Tag: John 3:16

Faith in the faithfulness of God: A meditation

Fr Dr Saji K Mathew2 Comments

Jesus Christ is the pioneer/author and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). The definition of ‘faith’ requires excluding the worldly ownership of it which otherwise credits only the flesh. Anything of the flesh gets reduced as a reason to boast in it, leading to Satanic pride. On the contrary, ‘faith’ as a gift from the one who pioneered it (Jesus Christ) opens up to a world of spiritual absoluteness. Therefore, faith is a journey that starts in the human life from the moment s/he is gifted with it, grows every moment by remaining connected to the source of faith, until it is perfected in the kingdom of heaven. Hence, God said, I am the Alpha and the Omega (Revelation 1:8). 

Faith as a higher order (spiritual) entity is not a quality developed and shaped within the human faculties, and demonstrated as an individual’s spiritual efficiency. Instead, faith is a journey to the assured destination (Hebrews 11:1), which begins with Jesus, advances through Jesus, and culminates in Jesus by being with Him forever. This means the world cannot experience true faith by ignoring the source of faith. Hence Jesus is the Alpha of our faith, clearly representing human dependency for faith on the divine. 

Jesus Christ being God incarnate, faith could be traced as (in other words) originating from God. If we have to name the source of faith, we can name it as the faithfulness of God. More clearly, human faith originates from the faithfulness of God. Therefore, a brief understanding of the faithfulness of God is essential. 

Deuteronomy 7:9 and Isaiah 49:7 unequivocally state that God is faithful. The faithfulness of God is embedded in the covenant He made with mankind at different stages of history. As a matter of fact, a covenant is  a mutual relationship between two parties to it. God’s relationship with mankind starts with a covenant as read in Genesis 1:28 – God blessed them, and God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.  

If we look back to history, we will acknowledge and appreciate that mankind’s fall and roller coaster relationship with God never tainted the latter’s promise as His faithfulness is to all generations (Psalm 100:5) and endures forever (Psalm 117:2). The visible evidence of God’s faithfulness is the fertility and dominating presence of mankind on the earth.

God continued repeating His promise to the following generations, as a reminder of His faithfulness. For instance, we read about God’s covenant with Noah in Genesis 6:18 But I will establish my covenant with you….., as an assurance that though He is destroying the wicked generation, the first promise remains intact. Moreover, the ‘first covenant’ is repeated as we read in Genesis 9: 1-2 …..Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. The fear and dread of you shall rest on every animal of the earth, and on every bird of the air, on everything that creeps on the ground, and on all the fish of the sea, into your hand they are delivered. We see here a reminder that God’s faithfulness does not change.

Moving forward in history, God has never tried to forget or bury His promise, a mark of His faithfulness. After Noah, Abraham was assured of God’s faithfulness, this time by means of an oath (Genesis 22:16) – so that mankind could understand the way they understand. This oath followed a repetition of His promise of multiplication …..I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven, and as the sand that is on the seashore….(Genesis 22:17).  Moreover, God made sure that Abraham’s son Isaac, and his grandson Israel are aware of the covenant as we read in Genesis 26:4 and Genesis 35:11 respectively. 

By the time of Moses, God extended the message of His faithfulness from individuals (Adam, Noah and the Patriarchs) to cover the entire population as we read in Exodus 19:5 and Deuteronomy 29:10-11. As a faithful servant, Moses made sure that God’s covenant was known to all the people by way of arranging it to be read in public (Deuteronomy 31:10-11). Prior to this, God Himself ordered that the future king of Israel should have a copy of the covenant, read, and follow it, so that he may never think of himself above the covenant (Deuteronomy 17:18). This means the king should be drawing regularly from the faithfulness of God and guiding his subjects. The failure of the first King could be traced to his failure in relying on the faithfulness of God. Saul’s failure led to the rise of King David who not only submitted himself to the faithfulness of God, but also paved the way for the fulfilment of God’s faithfulness through a renewed covenant (Jeremiah 31:31; 2 Samuel 7:12-13).  

As said earlier, covenant  represents mutual relationship, and it embodies the faithfulness of God. A metaphorical description of this could be the spiritual visualisation of the covenant as the outer shell/layer of God’s faithfulness which is the core. Unfortunately, mankind often failed to maintain the same degree of commitment to the covenant relationship that God extended, as evident from the history recorded in the Old Testament. This failure prompted God to offer a renewed covenant through prophet Jeremiah 31: 31-34 The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah……..

