, truth and life. Amen.

Healing through faith in Jesus Christ

Fr Dr Saji K Mathew3 Comments

John 5:1-15 tells us one of the powerful healing performed by Jesus Christ. This blog aims to understand the attitude of the sick man and his approach to get healed, from his limited conversation with Jesus Christ. The blog will then proceed to re-establish the fact that Jesus is the one and only way to salvation.

The Bethzatha (or Bethsaida) pool In Jerusalem was a source of some sort of miraculous healing for the sick. The stir up of water in the pool occurred perhaps from some underground sources such as an irregular flow of spring. The sick that get washed in this spring got healed as implied in John 5:7. However, there was a cost associated with it, that only those who threw themselves into the disturbed water only would get healed, leaving the rest to return and wait for the next stir up.

It would not be a surprise if the sick waiting for the ‘stir up’ have had trained their eyes and their body to be alert to the stir up of water as we all know how much concerned we become when we fall sick or our health is affected. However, the situation here (Bethzatha) had created a ritualistic dogma among the people that those who follow the dotted lines only would be saved. To put it another way, if you jump at the right time (when the water stirs up) you will be healed; if you miss you continue in your suffering.

Lord Jesus approached the man who was ill for 38 years and initiates a conversation asking him, ‘….Do you want to be made well’ (John 5:6). In most of the other cases reported in the gospels it is either the sick or their friends or relatives approaching Jesus with healing request. But, in this case, we see a proactive Jesus offering healing to the sick man. This highlights the purpose of His incarnation and ministry- “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour” (Luke 4:18-19; cf. Isaiah 61:1; also see Isaiah 58:6).

This man appears to be entangled in the web of ‘this worldly’ process of healing by believing that the only way to get healed is to follow the steps of wait, watch (for the water to stir up) and jump. This is akin to various non-Christian beliefs where there are many complicated and non-achievable steps to attain salvation. But, here stands ‘the way’, for Jesus said, “I am the way”- John 14:6). Jesus fulfilled all the complicated processes for human salvation as instructed in the book of Leviticus by shedding His precious blood once for all (Hebrews 9:12). Thenceforth we have no other means for salvation except through Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12). The sick man here has his salvation standing in front of him offering complete healing but is unable to realise it as could be made out from his reply.

A lesson for us to learn is- it is not that Jesus is nowhere near during our hard times but our failure to see and feel His presence which in turn hinders the flow of blessings. Jesus asked the man whether he wanted to be healed, but the reply was not an instant ‘yes’. Rather, the sick man replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me” (John 5:7). Before we analyse his response, let us try to understand his illness. This man was a sinner as is evident from John 5: 14, and was completely invalid and unable to move (John 5:5-6). Connecting these two together we may discern that the man has granted entry to too many demons into his life that he lost even his mobility. We see a similar person possessed with so many demons that he lost all his senses to lead a normal life, in Luke 8: 27. The Gerasene man was possessed with a legion of demons (a legion numbers around 6000). In short, we can infer that the sick man waiting at the portico was full of sins to the extent of complete possession by demons. And now, he just needs a physical healing perhaps just to continue with his sinful life. He probably did not realise the fact that sin not only destroys the body but the soul as well.

Jesus said, “…though seeing they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand” (Matthew 13:13; Mark 8:18; John 12:40; cf. Jeremiah 5:21).  The sick man here can see Jesus standing in front of him but cannot realise; he can hear Jesus with his physical ears but is unable to comprehend. The apparent result is an indifferent response to the offer for healing. Because of the inner blindness and deaf condition the man has only one response, “no one is there to help me into the pool” (John 5:7). There are two angles to this response:

