Mathew Skariah Achen's Blog

Got Family Time?

mskariah — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 04:16:00 GMT

Which is the single most factor that affects our children and youth? The response of parents may vary from anything like TV or MySpace or music or friends. A few might say church. But, studies (and experience) have shown that only a very few parents would think of and mention something that is very close to themselves-their own family. How much ever we try to ignore or cover up the real life situation of our families, it will surface through the words and actions of our own children.

Traditionally, we have placed much importance to the families in which we have grown up. Parents normally boast about the spirituality of our homes in which they grew up. In spite of the hard times in a situation of limited economic resources, the parents of old had a wealth of spiritual resources in store for their children. Naturally they had much quality time spent together with their children, which helped their faith formation and character building. Sad to say, our situations in the first world have compelled us to go for cheap substitutes.

The recently published Report Card 2007 showing the well being of children and youth in Philadelphia has some distressing realities in store for us (www.philasafesound.org). One of the central observations is that “Youth violence remains a major problem”. Also, another shocking fact is that even though “pregnancy rate for 15- to 17-year-olds continued to fall, rates for older and younger teens were on the rise”. The teen pregnancy rates hovers around 55.8 per 1000 females. We might brush these facts away as it doesn’t concern our community. But it should warn us to the disastrous consequences of broken and dysfunctional families in which these teens grow up.

The mainline culture has tricked us into thinking that the Gen Y does not appreciate the importance of family ties. But a recent survey by AP and MTV is a shocking refutation of any such thinking. To a question, what makes you happy, asked to more than a thousand people of NYC between the ages of 13 and 24, the imagined answers were, “sex, drugs, a little rock ‘n’ roll, maybe some cash, or at least car keys”, but he real and shocking top answer was, “spending time with family”. “Nearly three quarters of young people say their relationship with their parents makes them happy”. http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=3499089

Parents beware! Don’t barter quality time with your children with an extra work for providing for them something more; it’s a poor bargain. Give them your time, give them your love, give them your faith (hope you have a little!) Build your home wisely (Matthew 7:21-24)

Sam Achen

rev_matscar@yahoo.com

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“DO NOT STEAL”

mskariah — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 04:38:00 GMT

When at random I tuned into the NPR the other day there was an interesting talk show on “academic dishonesty” in the US. One of the Duke University students, under scrutiny for cheating in academics, was telling his story. He was a brilliant guy who scored many “A” s without resorting to any underhand means, but somehow fell to the lure of plagiarism. He admitted his problem of becoming intensely insecure during the writing of his papers that he would not be able to complete the work well and was compelled to cheat. It was a shock to hear him admit he was being investigated for his third misdemeanor and would probably be “expelled this time”!!!

Wikipedia provides this alarming statistics.“Academic dishonesty is endemic in all levels of education. In the United States, studies show that 20% of students started cheating in the first grade. Similarly, other studies reveal that currently in the U.S., 56% of middle school students and 70% of high school students have cheated…. As for graduate education, a recent study found that 56% of MBA students admitted cheating, along with 54% of graduate students in engineering, 48% in education, and 45% in law”.(for a complete treatment of the finer aspects of cheating, check wikipedia for academic dishonesty) Its all about stealing, honey….Our own homeland would not boast such a high performance!

Many cheating theories have been proposed. The first one being the unbearable pressure of students to perform beyond their ability in a grade crazy world. With the parents and peers expecting nothing less than the best, shortcuts are inevitable. Then there is the American consumer theory which demands grade returns for the enormous amount of money spent. These are the newer ways of chasing the ever elusive American Dream. The student point of view is, if everyone can cheat, in politics, in religion, in business, why should we be left behind? After all, we are moving into the same positions and we need to find our way in this hard world. So the blame is not with the students, but with the leaders and the society at large who encouraged them cheat…

The bottom line is that, around half of us, our friends in these elite institutions have been stealing, something that which is not ours and are roaming unhindered. A few have been found out, like those 45 friends from Virginia Univ who had to pack up for stealing; but in most cases we have remained undetected. And that is exactly something that the Lord had been telling us not to do, that too for quite a long time. (Exodus 20) But we have cut corners, found our own reasons and we keep stealing. Its high time we did something about it.