The author of Hebrews exposited this in 8:6-13. Accordingly, there are better promises in the new covenant. Moreover, there is now a mediator (Jesus Christ), anointed to pioneer and perfect the faith of mankind, by being faithful to the faithfulness of God. A point to note here is that the new covenant was not because God’s initial covenant had flaws. Hebrews 8: 9 allays such doubts by stating explicitly that since the people did not continue in my covenant…, the aim and objectives of it could not be achieved. This said, Hebrews 12:32 does  praise a few Old Testament personalities who submitted themselves to the faithfulness of God and even suffered for it. However, the conclusion is Yet all these, though they were commended for their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better so that they would not, apart from us, be made perfect (Hebrews 12: 39-40).  

The summary of the faith of the Old Testament generation could be described as their failure in staying focused on the source of true faith, the faithfulness of God. Instead, the people and later the Kings were found wandering away from the faithfulness of God, and trying to build up a faith system which was worldly and demonic- faith in foreign gods and idols. Yet, the faithfulness of God remained unaffected, and sent His only begotten Son out of His steadfast love (see John 3:16) who would help mankind with faith. Thus, Jesus Christ became the incarnation of God’s faithfulness, and a source of faith for mankind who were reeling under the weight of failure to build up true faith. As we read, Jesus offered the spring of faithfulness to all those who are thirsty (John 7:37 cf. Isaiah 55:1). Hence Hebrews 12:2 glorifies Jesus as the pioneer and perfecter of faith. 

The Greek word used for ‘pioneer’ is archegon which means originator, author, founder, prince and leader; and for ‘perfecter’ is teleioten which also means completer and finisher. These two words take us to Revelation 21: 6 …I am the Alpha  and the Omega, the beginning and the end, which sheds more light in understanding Jesus Christ as the author and finisher of faith as said in Hebrews 12:2.

Since Jesus Christ is the source of our faith, we have no alternative choice but to draw near to Him to build up true faith. Jesus brings everyone thirsty (of faith) to the source of faith which is the faithfulness of God. Revelation 21:6 relays the Lord’s announcement, To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life (also see John 7:37-38). These verses nullify the scope of faith independent of the faithfulness of God. In other words, faith is drawn from the faithfulness of God, and hence no room and scope for any form of demonstration of human capabilities.

The invitation to the feast of God’s faithfulness is extended to the entire humanity (Matthew 22: 9 cf. Luke 14:21-23), and to receive and accept the invitation is a blessing (see Revelation 19:9). 

The Hebrew word for faith, aman, clearly points to the dependability factor. Aman  has several meanings in Hebrew as listed below:

  1. To support with the arm, to carry a child- for e.g. Isaiah 49:23 (support); Numbers 11:12 (carry a child); Isaiah 60:4 (carry).
  2. To guard and bring up – Esther 2:7 (bring up); 2 Kings 10:1 &5 (guardian).
  3. To nurse (Ruth 4:16; 2 Samuel 4:4). 
  4. Sure, enduring, firm – Hosea 5:9 (sure/certain); 1 Samuel 2:35; 2 Samuel 7:16; 1 Kings 11:38 (enduring); Isaiah 7:9; 22:23 &25 (firm).
  5. Assured, lasting – Isaiah 33:16; Deuteronomy 28:59. 
  6. Faithful, trustworthy – Deuteronomy 7:9; Numbers 12:7; 1 Samuel 22:14; Proverbs 25:13; Jeremiah 42:5 (faithful); Isaiah 8:2 (trustworthy/reliable); Proverbs 11:13 (trustworthy); Job 12:20 (trusted); Isaiah 28:16 (trust); Psalm 78:22 & 32 (faith, believe); Isaiah 7:9; Psalm 106:24 (faith); Genesis 45:26; Exodus 4:1 & 5; Job 9:16; Proverbs 14:15 (believe),
  7. Verify, confirm – Genesis 42:20 (verify); 1 Kings 8:26 (confirm).
  8. Stand still – Job 39:24. 
  9. Right (turn to) – Isaiah 30:21.