  1. As mentioned above, the man is pinned to the belief in ‘healing by processes’ as against ‘healing by faith’. Healing by processes is a series of activities and trials as detailed in the book of Leviticus (for one instance see Leviticus 14). On the contrary healing by faith is non-procedural. For example, the servant of the centurion was healed by faith (Matthew 8:13). Jesus told Martha, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” (John 11:40). Saints Paul and Silas told the jailer, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved- you and your household” (Acts 16:31). The power of faith is so strong that even a size of faith as small as mustard seed can move mountains (Matthew 17:20).
  2. This is more for those involved in counselling and deliverance ministry: the person with demonic possessions (not all) may try to divert the focus by hijacking the subject of the conversation. As we see in this case, Jesus is asking for healing but the man is talking about the process. It is important not to let the demons take control of the situation and distract from the healing process. This is probably the reason that Jesus did not prolong the conversation but ordered the man to take his bed and walk (John 5:8). Please note, unlike many modern day healers and deliverers Jesus did not engage in a stage drama to perform deliverance and healing. Jesus said, “Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing” (Matthew 6:3).

It is clear from this biblical section that the reason for illness in this man’s case was his sins. Jesus demonstrated without explicitly stating that He has the authority and power to forgive sins (Mark 2:10). He has shared this power to His anointed ones (John 20:23). The sick man in this case only aspired for physical healing but Jesus gave him full healing (body and soul). Jesus also cautioned him not to sin again as it will be disastrous (John 5:14). Jesus said, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28).

Therefore, let us train our body and soul to be Holy and acceptable our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Beginning of the end………Jesus said…..

Fr Dr Saji K Mathew4 Comments

Many parts of the world are in turmoil. During the last few months, the disturbances and conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Ukraine and some African countries have regularly occupied almost all media spaces. There are pro and anti stands and voices against military and militant actions. The images aired out from the fields of conflicts are disturbing to human minds and is appalling.

Since the last few days of my prayers, I have been trying to meditate on the question, where do I stand in these conflicts? Should I or shouldn’t I take a stand? As usual, I again go back to the word of God to find answer to this question. This blog is a reflection of my meditation on the disturbing conflicts and unrest occurring in different parts of the world.

Jesus said, “You will hear of wars and rumours of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places (Matthew 24:6-7). If I try to discern these verses, then I should keep quiet realising that these things are destined to happen. Moreover, in a way I should be happy that whatever Jesus said is coming to pass which in turn enhances my faith in Him.

But, my human mind switches and questions, can’t you see innocent blood of men, women and children splattered? Can’t you see the homeless, refugees, people with lost limbs? The questions continue touching almost challenges under the sun such as winter chill, scorching sun, flood, starvation, thirst and so on which the affected are facing. All these thoughts and questions in my meditation led me to Matthew 24:22 where Jesus said, “………but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short”. I got a partial and temporary relief that these won’t last very long for there are elects of God taken care of. I then started thinking about ‘the elect’.

Jesus said, “Many are called but few are chosen” (Matthew 22:14). This sheds some understanding on ‘the elect’ and I need to make sure that I am one of the elects. So how do I make sure that I am one of the chosen rather than remaining ‘called but not elected’? Jesus said there will be trials and tribulations for the ‘called’ leading to loss of faith and increased inactivity, but only those who stand firm to the end will be saved (Matthew 24:13). Further, Jesus also said, “Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons, and, in your name perform many miracles? And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you…..” (Matthew 7:23). I guess I now have a fair understanding of being left called but not elected. And I earnestly pray that I am elected and remain so forever.

Coming back, the issue of should I or should I not react to the incidents related to the beginning of end times (Matthew 24:8) could now be related to the duties and responsibilities of ‘the elect’. We do have many examples of the duties and responsibilities of the elect from Matthew 24:46; 25:13; Mark 13:35; and Luke 12:37. But what exactly should I do in these trying hours? This intriguing question led me to the Bible section which I read the other night, Mark 14:32-41.