Interstingly, this has something to do with the rich young guy who we are to meet this Sunday (Matthew.19: 14ff). He comes with an enquiry for eternal life. Jesus specifiaclly asks him about the commandments, including the stealing clause. He is very sure about them being observed. Still he is not confident of eternity. Jesus finds his addiction; it is those riches that he is clinging to, that makes his life meaningless and miserable. It is a fact proved by economics that wherever there is an amassing of wealth, there has been a stealing involved, of resouces or labour or opportunities. Either the young rich man has been unjust to amass this wealth, or he has inherited a stolen legacy of wealth. The prophets of Israel always quarelled with the rich who were holding back the wages of the poor. (Deut 24:15, Amos 5:11)

This is a time for academic integrity. As youth committed to Christ, we need to be confident in God who looks beyond mere grades, who does not judge by the outward appearance but who discerns the inner being. God knows our stressful situations, our weaknesses. And he fills us with His grace and His power. He requires us to walk upright before Him (Micah 6). It is not just the way we behave on a Sunday morning.

Technology made stealing easy. Just google it, cut it and paste it. Beware; technology has made it easy to find the thief and the stolen goods too. Tech savvy Profs need just to turn in the wonderfully written essays to turnitin.com to now how much of it is wonderfully stolen!!! It would pinpoint within minutes the plagiarized content and even the source of the stolen stuff. The mysterious ways of God!!! Therefore it is not just BETTER to be true; it is even SAFE to be true too…

Have a fantastic Youth Sunday 2007

Samachn,

after a long while…

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"ON THE CALL"

mskariah — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 11:35:00 GMT

Last week, I had the scare of my life. A US Justice department letter arrives calling me to report for jury duty. I had no idea as to why they found my name for that! The consequences for not reporting for duty was quite frightening. Anyway I was elated to be invited for such a great job and let come what may i started filling up the reply form and there comes the question confirming my US citizenship!!! Hey did these not know that i am still a poor youthachen !!! I only had dual citizenship, in India and in Heaven(both God's own places) and never in this land.

That was a call which was out of place...i didnt have any place in the Justice Department in my present status...

The God of the Bible seems to be very excited about call people at all(odd) times and in all(odd) places and of course all kinds of (odd) people too. He started with calling the first man on earth, the Superman called Adam, the Superfaith Hero Abraham, ...and still he keeps calling ordinary mortals like each on of us.

Two fun things about the call

God calls us out of our hideouts. The Sea of Galilee was Peter's favorite hideout.He toiled there his lifetime. there were times when he was the Fisherman in chief, there were times when he was a fisherman without fish. He had sunk and swam in those waters, he would jump in naked whenever he felt he was a miserable sinner. The Galilean beach was the place that he would run to in the event of all his frustrations. And now he is there again at the rock bottom of all his career. Failed dreams, dashed hopes and lost profession is all that he has...he is hiding in the waters...And there Jesus is precisely where he is invited for a Seaside BBQ( Abercrombe and Fish) He is the Moses of the Old Testament, who had to graze his Father in law's sheep( oh what a plight) in a Horebian hideout. And there is God, with his voice, Moses, Moses...Our hideouts are not a barrier for our god and his call...

God's call helps us face our inadequacies. why should Jesus ask the same question three times to Peter? Do you love me? X 3. Yes thats where Jesus gets to the bottom of the man's life. It was not the first time that Jesus encountered Peter. The pressures of life was so hard for him to sustain that relationship. He was akin to an alcoholic who slips away at the first sound or suggestion of a fine drink. There had to be a very deep surgery for that syndrome. Only an intense interaction would accomplish a lasting change. Peter had to be entrusted with the sheep, with God's own flock. But then he should be strengthened to deal with his own inadequacies. And the questions breaks him, he is utterly at the mercy of His Master.

Do we excuse ourselves from the divine call of our Lord? we maybe in our hideouts, we may not be able to deal with our own inadequacies..we would hope to listen to God's call once we are all OK. But we need not wait for that. The call itself is an assurance that we are being strengthened to face our own inadequacies...

today is the day when we meditate upon the ordained ministry of our church. Not the best and the most accoplished are called, but very ordinary people like me and you too. sometimes I wonder, Lord, am I the one to serve your people, with loads of inadequacies...yes he has been so faithful and just.

