Sharing Christ-Presence

Sharing Christ-Presence

Acts. 3:1-10

St Francis of Assisi once planned a series of sermon on the streets. Francis and his disciples began their journey. However, his disciples were surprised that Francis did not preach anywhere but remained silent till the end of their journey. As soon as they reached back to their ashram the disciples asked why was he silent during the journey. For which St. Francis replied that their journey itself was a sermon.

Life is a journey. Each moment in our journey communicates some message. The text we have just read talks about a spiritual journey of the apostles to the temple in which people witnessed Jesus through the life of apostles. Hence I have chosen the theme on Witnessing Christ, that is sharing Christ-presence. 

Acts of Apostles or acts of Holy Spirit is a collection of events happened in the early church. Pheme Perkins, a New Testament theologian says Acts of apostles should be treated equally with gospels since this book is the continuation of the gospel narrative. And the role of Holy Spirit is very much significant in the life and ministry of early church.  We read in Acts chapter 2 that Apostles were filled Holy Spirit. And by the power of Holy Spirit they exercised their authority. 

The read text, begins with the healing of a lame man. It is the first miracle recorded in this book. While Peter and John were entering into the temple, the lame man saw them and asked for alms. Luke introduces this man as lame by birth. He had no name as an identity rather his sickness was his only identity, and so he had to depend, for his livelihood, on the alms received from those who came to worship in the temple. He was not allowed to be a part of the worshipping community. He was always outside the temple. When the apostles saw him they decided to give him complete redemption, from his suffering, by sharing Christ’s presence to him. This sharing leads to two major aspects.  

Firstly Healing through sharing Christ-presence

Warren W Wiersbe in his book, On being a servant of God writes that “In ministry, we’re called to live for others’’. Ministry is not just another way of making a living; it’s a wonderful opportunity for making a life, a life that’s lived for others. It’s an opportunity to be like the Lord Jesus Christ. When Jesus was on earth He met all human needs. A human always requires a human touch. Therefore each touch becomes a symbol of healing. Here Peter and John have transcended their response to a divine experience because they responded to the lame man by the power of Jesus Christ.

Jewish community excluded the sick from their community. They believed that sickness is the result of sin. Though the temple where the lame man sat was named Beautiful gate, but his life was not beautiful. He was rejected and neglected in his own community. It is at this stage that the apostles intervene and make his life more beautiful than ever.  

When Peter and John approached the lame man, they thought giving Jesus, as more important than anything else. Only this would help him to attain fullness in life. When they shared Christ-presence he got healed.   

This healing created wonder and amazement in the minds of the people who witnessed. They thought how this was possible by the apostles. This led to a discourse among the religious leaders and Peter, which can be seen in verses commencing from 11. Peter emphasised the redeeming power of Jesus. Later we read that many who followed apostles on their journey brought forth the sick in the streets. They believed at least the shadow of the apostle could provide healing for the sick. (Acts :5:15)

Temple was supposed to be the place of healing but his healing was neglected by the religious authorities. The role of the Church is to be a channel for healing in this wounded world. Therefore every engagement that we do in our day to day life should lead to healing.

Here we have two options one is to ignore the needs of our fellow beings or to respond empathetically to their needs.

Second, Transformation through sharing Christ-presence

The healing of the lame man was not just a physical healing but rather a transformation which is beyond the concept of restoration. The man who was sitting outside the temple gets inside the temple. The one who was sick from childhood became a healed person. The one who begged and cried for money became joyful. In verse 8 we read that he accompanied apostles in the temple after his healing. He started praising in the temple. It proves that nobody is lost. No man can have fixed inhibitions about life. God can transform anybody in any situations.   

We read a same kind of experience in Emmaus journey narrative. When the disciples were leaving Jerusalem the presence of Jesus transformed their mind to invite Jesus into their fellowship. And this further led them to identify the saviour and to return back to Jerusalem and share the gospel. When we read the passion narrative and post resurrection events of Jesus we see that apostles themselves had a transformation. The one who denied Jesus became a courageous disciple.

Another important aspect is that personal transformation leads to a transformation of the community. Acts 4:4 says that people who observed the life of the healed man believed in Jesus and followed him.

Once a group of missionaries decided to communicate the word of God in a new village by distributing tracts, books and audio visuals. But one of the group member suggested it is better to let a Christian family stay there than using any other tools. Life speaks more than words. The life and character of the Christian family would help in witnessing and sharing Christ to the whole community.

Similarly, the transformed life of every believer must influence the community for their transformation.    

Dr M M Thomas, in his book, a diaconial approach to indian ecclesiology said that all the functions of the church that is preaching (kerygma), teaching (didache), fellowship (koinonia), and service (diaconia) are interconnected. The integration of these four functions is clear in this text. Apostles preached, taught, gave fellowship and served the community. 