Jesus’ prayer at Gethsemane is very touching and is full of hyper tension due to the incidents that followed- betrayal, arrest, trials, torture and death. Matthew (26:36-46) and Mark (14:32-42) reports that Jesus took Peter, James and John with him, from among the disciples, but Luke (22:39-46) only mention disciples in general. In any case, it is to be noted that Jesus withdrew to be in prayers during that particularly difficult time. This was the first step towards sourcing an answer to my question as to how should I respond/react to the disturbing incidents reported from around the world. I should be awake and spend time in prayers as Jesus did, so earnestly that my soul gets overwhelmed (Matthew 26:38) and my sweat turns into blood (Luke 22:44). Therefore, imitating Christ (Ephesians 5:1; 1 Corinthians 11:1), I come to the conclusion that street demonstrations, protest meetings or even sanctions will not achieve the result which prayers can.

I presume that Jesus’ prayer at Gethsemane was unique for he was probably praying for those souls who are to be destroyed for revolting against God Almighty. In other words Jesus was probably praying for all those from Judas to the High Priest, Pilate and King Herod. I have grounds to presume this because Jesus taught to pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44). Now, this is a massive spiritual warfare where we take the fight right into the enemy (Satan) camp.

The only way to win a war, especially when we are right inside the enemy’s camp is better coordination and collaboration. In Christian terms we call it fellowship. Jesus sought prayer fellowship from the disciples at Gethsemane in the fight against Satan but unfortunately the disciples fell asleep during those crucial hours. Just imagine the commander fighting and the members of the battalion sleeping when there is continuous fire from the enemy. Having said this, it does not by any means imply that Jesus could not fight the battle alone and needed the help of disciples. Rather, it was a lesson taught to the disciples the importance of fellowship in Christian life.

In conclusion, I wish resolve that I should remain awake as much as possible and pray so that I do not fall in the trap of demonic powers. Jesus said, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation….” (Mark 14:38). If I follow the world, demonstrating on the streets and protesting against the atrocities only, then I am fallen, as Satan has no problem with us doing anything else except praying and meditating on the word of God. Prayers can move mountains which human actions cannot. Let us submit ourselves to God Almighty.         

 

Transfiguration of Jesus: then and now (Part 2)

Fr Dr Saji K Mathew4 Comments

Part 1 of this blog tried to discern the purpose of Jesus’ transfiguration as the revelation of Christ as the Son and God both. Transfiguration enabled the disciples to preach the gospel of the kingdom in which Jesus is seated on the throne in his full glory (Revelations 1:14; 4:3; 5:13;Daniel 7:9). This article attempts to enliven the transfiguration so as to realise it’s value in our lives because it not just another historical event but a vibrant spiritual experience.

Jesus lives and hence we also live (John 14:19). Jesus lives through us every moment of life. This is made realistic by following his instruction, “……do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:24). In every holy Eucharist service, Holy Spirit descends on the earthly bread and vine which undergoes transfiguration into the body and blood of Jesus Christ.

We may question about the need for the transformation of earthly bread to heavenly bread. Can’t we just eat the bread of our sweat and still have life? The answer is no as per the scripture. Jesus said “……unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you” (John 6:53). The bread we take to Lord’s altar is not the flesh of Jesus Christ, nor the grapes juice His blood. These are simply perishable things and won’t give us eternal life (John 3:18; 6:49). Therefore, they need to undergo transformation so as to become the flesh and blood of Christ so as to give us eternal life.

In John 6:25-27, we see Jesus looking beneath the surface of individuals who followed him, and criticises them on their pursuit for perishable food. The advice, “Do not work for the food that perishes….” (vs.27) is for all of us. It is unfortunate for many of us that our purpose of following Jesus is to achieve worldly satisfactions and material successes. For such people, the relationship with Jesus is only short term and ceases the moment the supply stops. We are not called for a perishable relationship with Jesus but an eternal one which continues even after our physical death (John 11:25).

Our worldly baggage could be equated to perishable bread. We waste our energy, time, money, space, and our entire life in pursuit of them, at the cost of these being spent for spiritual pursuit. This doesn’t mean that we are not supposed to think about our worldly needs but it is all about priority. God has promised us all the riches (Deuteronomy 8:7) provided we follow his commandments (Isaiah 1:19). Further, in Matthew 6:33, Jesus advises to give first priority to the kingdom of God, and in turn we will be supplied with our worldly needs. People who prioritise their selfish needs over Jesus are actually those who do not know who God is (see Matthew 6:32).