Yesterday, i came across a Volume congratulating the Golden Jubilee of E J Geoge achen, one of our great leaders and the elder brother of Mar Barnabas Thirumeni. What a great life, when God call out a man fr his ministry. Lets thank god for all the youth of our Diocese who have gone out for full time ministry, and those who are at the seminary now, Alex and Dennis...and for each one of you who are responding to God's each and every moment of your life...Praise God.

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ONWARD MARTHO GRADUATES

mskariah — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 16:26:00 GMT

Hi 2007 graduates

The day you were waiting for long is almost here. It’s the day when you will be recognized as men and women and not just kids, when you would be looked up to as heroes (check out your image on the back cover of the current Reader’s Digest!) I can imagine your excitement. Well, it’s also a sad time of parting with dear friends too; the pain would also remain for a while. It is a time of joy and pain…

How should you look forward to as you are moving into college?

It’s going to be a lot different from what you are now and what you know till now. Some of you would think of yourselves as being lucky in being able to get into your dream schools, while some others would not be. Yet some others don’t care (who bothers for these ivy’s?). A few would be commuting from home (good food and constant tab on your activities assured). Another few would become free birds in the ‘dorm’osphere (where each Friday night is a challenge ‘to be or not to be’).

Anyway you are going to learn much and you will experience much more.

Yet, you could be different in the way you learn and experience, if you will choose to submit to the Lord. Three things you should learn (they might not teach you these at your school)

Learn to be grateful

Have you realized that it is only a very small percent of the youth of your age are fortunate enough to get into colleges and study? You are one of the privileged few, the chosen few. Most don’t have their parents supporting them anything and everything that goes in the name of education. You need to be grateful to God for every single moment of your college life. Your gratitude should reflect in your attitude to yourself and to others.

Learn to be wise

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs. 1.7)

You will be fed with loads of information in the coming years. But it is your commitment to God which can make you wise. Wisdom is finding the purpose in your life. It is being blessed with the spirit of discernment as to what is good and what is bad. There might be times of loneliness. You might find yourself wandering without meaning. Understand God is stretching you a little bit. But a trust in the Lord will help you focus on the larger purpose of your life. And mind you, wisdom is not just about grades…

Learn to discover your church

Till now, your church was so close for you. As you grow and move out to college you will be in a position to be influenced a lot by other churches or groups. Instead of being swept away, this could be a time when you discover your own church in a new way. You can either declare it as old and outdated or you can strive to find the depth and beauty of the faith community in which you were brought up. You could ask the Lord to open up your eyes to behold the avenues within our own church to worship and service. In an environment of individualistic and entertainment based faith, you could be apostles of communitarian faith and liturgical worship of the mission oriented, Reformed Eastern Orthodox Church (don’t be confused, I am talking about the Mar Thoma Church) of which you are part of. That is appropriating your baptismal commitment.

This is going to be the best time of your life; don’t ever mess it up, make it something terrific with your Lord.

Let me close with Mother Teresa’s prayer for you,

I pray that all those young people who have graduated

Do not carry just a piece of paper with them

But that they carry love, peace and joy….

That they become the sunshine of God’s love to our people,

The hope of eternal happiness and burning flame of love

wherever they go. That they become the carriers of God’s love.

That they are able to give what they have received.

For they have received not to keep but to share.

Yours, as always,

Samachen (rev_matscar@yahoo.com)

215-698-1023(h) 267-882-7581(c)

Spring 2007

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The Final Countdown

mskariah — Sat, 05 May 2007 11:09:00 GMT

Matthew 25.31-16

Matthew 25 is all bizzare stories. Ten Virgins in waiting, lamps with and without oil, Master who gives away his treasure to his srevants and moving on for long holiday. It culminates in the event of The Lord who had left all his nations in seeming oblivion, but returns at the most unexpected of times and with the most ironical of statements. In all those stories, there is something fearfully similar..they all centre around a crisis of the Kingdom. In his teachings during the final countdown to the hour of crucifixion Jesus provides some reality bytes of the nature of the Kingdom to come. It was never a and-they-lived-happily-ever-after-thing...There was a moment when the apple cart would be overturned. The real Kingdom of heaven will be manifest only in and through this crisis. It is the time of reckoning.