Based on our theme Sharing Christ-presence we discussed how Christ presence leads to healing and transformation of both the individual and the community. Lets ask to ourselves does our presence lead to healing and transformation of our fellow beings? What do we share when we engage with people, natures  

PRAYER: THE GREAT LIBERATOR

(Rev Sajesh Mathews, M-th First Year)

Prayer is the medium through which we communicate to God. It is the way we interact with God. There are two classical definitions for prayer. One is, prayer is speaking to God and the other is prayer is the raising of the soul to God. What is the theological significance of prayer? What contribution does prayer make to our understanding of the glorious work of salvation that Christ achieved for us? The following are the reflection of prayer and explains how it liberates us.

Theology of Prayer..Prayer becomes a subject of theological reflection in connection with Christ’s redemptive work. Prayer cannot be separated from Christ’s work of salvation. Praying is not simply talking to God, as important as that is; it is also a religious act through which we proclaim our need and constant reliance on Christ’s redemptive work for us. Fundamentally it is a re-presentation of the good news of salvation. The key elements of the gospel are embodied in the very act and experience of praying.

In a narrow sense, prayer seems to be motivated by need—temporal, emotional and spiritual needs. Indeed, prayer revolves around need. The prayer of praises anticipates a need, or responds to a need that was or will be satisfied. In prayers of thanksgiving, we express gratitude for God’s blessings through which our needs were satisfied. There are different forms of prayer for healing. For the sick it is from their pain they pray. Prayer not only heals us but also helps us to sustain even when there is no healing. When prayer becomes need based then we limit prayer within our own boundaries. Prayer cannot be limited in time and need. It is beyond our understanding of prayer. Prayer makes our relationship lively with God. The older generation, were not exposed to any kind of trends in spiritual life. So their prayers were simple and sincere. They used to wait for God’s will. They were sure that God will take care of them even if all of their prayers were not heard. The unanswered prayers are the signs, that we need to wait for God’s time and for God’s will for our prayers to be fulfilled. Prayer deals with the faith of the believer. One who has strong faith in God, will trust in God and will wait for one’s will to be fulfilled. That is the power of the real prayer. Real prayer makes us spiritual in every sense.

Uniqueness of Christian Prayer..Christian prayer is unique in a very special way for it is the conscious personal communion with God, the father, through Jesus Christ by the power of Holy Spirit. It operates within a Trinitarian understanding of God. When we pray, we address the Godhead with the faith-conviction that each of them is actively involved with us as we lift our souls to Him. The Holy Spirit listens to our feeble expressions and articulates them in order to express the real intent of our being (Rom. 8:26). Then the Son mediates our supplications to the Father. This Trinitarian aspect of prayer is clear in all the liturgical prayers. That is why every prayer ends with “this we ask in Jesus Name”. Though the prayers are Trinitarian, the mediator is Christ. Christian prayer is a fellowship with God through Christ. So there is a communion aspect in the Trinitarian prayers so also we, the believers of God, have a koinonia experience in prayer. The communion and fellowship we have with God is unique because through it we enter into a dialogue with the very source and fountain of our life. There is indeed a profound koinonia in prayer. For fellowship to be real and meaningful, prayer should be informal in every sense. Anand Mahadevan, the editor of the magazine, Outlook Business, in an interview regarding the conversion experience, said that he communicates everything to Jesus and urges us to share our limitations, weaknesses, failures, victories, anxieties and all that we experience in every moment of life with Jesus through prayer.

Different kinds of prayer. Mental prayer, which is the encounter of the heart with God and the dwelling of the soul with him. It is from the deep heart that we communicate with God. We just share all our feelings, thoughts, short comings, dreams and aspirations. Meditation is another form of prayer. Devotion (from Latin word ‘devoveo’) may mean ‘to be attached to’, ‘to be addicted to’, ‘to be very fond of’ or ‘to be faithful to’. We meditate upon the word of God and goodness that we enjoy through our religious experience. Mediation and contemplation is very common in Indian Spirituality. Yoga is one of the major ways of prayer and meditation in Indian Spirituality. Vocal prayer, spontaneous prayer, liturgical prayer and common prayer are different methods of prayer. Prayer that expresses itself in external words is vocal prayer. The danger is when words that are expressed outwardly are not from the heart then the prayer becomes habitual and monotonous. The most beautiful prayer in the Bible is ‘have mercy on me.’ Anybody can pray this short spontaneous prayer. Spontaneous prayer is the prayer which gives spontaneous expression to the thoughts of the mind and the afflictions of the heart. The public and private prayer of the church is called liturgical prayer. Signs, symbols, actions are the components of liturgical prayer. Common prayer is that which is general in content and said in common.