As happened during transfiguration we should bring out the Spirit of God dwelling in us to the surface of our lives. In order to do this Jesus advises us to exchange our worldly baggage (perishable bread) with friends who live in eternal dwellings (imperishable) (Luke 16:9). Here we see friends of this world versus friends of heavenly (eternal) places. Friends of this world belongs to Satan (John 14:30) but we are not supposed to be (John 15:19). Friends of heaven/kingdom of God are those who are spiritual (unlike non spirituals), and are blessed with the gift of discernment (1 Corinthians 2:14-15; also see I Corinthians 12:8). Hence, a spiritually smart person will always be able to see the crisis ahead and will get his perishable bread converted to eternal bread as soon as possible.

The official place for conversion of perishable bread to imperishable bread is our church. Two mutually contributory transfiguration processes occur during holy Eucharist: 1. Transfiguration of human souls, and 2. Transfiguration of bread and vine on the altar.

1.Transfiguration of human souls: Church is not a place to exchange worldly things. Rather it is the house of God for spiritual exchange which happens through prayer (Matthew 21:13). It is the most reliable place where our sins, infirmities, weaknesses, concerns, worries, anxieties, sicknesses, debts, and anything and everything worldly and material are to be exchanged. As we see in the scripture, Jesus lost his temper when he entered Jerusalem temple (Matthew 21:12-13; Mark 11:15-15; Luke 19:45-46; John 2:13-17) because the primary purpose of the temple as a place to exchange the pain and burden of the common mass with Lord’s peace was hijacked by the custodians and converted into “thieves’ den”. The temple of God was built by King Solomon with the specific purpose of spiritual exchange as we see in the dedication prayer of King Solomon (1 Kings 8:31-52).

Church is the body of Christ (Colossians 1:18&24; 1 Corinthians 12:12; Ephesians 5:23) into which we take all our weaknesses and sins to get exchanged, for Jesus said “Come to me all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Once we are relieved from the burden of sins and infirmities we will find rest in Christ. In order to achieve this, we must undergo the process of transfiguration as exhorted by Saint Paul in Romans 6:21-22. We must replace our stony heart with a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26) because a stony heart is wicked whereas a heart of flesh is full of Holy Spirit. Therefore, in order to undergo transfiguration, we must break or tear down our stony heart in front of our compassionate Lord Jesus Christ, which is what an exchange process in the church is all about (see Joel 2:12-13).

2.Transfiguration of bread and wine on the holy altar: As mentioned above, we cannot have eternal life “unless we eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood” (John 6:53). Therefore, yes, it is the body and blood of Jesus Christ that we take and not bread and wine. We take our worldly baggage in the form of bread and vine on to the holy altar where it undergoes transfiguration into the body of blood of Christ. In fact it is the Spirit of God which transforms bread into Jesus’ body and wine into his blood. This was the same Spirit that Peter, James and John witnessed through the shining face and clothes of Jesus during the transfiguration (Matthew 17:2). In short, the process of transfiguration is the work of Holy Spirit, which we witness on the holy altar of the church.

From the above paragraph, it is evident that the presence of Holy Spirit is a must for transfiguration to take place (2 Corinthians 3:17-18). Therefore, it is a responsibility of all present in the church to contribute towards the descending of Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God won’t descend if the church is filled with evil spirits. Before entering the church we should make sure that we initiate the process of transfiguration praying as David prayed, “Create in me a clean spirit, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me” (Psalms 51:10). The moment we sincerely say this prayer, the strongholds of demons within us will start getting dismantled. Moreover, through this prayer we cease the authority of Satan over us and allow Jesus to be in charge of us. If all those attending the Eucharist have this same objective, the church will become a ‘heating plant’ for the Holy Spirit to act. The heat from a contrite heart and submissive (to Lord) soul along with prayers enable the transfiguration of the bread and vine into the body and blood of Jesus Christ. Further, the transfiguration that the people initiate as soon as they enter the church reaches fruitful conclusion when they partake in the body and blood of Christ. Once Jesus’ real body and blood enters into us we are into Christ and hence a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). In this we, transfiguration of souls contribute to transfiguration of bread and vine, and vice versa.