No one really likes crisis. It always has a bad connotation for it. But if we are honest with ourselves we would realise that anything really good has come out only through crisis situations. Let me get the help of Bruce Main and Erik Erikson to explain something of this stuff.

In clinical work, (as in economics and politics) crisis has increasingly takenon half of its meaning, the catastrophic half, while in medicine, a crisis once meant a turning point for better or for worse, a crucial period in which a decisive turn one way or another is unavoidable. (Erikson)

Unfortunately in our contemporary christian culture, we have been seduced to belive that Christian faith is about avoiding cricis. Jesus is sold to us as a vendor of ' personal blessing', one who eliminates pain and takes away our problems (Bruce Main, If Jesus were a Sophomore, p.14)

Jesus is very much undiplomatic in telling that crisis and separation is an innate nature of the Kingdom. It has always been there in the history of the people of God. He points to the days of Noah and the Flood.(Matt. 24.37). The greatest irony of the story is that, faced with the crisis and separation, all those invoved have the very same response. Those accepted and those rejected are confused with the same questions. In fact, such a confusion had percipitated the crisis. They had never seen Jesus as they were living their everyday lives. Yet some of them managed to give their best in their everyday life, though it was just the mundane and the ordinary. The others kept waiting for the supernatural to happen to do something. They missed the divine in their everyday lives.

Maybe those rejected were debating the finer aspects of what is good and bad or even engaging in hair splitting arguments in what is to work for God, and missed the Jesus by their side. This a sure warning to those of us who claim to be spiritual. Maybe our eyes have to opened for something beyond in the very ordinary...

I go back in time for a conversation with Jesus,

"Jesus, when are we goind to get to the spiritual stuff?" I begin. "This is the spiritual stuff", he replies. I am startled and caught off guard. "But what about the miracles, Jesus? You know the stuff I read about in the gospels. I mean, all we've done today is wash some feet, eat breakfast with a sleazy tax collector, and cousel some woman about her promiscuous sex life...What so special about this?" comes my reply after a hot and exhaustive week.

" The miracles are exceptions, not the rule", replies a patient Jesus...I wasn't doing miracles 24 hours a day..Time passed between the miracles"...

(read If Jesus were a Sophomore, for more of this stuff, 2002, Westminister john Knox press)

Crisis is the time when your excuses dont work anymore...(my definition, how is it) But the real Kingdom is made of such stuff

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The Basketball Faith

mskariah — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 04:29:00 GMT

The wait is over, the day is here-april 14th. Philadelphia Ascension All Stars BB tourney is right here. All the martho-ortho-jaco-catho kids of the entire East are crowding at Downingtown for an April Madness of a better kind....

They say you won’t know India without knowing cricket. It’s part of the culture back there. But in the US, sports are not merely culture, its part of faith or even faith itself. You can’t find the martho kids without their basketball. With the YMCA movement in the 1870s, physical fitness and sports came to occupy an undeniable space in the Western spiritual arena. It grew into a muscular religion in the US. Had not the NFL issued legal notices, many churches would have made their basements into mini stadiums for seekers on the Super Bowl day!!!

Sport has a way of igniting human passion for fighting against odds and achieving victory. It provides heights of glory and depths of despair. Nevertheless, it has defining moments of grace for both the winner and the loser. It urges us to be united in efforts and to pursue the purpose with utmost perseverance. Self is denied; perfection is strived for. It has its rules, its rituals. These attitudes are the proper ingredients of faith. St. Paul, with all his physical infirmities, was an avid sports enthusiast. He could not imagine any better metaphor other than of the ancient Olympic event to best summarize his faith journey,” I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day…” (2Tim. 4:7, 8)

Ascension Mar Thoma Church, with its youthfulness and vigor, has always hitched its wagon to the stars. All Stars is a reflection of how it dares to dream and strives to achieve. I join in praying and hoping that the event would bring together youth and create a sporting community, ever committed to the Kingdom.

With best wishes for Ascension All Stars Basketball Tourney,

Your (Sports) Chaplain,

Sam Achen

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Rolling Stones- Easter 2007

mskariah — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 02:05:00 GMT

CHRIST IS RISEN from the dead, trampling down death with death.