Rely on God.Prayer is based on the conviction that God prevails as the only one who can provide for our needs. We can depend on anything in this world but that does not mean that all our needs will be fulfilled through the worldly blessings. According to the Bible, those who pray will find a significant discovery of God’s sufficiency. Hence, with God as the only object of our prayers, He becomes our partner in dialogue. Therefore, we pray as an act of worship through which we express the wonderful conviction that God’s all-sufficiency overcomes our insufficiency. Consequently, we do not need to offer prayers to spiritual powers that compete for our service. Christian prayer proclaims that only God has the ability to amply provide for all our needs. The gospel emphasizes in a unique way the surprising fact that only God can pull us out of our needy condition, out of our predicament and helplessness. When we pray, we not only recognize God as the only one who can supply our needs but also affirm that He can provide for our deliverance from the powers of sin and death even before we ask Him.

 

Liberating Power of Prayer. It is true that struggles for justice, truth and peace are being motivated by prayer and contemplation. A truly spiritual person will not shut his/her mouth when injustice and exploitation prevails around. Prayerful life is not just being silent in prayer and showing no response in a crisis but rather true spirituality is revealed through the right intervention in the struggles of the people. Jesus had a prayerful life. He used to intercede for others and was very regular in the synagogue. His prayerful life had a strong reflection of the society in which he fought for the vulnerable and needy. An effective prayer is the result of the liberating aspect of each and every engagement that we do in our community. Liberation is not from the exorcism through prayer rather liberation is through prayer in Christ who offers salvation

 

