Biju Cherian Achen's Blog

YOUNG AND RESPECTED

bcherian — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 06:24:00 GMT

Last week the Sunday School Students of the Eastern Zone of our Diocese came together under the title ‘Young and Respected' at Ramapo College NJ for the Junior and Senior Conference. The young kids who came were restless in their quest to find out how to be respected in a society, that accepts only the Bold and the Beautiful. In a world where people try to define you by the feed backs they give you which may sometimes make you feel rejected we are to remember that we are image bearers of God, that gives our life worth and respect.

The theme reminds me of three young men who stood boldly before King Nebucadnezer and proclaimed their faith even at the most rejected moments of their life as found in Daniel 3: 16 - 18. What makes us respected?

Your choice: For Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego the choice is between life and death. Their circumstances turned out to be hostile to them. But they were not scared of the circumstances because they believed in the Lord of the circumstances. The situations may catch us where circumstances may force us to do unethical things. The choice is ours. Develop self-respect and walk differently so that the patterns of the world may not catch us.

Your obedience: Here we see a tension between the lesser and higher obedience. To obey the king and remain in a better position or to obey God and face the fiery furnace. They opted for the latter because they focused their eyes on the one who had called them and placed them in king's court. When you are pushed to the walls by the pressures around you, focus your eyes on the eternal/ultimate or else you will be hijacked by the immediate that will set agenda in your life. The example of obedience to the higher call is seen in the garden of Gethsemane where Christ says, "Not my will let your will be done."

Let us offer ourselves to be used by Christ.

Remember that our life is consecrated in Christ, through Christ and by Christ.

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WITNESS THROUGH SUFFERING

bcherian — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 07:58:00 GMT

Mark Chap 6 begins with Jesus being rejected in his own village but ends up being accepted in other places where people come seeking him. When does a witness become relevant? Only when we have a first hand experience. Every witnessing is challenging but standing for the truth decides how deeply we are rooted in our conviction.

Mk 6:14-29 speaks of a prophet compromising his life for the truth. The death of John the Baptist is sandwiched between the mission story of the twelve disciples. What message is Mark giving us by placing John's death here?

One thing to note is that when Jesus sent his disciples he warned them that some might not welcome them nor hear them. The good news does not overwhelm everyone, in fact, it can offend some. Both Herod and Jesus send out people. But Herod's employees destroy the life of another while disciples of Jesus bring health and wholeness to the life of others.The disciples' mission is quite successful (6:12-13), and reassures us that God's work continues unabated even in the face of the martyrdom of a great, Godly servant.

Christian witness compels us to experience suffering for the cause of righteousness and justice. When the world challenges us to adopt escapism than facing reality, the life of John the Baptist challenges us to stand boldly for the word of God. His silence could have saved him from his gruesome death. But he stands as a man of courage. He was a child of desert and of the wide-open spaces and to imprison him in the dark dungeon must have been the last refinement of torture. But John preferred death to falsehood. Bon Hoeffer in his book The Cost Of Discipleship talks of two grace - The costly grace and the cheap grace. He says the costly grace demands us our life. There is a cost to witnessing-a cost that can and might lead to the loss of your own life while giving life. A cost of rejection, a cost of not being able to minister to all who hear the gospel. A cost of being misunderstood, a cost of being maligned by those who cannot handle the truth. Suffering in the life of a Christian is not an end in itself but it is the means of refinement and transformation.

Are we willing to tell the truth even if nobody listens?

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HIS MASTER’S VOICE

bcherian — Sun, 20 May 2007 03:19:00 GMT

“The sheep hears his voice .......” Jn 10:3

My ministry began as a missionary in hilly regions of Himalayas in India. The place was poor with rocky soil, better suited for grazing than cultivation, so shepherding was a common occupation. The collection of wool was important, so shepherds sometimes worked with the same sheep for a number of years, developing a strong relationship. The sacrificial life of the shepherds opened my eyes to the deeper understanding of the truths of the Gospel especially the love of Christ Jesus who called himself a Good Shepherd and later bestowed this great task on the church (John 21:15-19). Who is a good shepherd? The one who has a complete devotion to the sheep assigned to him and whose actions is considered to be the consummate manifestation of his love (Jn 15:13).

John 10: 1 – 18 speaks about the qualities of this Good Shepherd.

Here Christ portrays himself as the door (vs7). The shepherdic community with whom I worked was not rich enough to have a strong sheepfold with a well-made door but they had sheepfold with a small entrance. In that event, the shepherd makes his bed in the opening thus blocks it with his body and protects the sheep with his life. The shepherds thus not only protects the sheep from the predators but also saves them from their own foolishness. Barclay says "In the most literal sense the shepherd was the door; there was no access to the sheep-fold except through him." The Good Shepherd is not a stumbling block but a stepping-stone for the sheep to come in and go out (vs9).