Eastern Orthodox Hymn

The Jesus tomb is again in news. Thanks to some extreme archaeological findings and Discovery Channel. They must have hoped for a rerun of Gibson's Passion, as is evident from the timing of the "discovery". People have said, its the empty tomb that is the beginning of the church.And the documentory peole tried to fill it up with some bones and keep it close again, but in vain.

The pertinent question comes up now as to whether we can prove of disprove resurrection through science or archaeology? Or simply put, what could be the possible evidence of resurrection?... We need not travel far and wide for evidence; the greatest evidence for resurrection is you and me who are followers of Christ and the members of the church. Without such a happening, the Jesus movement would have had a natural death. The disciples would never have dreamt of moving out of the closed doors.

What is the surprise of Easter? The decision of the women in undertaking a predawn journey to the Jesus tomb was kind of absurd, given the heavy Roman guard. Even otherwise, the stone at the tomb was huge enough for anyone to remove. Even in their journey, they have a lingering fear as to who will roll the stone away. But, to their astonishmment they find the great stone rolled away. This is a great symbol and fact of resurrection. It is symbolic in the sense that in the resurrection of Jesus the seemingly huge barriers that have filled our minda nand dreams with fear and despair are rolled away. The barriers that we have erected blocking our meaningful relationship with God and with the other, and that can never be moved with any effort of our own effort, are removed in the impact of resurrection.

It provides us with many new challenges and opportunities. We, as the resurrection people, are called to be witnesses to this great new fact. That the very ordinary women were called to witness leaves us without excuse of any sorts. And it provides us with a new confidence and a new ethics. The risen Christ calls us to transform the oppressive power of political coalitions and systems. The weight of Roman empire could not stand up to the power of resurrection.

It invests the church with a new pattern of thought and life.

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. (Col. 3:1-3)

The words form the 2007 personal diary of late Georgie Anil Abraham, a student of Mar Thoma Theological Seminary, Kottayam, who was called to rest on Jan 26th 2007, following a massive cardiac arrest, provides a glimpse on a person who had experienced the power of resurrection. He had written..

Death is not mere ending of life, it is discontinuity. Death brings in the mystery aspect of life. So death should not be feared but should be revered. Of course this is done through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, as for him it is not the ending of life but it was a physical discontinuity. But may be not for some mystical experience but rather for a greater inner change.

We need to see Jesus. Life is a process of change. We need a revolutionary change in our life which is radical. Death is transcendence from limitations to non limitations and this is glorification.

Bonhoeffer, the German theologian, wrote this from the Nazi prison before he was put to death...

Socrates mastered the art of dying; Christ overcame death as "the last enemy"(I Cor.15:26). There is a real difference between the two things: the one is within the scope of human possibilities, the other means resurrection. It is not from ars moriendi, the art of dying, but from the resurrection of Christ that a new and purifying wind can blow through our present world....If a few people really believed that and acted on it in their daily lives, a great deal would be changed . To live in the light of Resurrection- that is what Easter means.

Happy Easter

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"WOMAN..."

mskariah — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 10:23:00 GMT

Not many have been honoured by such a comment from Jesus. At the wedding at Cana, it was Jesus own mother who was called likewise.Now it is this Cananite lady.

Matthew 15:21-28

The verbal exchange between Jesus and this lady seems to be very unfortunate. To a person in such a desparate state as having a daughter in severe psychological derailment, anyone should be a little more caring and sensitive. The silence and words of Jesus would amount to abuse. In spite of her wails and the disciples' pleadings, Jesus is unmoved. Then, he tells her that, being a non jew, she is not entitled to any welfare measures meant for the "Divine Elect". And finally, comes that disastrous statement, "food for children is not for the dogs!!!!". (Some have found solace in having been reffered to as dogs. Who is pampered as much as the dogs in US households, now in our homeland too. Its the children who are fighting with the dogs for parental attention!) Jesus' times knew nothing of pet dogs, it was a Victorian trapping. When we look close enough, Jesus was echoing the very words and actions of his own people to the people outside, in a sarcastic manner.

But, Jesus knew this lady has the fibre of faith that could counter any amount of abuse and rejection; because her need was enormous and her faith was awesome.