How to accomplish a Successful Family Life - Rev Sajesh Mathews, Chennai

Ephesians 5:21-33
This is the right time to reflect about Family since it is being distorted with the influences of global standard of life style. Indian society is influenced by the sub-cultures, modernization and the global culture. People who live as homosexuals and lesbians claim themselves as family as well as the single parents who adopt children without married relationship claim that they have family life. Hence, the concept of family is being changed in our society. So, we need to focus the significance of Family life in all our meetings with due respect.
As we all know, Family is the essential unit in the entire social formation. Society is a web of relations between individual members. The definition of Family is set in various ways in different societies, but the crux is the same. Its definition can be found in any book of Sociology, but it is much more than a mere definition. It is the unit which binds husband, wife and children to celebrate, to enjoy and to have fellowship as they stay together as a family unit.
We’re in a crisis at the moment. Our world is turning towards an idea of marriage and we hardly reflect about marriage but talk more about relationship which may be the influences of western culture which does not focus about marriage because of the divorces and broken relationship within their communities. Even though context is the same in our society, we should give more emphasis about family life. Now in India, there are an increasing number of gay marriages and open marriages, broken marriages and sex outside of marriage that challenge the real family system in our society. As we celebrate family Sunday in our church we should not forget the fact that the Church consists with widows, orphans, divorced and divorcee who are the victims of family problems, who must be catered in our broader family relationship. That’s why today it’s more important than ever to be turning back to the Bible and reminding ourselves of how God intended marriage to be. Whether you’re a husband, a wife, single, married, a widower, a mother, a father, a friend or a child, we all should understand not just more about marriage, but understand more about God and his relationship with us.
Marriage is to be solemnized in the church because church is the holy place of God where we can feel and experience the presence of the God. Moreover we have a sacramental life. All the moments, good or bad, should be allied with sacraments. Marriage is sacrament in which bride and bridegroom join each other.
The Husband-Wife Relationship
Paul’s discussion in Ephesians chapter V appears to be a tension in this passage between a patriarchal practice and the modern outlook of family life. It is not the problem of the word of God but our understanding of it could be the problem. The text is very clear as it is linked with the relation of Christ and the Church. So there is only one model that can be followed. That is the relationship of Christ and Church and we should realize the fact that family life is not a contract but a covenantal relationship wherein Christ is the head of the family. Hence church (the bride) and Christ (the bridegroom) have the inseparable relationship so also the husband and wife should have the similar relationship.
The word ‘Submission’ that refers in verse 22 of chapter 5 is a misinterpreted word. The word "submit" means to arrange your life in subjection to another...” Here, Paul is not talking of submitting to an external authority. So the relationship is not oppressive or submissive and submission does not mean blind obedience or submission does not imply inferiority. In Christian marriage, submission is based on the unity and love of Christ with church. The husband and wife are essentially one body, one unit, just as Christ and the church are essentially one. The passage suggests that something more profound than a birth relationship is being established by this union. The man and the woman are one flesh in a way in which the parents and child are not. The wife's body does not belong to her alone, but also to her husband; the husband's body does not belong to him alone, but also to his wife (1 Corinthians 7:4)
The husband's submission implies by his sacrificial love and his love is to parallel with Christ's love in its sacrifice. ".(v.25)..and gave himself for it. . In today’s world many husband and wife merely understand the value of equality and mutual respect. It’s like a companionship where possessiveness, selfishness and ego have no place. The verses in Ephesians V instruct that the husband is to cherish his wife. This means that she is to be treated with tenderness and affection. This would mean that since love must be fed, there is to be a warm demonstrative love relationship.
When the bride and bridegroom join together in marriage, they LEAVE their parents and BEGIN a new life. They grow to be a NEW family unit. In other words, a new couple will detach from their old home. Two problems can happen here. Sometimes the parents find it hard to let their children leave when they get married. The role of the parent is to support their children as they start a new family life not interfere too much, but sometimes parents do more than support – they control that prevents the couple from cleaving together as they need to. The second problem is when the one or both of the married couple finds it hard to leave their old family, sometimes even after 20 years. Some people may still live with their parents after Marriage mentally. But regardless of how happy or sad their household was growing up, it’s important to establish our own family unit together.
In the selected passage, when Paul refers about love, he is not talking about erotic love. The word "erotic" comes from the Greek “eros”, a love that responds to the beauty of the other. Or it is not more than friendship love. The Greek word for this type of love is "philia," which is sometimes translated "brotherly love." However in today’s context the love between spouses should include friendship love. Sharing interests, having deep discussions, simply enjoying being in each other's company -- all these are vital parts of a good marriage. So love in marriage is not solely erotic, nor solely friendship.
.But it is “agape” When Paul writes, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church", (v.25), he uses the word "agape." Agape love is a love that gives, a love that has the other's interest at heart. So in marriage there is a place for erotic love, and a place for friendship love. But the greatest of all loves is agape love, a love that gives, a love that does not demand or hold onto rights, but has the good of the other at heart.
V. 28-30, another principle of the husband's love is loving his wife as he loves himself. It is a sacrificing Love which means to give over power to another. It is the opposite of selfish --it is s-e-l-f-l-e-s-s. "No man ever yet hated his own flesh..." If we do anything well, we know how to love ourselves. It is natural to be aware of how we project ourselves and appear to others that is just as we would never embarrass or belittle ourselves. In the popular novel Anna Karenina, Tolstoy draws on a dual story line to enlighten marriage. He compares and contrasts Anna's marriage with that of Levin and Kitty. Anna and her husband make mistake after mistake, eventually leading to the destruction of their marriage, while Levin and Kitty epitomize a good marriage. Theirs is not perfect; but they understand their essential unity Levin could not be offended with her because she was himself. Therefore the Love that is referred in Ephesians 5 has a deep meaning.
Parenting- Relation with Children
If it brings to a close without the reference of Children and parenting in Christian family life, this writing may not do its justice. It is the high time to reflect about parenting when children are not being properly nurtured in the changing world and parents are not being trained to look after their children. Now a day children seem to be a burden for the new generation parents. Increasing number of couples who deny having children shows or challenges God’s intention in his creation. They may have to sacrifice their Job or give up their carrier and promotions by having a child. But they should not forget the fact that their parents have sacrificed their life to see their children are grown with all the possibilities of life.
Following are the few ways by which parenting will be successful.

• Parents are the role models for children. They will follow what you act rather than what you say.
• Spend time with children and understand their feelings. Because active listening is very important.
• Explore their talents and mold them to attain their goal.
• Never underestimate your child or compare your child with anyone. Each child is gifted with lot of potential to improve their abilities. It is important that to develop a positive self esteem in the child.
• Don’t advise all the time which will help the children to hate their parents. Don’t punish your children if it is not required.
• Parents have to talk to children about sex, media and TV. They are to be taught how to watch it or search websites wisely.
• Family atmosphere will definitely influence the children’s character formation. What you render at home about life, values, family, church, world and frustrated comments about family life will persuade their view points.
• Parents must see that their children are assigned with some responsibilities so that this would create oneness in his /her mind. They must realize the financial conditions and struggles that you are going through.
• Express your emotions and understand the children’s emotions. Let the children have the freedom to share what they have in their mind.
• Your efforts to improve their spiritual growth will help the children ultimately.

Conclusion: "better ideas" or "new innovations" in the husband/wife relationship that we see in this world may help us or destruct us. But our focus needs to be clear and it should be based on strong faith in God and in his word. We need to renew our determination to practice scriptural principles in our married relationship. If both the husband and the wife put God first and keep Him there, God will ensure the success of their marriage. May God help us to fulfill the vision of Parenting and family life according to His will.