Self-sacrificial love of the shepherd: In vs 17&18 we see the initiative from the shepherd in giving his life for the sheep. This giving of self is not only sacrifice but also a willingness to put all of who we are in our commitments. And the call to risk, sacrificing, is not only with one's life but also with the years and days that make up our lives. Jesus death was a free act of sacrifice, not one done by the Jews. This is the call for each of us as children of God.

Intimacy - ‘I know my own and my own know me’(vs 14). This is not a superficial knowledge but the one that portrays intimate relationship. Christ compares his relation with us in terms of his relation with his father (vs 15). This relationship involves experience. ‘The shepherd (Jesus) knows the sheep (people) because he became flesh and lived among us’ (Jn 1:14). In my mission field I witnessed this intimate relationship of the shepherd with his sheep. Few shepherds shared the sheepfold at one night but in the morning they got up and at the sound of each shepherd’s whistle his sheep and goats came to him. Above all the shepherds went into the other and picked up few sheep who fail to listen to their voice. When enquired from one of them, how he identified his sheep he said “in the same way as your parents are able to identify you as their son even if the whole world gathers before them”. This does not occur in a moment but the relationship grows into intimacy as the days pass by. Jesus shows us this all- encompassing intimacy that begins with his relationship with his Father and extends to his followers. Only when we have that intimate relation with our Father can our relationship with others become meaningful.

This passage reaches its climax with the concern of the shepherd for the sheep outside his fold. Not only shepherd of Israel but also outside for the whole world. The cross event widens the horizon for the Gentile world. Leo Tolstoy said, "The only certain happiness in life is to live for others." It is when we see the world with a larger level than self. It is when we become concerned for others that we find the depth of God's love for our lives. ‘In Christ’ experience leads us to a universal mission.

Do we hear our Masters voice as he calls us by name?

Does our intimacy with our Master widen our horizon of influence in the places where we are placed?

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HOLY HEARTBURN

bcherian — Sat, 21 Apr 2007 05:17:00 GMT

The longest walk in the history has become the shortest seven miles ever walked, a walk that turned a conversation of pain and confusion into a conversation that illumined and excited the two disciples leaving their hearts burning within themselves. It was a faith journey with the risen Lord as found in Luke 24: 13 - 35

Resurrection is a challenge to the boundaries and limits of possibilities.
Every stage in our life is increased assumption. These presuppositions turn out to be our worst enemy. The numbers of conclusions in our life are based on the things we have never tried. Therefore to participate in the resurrection of Christ or to lead a resurrected life is to question our assumptions. The two disciples are perplexed and confused. Disbelief has overpowered them. They are leaving Jerusalem because they are quite disillusioned of the disturbing events. They have been talking about it for hours, rehearsing the possibilities, arguing about the details, sparring with one another about the theological nuances of an empty tomb. Buried beneath their verbal skirmish, there seems to be a deep yearning and a holy hunger. Intimately intertwined with their skepticism are their hope -- and their need for God to be alive and present. But the baggage of their doubt/ presuppositions impedes the fervor of their faith. And so they fail to recognize Jesus. The stranger on the road to Emmaus made them question their assumptions. He took the skepticism and the curiosity of the disciples and wove them into the fabric of scripture. He takes them back through Moses and the prophets and the Psalms. The picture Jesus paints of the Jerusalem events is radically different. It ends, not with failure, but with triumph over death, with glory. The intersection of the "tradition" with the immediacy of his own flesh lit a fire in the hearts of those who traveled with him.

At the breaking of bread their eyes were opened. The invited stranger reveals himself in the table fellowship. It is only when a stranger finds a place in our fellowships is the full revelation of Christ experienced. This revelation makes our deepest loneliness and longest life journey full of purpose and hope. Here we see a risen Christ who is a silent listener to every conversation and a silent guest at every meal. The only difference is that if we hears his knock and opens our door then he is no longer a guest but a host. This exactly is Holy Qurbana. This table fellowship gave them a new mission to go back to Jerusalem the place from where they started their journey - a pilgrimage to the site of the cross and resurrection, and be the witness of his resurrection by making a resurrection community. We are called not to remain as just saved community but a saving community. That is the motto of our Mar Thoma Church ‘Lighted to Lighten.'

Do our hearts burn within us in our day-to-day encounter with Christ?

How often do we recognize the stranger as the living Christ in our midst?

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BLIND SPOTS

bcherian — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 16:01:00 GMT

Mark 10: 46 - 52

We exclude people in different ways and for different reasons on the basis of faith, ideology,caste, rich and poor, etc. As a result of this many people are thrown to the peripheries of the society where no activity takes place. The gospel generally shows Jesus giving value to those who had no value. He transforms the periphery into a center of his activity. In doing so he not only restores their honour but also helps people around him to see beyond themselves

The above passage speaks about Jesus restoring sight to the blind Bartimaeus and also inward sight to the followers. This is the last miracle recorded in the Gospel of Mark.