And that makes the event and the persons involved so different. She becomes the Woman of great faith. A very special honour accorded to very special people. In her faith, she defeats the son of God. Or better, Jesus, who knew the thoughts of the Scribes and Pharisees, allows himself to be defeated by the great faith of this Cananite woman.

Lent is a time when we prepare ourselves for confident and daring faith.

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Lent-a tasteless time or time of Divine Taste?

mskariah — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 07:00:00 GMT

For committed foodies among us, Lents arrive every year with a threat of prolonged deprival of our culinary delights. Devoid of all the exotic varieties of meats and sea foods, many are in deep disgust with the whole idea of connecting lent with eating.

Why is it like this? Is lent a bunch of don’ts? Are we trying to please God with all our food sacrifice (the opposite of meal offering!) And someone exclaims, hey do marthos have Lent at all???

Though it may have many shades of meaning, Lent is primarily a time set apart. In the life of the community of faithful, the Church, lent provides a time set apart for spiritual discipline. Christian life is a journey in faith. It is a growth toward maturity in Christ. It is based on the spiritual practice of fasting and prayer, both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. Jesus begins His public ministry with forty days of fasting and communion with God (Matt.4:2, Mk 1:13, Lk 4.2). Fasting and prayer is an undeniable character of the Church from the early days (Acts 13:2, 14:23).

In addition to fasting and praying as an individual member of the church, Lent is a time and occasion of communal fast. The Great Lent or the Fifty Day lent is thus connected to the passion of Christ which has accomplished salvation from sin and death. It is a challenge to prepare us to take up the cross and follow Christ. Lent is in fact a spiritual retreat of the church, through which it meditates upon the cross of Christ and submits it in a sense of complete repentance. Its purpose is a real and more intimate experience in abiding in Christ.

“During the season of Lent, every member is expected to set apart time for serious reflection, self examination and renewed commitment with fasting and prayer. Fasting should never be observed with ostentation or spiritual pride. Neither is it intended to win favors from God by changing His mind. This is a time in which we wait upon the Lord in fellowship and are transformed to fulfill His will”. (Roots and Wings, p.60)

The exercise of Lent is a time of rebuilding the Alters of

Prayer

Meaningful and confident personal prayer time
Restarting a ceased Family Prayer time (in the US??)
Deepening and enriching a shallow prayer time

Word

Intentional and focused reading of scripture
Take one or two books to read and study deeply during this time( A few YFs have started with Philippians, it’s the best book for Lent; you can have your choice)
Try to get a daily devotion book.

Relationships and Giving

Combating our own shortcomings, addictions, if any, wrong relationships, etc
Healing time for hatred, anger, mistrust…
Set apart a little bit from your personal money for helping others or our Mission Work

Lent is the spiritual power to say enough.

Enough to more and more extravagant clothes

Enough to exotic food

Enough to spending spree; to indiscriminate shopping, either at eBay or the local mall.

Enough is a bad word in this land of plenty,

but can we dare say it , to us and to others??

Lent is shedding a little taste

To spread the taste of love around

To become the divine taste and fragrance

Amen

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Sin; who's to blame?

mskariah — Sun, 11 Feb 2007 03:20:00 GMT

The blame game started in the Garden itself. Who is the one behind The Fall? Was it a push from the outside that caused man to slip and fall? Was it the snake at its seducive best? Was it the apple with its tempting looks?

Someone had suggested a racial (re)reading to the whole drama at the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve must have been white or brown skinned to be so tempted by the shining fruit that they forgot all what God had told and tasted the fruit. Had they been yellow skinned, the fruit would never have been a fatal attraction at all; instead, Eve would have first consumed the serpent itself before it could start off with its tempting words!!!

(Paul doesn't know how to be polite.)

"Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned— for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come". Romans 5.12-14.

He places the whole burden on ONE MAN or MAN.

A few (s)insights

One, the cause of Fall/Sin/Evil or whatever you name it, never came from outside. Look at the Eden case file closely. Everything, I mean every single thing, was created by God and there wasn't anything that existed that God did not create. And God found it GOOD. There is no UFOs or ETs mentioned. The events start off from a friendly chat with the best of females with the best of animals about the best of things; and the talk went wild...The man was more than willing to swallow. It was a story of the best of the things that God created joining up to be/make a mess. Moral, the best of the systems, realtionships, people has a possibility to turn evil, against God, if not focused on the purpose of God.