Churches across the world exist for only one purpose, to experience and witness the transfiguration of Jesus Christ. Any other businesses or activities, if given primary importance, no matter how important or relevant they are to the socio-politico-cultural situations, are only distractions to the primary purpose of the church’s existence. Please remember Satan’s primary aim is to distract us from Jesus Christ.

May Lord’s name be glorified, Amen.

Transfiguration of Jesus: then and now (Part 1)

Fr Dr Saji K Mathew6 Comments

Matthew 17:1-5 narrates about Jesus’ transfiguration, and as witnessed by Peter, James and John. This topic is divided into two parts, the first part analyses the even and in the second part, I will try to explain how we could realise transfiguration in our lives.

The Greek word used for transfiguration is metamorpho. According to Webster’s dictionary metamorphosis is a major change in the appearance or character of someone or something. Jesus’ transfiguration however, does not mean that prior to this event He was only an ordinary human being. But, it was meant to communicate to the representative pillars (Peter, James and John) of the Church that Jesus is the Son of God. The internal reality (divine nature) of Jesus is made visible to the disciples through transfiguration. Thus, we are walked into the new and eternal reality by unveiling Himself through transfiguration (Hebrews 10:20).  

Let us have a look at as to what happened during transfiguration of Jesus:

  1. His face shone like the sun (vs. 2)
  2. His clothes became dazzling white (vs. 2)
  3. Moses and Elijah appeared talking to Jesus (vs. 3)
  4. Peter spoke to Jesus (vs. 4)
  5. A voice from the bright cloud witnesses and acknowledges Jesus as the Son of God (vs. 5).

 1. Jesus’ face shone like the sun (Matthew 17:2; Luke 9:29)

When the glory of God fills us our face will shine like sun. Moses was filled with the glory of God on Mount Sinai (Exodus 34:29). As we see here with Moses and Jesus, the shining of face is a reflection of God’s shining face through his chosen ones. Numbers (6:25) states that “The Lord make His face to shine upon you…”. Therefore, we are expected to actively radiate the shine of God’s glory through our lives. Saint Paul exhorts us to awake and arise from dead so that Christ may shine on us (Ephesians 5:14). From both the above verses it is apparent that the origin of the shining is from God. This could be further substantiated through John 1:9 about the true light. Psalms 36:9 states that “…by Thy light we see the light”. The light that we see and experience is to be shared with the world around us, and not to be contained within us.

 2. His clothes became dazzling white (Matthew 17:2; Mark 9:3; Luke 9:29)

Clothing and fashion has been a topic of keen interest since the Old Testament times. It is very relevant in our times as well. God’s children are His chosen ones and accordingly are clothed with specialised dresses. At the outset, we need to know that there is a huge difference between worldly clothing and divine clothing, as compared by Jesus regarding Solomon’s clothing and that of the lilies (Luke 12:27). God’s children are clothed specifically (Numbers 28). A person in Jesus is clothed not with perishable fabrics but with divine ones. This was evident from Jesus’ clothes that the woman with haemorrhage was instantly healed when she touched His cloak (Matthew 9:20-22; Mark 5:27; Luke 8:44). In Acts 5:15 we read that the shadow of Saint Peter was enough for healing. Similarly, the handkerchiefs and aprons carried from Saint Paul’s body worked towards healing and deliverance (Acts 19:12).

Therefore, it is important for a believer to make sure that his/her clothes radiate the divine glory of Jesus. It is extremely important to safeguard even our clothes from demonic forces as is exhorted by Saint Jude (Jude vs.23). We are expected to be prepared always to be eligible for the BIG MARRIAGE SUPPER (Revelations 19:9) with acceptable (to Lord) dressing or else we will be thrown out (Matthew 22:12). As Isaiah delighted for being clothed in divine glory (Isaiah 61:10) we too should be.   