1)The blindness of the followers:

Bartimaeus is typically a sidelined person sitting at a place strategically located outside the city gate, meant for the nobody's of the society. Knowing that it was Jesus he raised his voice, the people around him are quick to remind him that he is nobdy of the society (10:48). He is urged not to believe that Jesus is for him by the voices in the group who tell him to cease his petition. The inward blindness of the followers of Christ forbade them in seeing the need of this man beyond themselves. Manya times we become so engrossed by our self desired ambition that we are blind to the needs of the people around us and deaf to their cry. Are we a stumbling block?

2) Faith transcends barriers

Faith is an ability to see beyond the present situation. Though physically blind Bartimaeus recognized who Jesus is - the promised Messiah. Upto this point except for Peter none of the followers recognized the true identity of Jesus. Seeing 'who Jesus is' is the goal of faith. He lacked eyesight but he had inward sight. Blindness was a crises in his life but he understood that every crises has an opportunity. He found a new way out. He realized that his eyes are blind but his voice is strong and he uses it to the best he could without getting discouraged. And it yields positive results. This is faith. In faith there is a divine fulfillment of what is expected or hoped for. We many a times mourn on what we do not have, but Bartimaeus challenges us to look into ourselves and discover the great potentials hidden within us and use it in a positive way.

3)Setting priorities in life

When Christ asked Bartimaeus what he needs his response is very challenging, "let me see again". His petition is very different from that of James and John (10:37). He asks not to be seen but to see the Lord and the beauty of Lords creation, not for honour but for vision, not to rule over others but to join them. True faith calls us to look with ordinary eyes upon the ordinary world, yet do so in such a way that our vision becomes extraordinary because it recognizes that we are surrounded by the extraordinary.At the beginning of the narrative we see Bartimaeus - son of honour, begging beside the road. But when he looks at Jesus with the eye of faith his honour is now fully restored and he joins the disciples in following Jesus on the way to dishonour and shame.

Recognizing the blind spots within us help us to set our priorities right

Are we a stumbling block or a stepping stone?

Let the prayer of St. Richard of Chichester strengthen us in our walk of faith

Day by day, O dear Lord, three things I pray,

To see thee more clearly,

Love thee more dearly and

Follow thee more nearly,

Day by Day, Amen

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TRADING PLACES

bcherian — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 05:14:00 GMT

Lenten period is a time set apart in the church calender for fasting and prayers and the christian community as a whole participates in it.During the period of Great Lent we meditate on the life and work, the passion, crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. It is a time of self introspection leading to repentance and renewal. During the Great Lent the Gospel portions and the Themes are based on the healings and miracles of Jesus Christ.

The theme for this Sunday is "Christ who cleanses us"

Jesus moving from one to many synagogues, from synagogue audience to a thronging at his door , an inescapable crowd and ultimately meeting an outcast with whom he traded his place (Mk 1:40 - 45).

What made the leper come to Jesus? He was confident that Christ's cleansing was unlike the germ killer gel, which kills 99.9% germs and grants mercy to 0.01% to grow to a 100%, but restoring a person to his original being completely. The approach of the leper is noteworthy, "If it is your will.."Submitting to the will of the master is the first step to cleansing. Though the leper comes to Jesus by himself, once in the presence of the master he understands his worthlessness and surrenders his own self. This is the language of worship. Our self surrender is very essential for God to work in us. "Let thy will be done..."(Matt 6:10). From stubborness of heart to a genuine search for the will of the Master.

Leprosy was a social as well as physical disease. The lepers were social and physical outcasts and the society had good reasons to protect itself, but Christ refused to respect the boundaries because 'He had compassion' (vs 41).His touch was in a way putting himself in the place of the leper.There was a risk of contamination.But a reversal took place. Instead of both being contaminated Christ handed his own health to the man whom he touched. Compassionate touch gives life to the lifeless, hope to the hopeless. Through touching Christ shared his will with the sick "...I will be clean."- their fusion of will brought life in the leper.In a world where distant learning, distant healing, even love from a distance is very popular the approach of Christ challenges us to come out of our self protected bubble of "My Space"and to associate with those whom we feel are threatening the delicate fabric of our self created world, whether at home, in the places of studies, work, etc.

Mark begins this story with Jesus on the inside and the leper on the outside. At the end of the story the leper is inside and Jesus is outside - the ultimate result of compassionate touch. Jesus and the leper have traded places. Where people leave no room, Christ makes room for the one whom they have most excluded - the leper. This is the message and hopefulness of the cross - A promise of forgiveness, healing, deliverance and restoration.

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