The above meanings invites us to the varied and rich properties of faith which can only be drawn from the faithfulness of God. We also get to know how these varieties (as evident from the different meanings) converge in one true God. The different varieties that the faithfulness of God contains are support, nursing, guardianship, firmness, trust, assurance, confirmation, stability, and more of heavenly experiences, as the Hebrew word aman means. 

The richness of the faithfulness of God enables us to understand mankind’s need for someone who could guide them to the source of faith, the faithfulness of God. The provision of “something better” (Hebrews 11:40) justifies the difference between the faith of the Old Testament generation and the one pioneered and perfected by Jesus Christ. The “something better” or rather the best of faith cannot be achieved without the help of Jesus. In fact, it is He who distributes faith in varied measurement (Romans 12:3) not as a reward but as a gift (Romans 5:15; also see 1 Corinthians 12:9). 

Saint Paul explains how Jesus was qualified to pioneer and perfect the faith for the sake of mankind. …..He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death-even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted and gave Him the name, so that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bent….(Philippians 2:8-10). The humility of the last Adam (Jesus Christ) demonstrated His faithfulness, and through the authority, He could fulfil the faithfulness of God promised to the first Adam (Genesis 1:28). Accordingly, we see Jesus measuring out faith to be “fruitful and multiply”, in John 15:5; and “fill the earth and subdue it” in Matthew 28:19-20; and dominate it in Mark 16:17.  

Since faith is a gift measured out by God, we look up to the mercy seat in the heavens (Psalm 123:1) in the same way ….as the eyes of the servants look at the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress….(Psalm 123:2). Moreover, faith is not acquired by one’s own work but is a grace of God, there is no room for humans to boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). This is evident from the example of Jesus’ brief conversation with the father of a boy with a spirit of seizure. When Jesus clarified the unlimited expanse of faith, the boy’s father cried out Lord help me with my unbelief (lack of faith) (Mark 9:22-24). 

As said in Romans 12:6, faith is measured out and bestowed to individuals in different proportions. This does not mean that the individuals just walk away with whatever they have received and use it at their own discretion. The expectation regarding its use is embedded in the fact that faith is collective. This means the varied measures of faith received by each individual must be used for helping others, as each person is a member of the body of Christ (Romans 12:4-5). In other words, faith, though gifted on an individual basis, can only be enjoyed collectively, by sharing with one another. Hence, we see Saint Paul not considering himself high but humbled longing to share and draw encouragement from the faith of the Romans (Romans 1:12). This mutual sharing leads to fructification and multiplication (Genesis 1:28) of faith, of course by living in the faithfulness of Jesus Christ (John 15:5). 

In summary, God’s eternal relationship with mankind started when Adam and Eve were created. The faithfulness of His relationship was articulated through his covenant (Genesis 1:28). This covenant relationship continued through Noah, Abraham, Moses and the Old Testament generation. The faithfulness of God was given a human embodiment through Jesus Christ, at the appointed time. 

The gospel witnesses the descending of the faithfulness of God through Jesus Christ who first pioneered and perfected faith, and imparted the faithfulness of God to mankind. The vertical dimension of faith is thus discerned when God descended to earth from the heavens. Once descended, the first step was to pioneer and perfect the faith so that everyone thirsting for faith knows the sources and could draw from the faithfulness of God. The pioneering of faith is evident through the faithfulness of the Son of God (Philippians 2:6-8), who after being successful, qualified Himself to measure out faith to mankind. The humility of Jesus Christ was the point of initiation of the horizontal dimension of faith, through the disciples (Matthew 28:19-20), which then spread out to the whole of mankind, and is continuing until the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

The vertical and horizontal dimensions of faith represents the vibrant relationship between mankind and God. Jesus Christ opened a new and living way for us (Hebrews 10:20), and whoever approaches God through this living way has full assurance of faith (Hebrews 10:22), which is the vertical dimension. In the same way as God is faithful (Hebrews 10:23) in His relationship with mankind, the responsibility to honour this relationship rests with mankind who is expected to drive the horizontality of the relationship by loving one another and sharing (Hebrews 10:24-25) the faith drawn from the faithfulness of God. 

In short, we draw faith from the faithfulness of God, and keep growing our faith by sharing it with our fellow beings, and look forward to perfecting our faith in Jesus Christ at His second coming.

May God help us to develop faith in the faithfulness of God!!

In Lord’s service

Fr Saji K. Mathew

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.

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.