3. Moses and Elijah appeared talking to Jesus (Matthew 17:3; Mark 9:4; Luke 9:30)

The presence of Moses and Elijah is variously interpreted by Biblical writers. Not getting into those debates and interpretations, my humble belief is linked to the nature and essence of Jesus Christ.

The biblical meaning of the name Moses is ‘taken out’ or ‘drawn forth’ (see Exodus 2:10). Other meanings of this name are ‘son’ from the word ‘mes’ (Egyptian) and ‘deliver’ (Hebrew). Encompassing all these meanings, Jesus, the Son is drawn forth from God the Father (John 1:14).The presence of Moses acknowledges that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, drawn forth from the Father and has come to deliver us from the bondage of sin.

The name Elijah means ‘my God is Yahweh’. The life and works of Elijah were dedicated to ensure that Yahweh was the one and only God, in accordance to the first commandment that ‘I am the God and you shall have no other gods (Exodus 20:2-3). Jesus said “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30). God the Father is in the Son and the Son is in the Father (John 17:21). Thus, it is apparent that Jesus is God. The presence of Elijah tells us Jesus is God (John 1:1; John 8:58; John 14:10; Titus 2:13).

In short, transfiguration of Jesus revealed to the disciples that Jesus is the Son and God both, and the glittering shine of face and clothes represents the Holy Spirit proceeding into the world (John 14:16; 15:26; 16:1).

 4. Peter spoke to Jesus (Matthew 17:4; Mark 9:5; Luke 9:33)

Peter along with James and John were left speechless at this vision. A few seconds later however, Peter mustered some courage and spoke to Jesus suggesting to make three tents, one each for Jesus, Moses and Elijah. The scripture also states that Peter did not know what he was talking (Mark 9:6; Luke 9:33).

As stated at the beginning of this blog, the purpose of Jesus’ transfiguration was to reveal to the world through the disciples that Jesus is the only begotten Son of God, and has been sent by God the Father. During the Old Testament times it was God the Father, law (represented by Moses) and the prophets (represented by Elijah). The Old Testament is converged in Jesus Christ and in New Testament it is God the Father, Jesus the Church guided by Holy Spirit. The veil of Sonship and Fatherhood is removed with Son of God physically present and God the Father made visible through the Son (John 14:9).

5. A voice from the bright cloud witnesses and acknowledges Jesus as the Son of God (Matthew 17: 5; Mark 9:7; Luke 9:35; 2 Peter       1:17)

Peter’s suggestion was immediately responded by God the Father from heaven telling “….this is my beloved Son……hear ye him”. Peter is thus corrected by God from heaven that the primary focus of the Church must be on Jesus Christ, the saviour and redeemer, and not law and prophets. This is further confirmed by Jesus’ own words “a new commandment I give to you………” (John 13:34). The author of Hebrews (8:13) states, “when He said, “a new covenant”, He has made the first obsolete…”. Please note ‘made obsolete’ doesn’t mean replacement of a wrong thing with a right thing, rather it means law and the prophets are fulfilled (Luke 24:44). This message is clearly conveyed to Peter during the transfiguration event.

To sum up, Jesus’ transfiguration event was not a mere demonstration or performance of miracle; rather it was for a specific purpose. It was aimed to tell the world that Jesus is the Son of God so as to believe and have life in His name (John 20:31). Moreover, it is made clear that Jesus has been sent by God (John 17:23), and He fulfils the Old Testament (Matthew 5:17). The light which shone the face and cloth of Jesus represents the presence of Holy Spirit. In other words, transfiguration depicts the visualisation and realisation of Father, Son and Holy Spirit in our lives. Therefore, our aim should be to experience the Holy Trinity in our body, soul and spirit in its fullness, and radiate this divine light through our words and action.

Lord Jesus have mercy upon us and bless us.