Two, the aberration has a contagious nature. It affects the whole of humanity. (As to how the mechanism works is still debated. Augustine suggested a biological inheritance of sin. "This is of propagation, not of imitation". The West is almost for it, but the Augustinian position is seriously contested.) But the effect loomes over the whole of humanity. Not because of being biological sinners, but because of the fact that Adam exhausted the possibilty of disobeying God and being in rebellion with the purposes of God. He opened up the way as to how to disobey God and the whole humanity happily continued Adam's way ever after.

Three, dont just blame Adam for everymess, You are the Man. Paul is quick to clarify after indicting Adam for the premiere on sin that we have sinned too. So its not just Adam we have a worthy part in it by being true partners in sinning. We made sure of God's wrath by our own sin. No excuse, anyway.

We are all sinners; not only because of Adam, but also because of our own wicked conduct. On the one hand, we are part of sin-prone humanity. the words of David, ' True, I was born guilty, a sinner, even as my mother conceived me", should mean that sin has marked my life ever since I came into being(not that the biological process of man-woman union and conception is sinful).On the other hand, "we are actively sinners, persons who in the conduct of our lives miss the mark, because of what we do and fail to do".(J.A. Fitzmyer)

That is, we do not FALL into sin just like that, we MAPQUEST/GOOGLE our way into sin.

Hey, dont get crazy, you keep missing the mark, but thats not the end of the story.

For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. Romans 5.17

In Christ, there is a super abundant life giving effect. And thats the story unfolding through the reading and meditation of the Great Lent. Stay tuned.

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I Have a Dream

mskariah — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 01:21:00 GMT

Another Martin Luther King Jr. day has come and gone. We had a holiday, maybe a day off for those working day in and day out. Maybe a last day for "Operation Backpack" for those who were leaving for the dorms after winter break. His address to the mammoth rally at Lincoln Memorial on 28th August 1963, where he thundered "I Have a dream', still reverberates in the collective consiousness of this nation and of the whole world. It was a message of judgement, it was a message of hope.

Maybe we are not blacks, we stand in between as browns and we always choose the middle path, never offending anyone and always seeking our own undisturbed existence.

Can we affirm our identity and seek justice for all; in whatever small ways that we can?

Are we there yet???

Catch the power once again; take a little time to watch it- it will move you...(thank You Tube)

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm

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Baltimore Unplugged 2007

mskariah — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 00:18:00 GMT

Its more than a week since the youth leaders have migrated from Baltimore, but for most of us the conference feel still lingers. Under the same roof, literally, those long days of learning, unlearning, animated discussions, singing, praise and of course eating(thank you Baltimore uncles and Aunties) were all blessed moments. The space transformed itself into an arena of transformation. It was an intense exercise for moulding the leaders of our diocese in a Christ Centered, Church Rooted and Community Oriented manner.

It all happened when the small band of youths in Baltimore allowed God to work through them in organising this event. Faced with an overdose of impossible situations; they now bear witness to the fact that it is the most pessimistic of the situations that provide God with an ample possibility for revealing His glory. The faith and courage of Saji Achen, who stood with the youths, became a channel through which the awesome grace of God was experienced every moment.

As Paul would boast of becoming anything to save anyone, the Baltimore youth have become carwash people, painters, artists, chauffeurs, drummers, guitarists and what not; to help create transforming leaders...

And as the conference veteran, Alex Kolath would say, 'this is probably one of the best conducted Leadership Conferences in the decade'(there was nothing of this sort before ten years)...you need to mark his words as there are very rare and special. Sure , the Tenth Leadership conference had a lyrical beauty...

New experiments were attempted both in Chai making and music mixing by the chaplains too, at the house were they were sent to (Aimee, Jaimee and Jeena's; claiming to be of the people of pure and right faith(orthodox) they are yet to become full members of Baltimore YF). Private videos are available on demand of unorthodox experiments.

Hats off to Ashley & Anoop combine who have come up with this hot new website with a bloggy possibility; at least they make sure the chaplains type something...

"Do not be conformed... but be transformed by the renewing of your mind"...

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