In the blessed name of the Tri-une God, Self-existent,
Beginningless and Endless, Perfect in Being, (Glory be to Him)
Moran Mar Baselios Marthoma Paulose II Catholicos of the East and
Malankara Metropolitan enthroned on the Apostolic Throne of St. Thomas

Blessings to our beloved Vicars of the parishes, Priests of the locality, Kaikkarans of the parishes and all members of the Church!

Dearly beloved,

Once again we are blessed with a season of Nativity. Christmas reminds us our vocation to our Savior’s childhood. This reminder but gives us significant responsibilities. We cannot lead a life as we please, but we ought to make ourselves analogous to the will of God. Staying in the premises of our lives, the challenges that we face are diverse and those may often tend to break us; but this higher sense of vocation that we have been called to be His child should in every way give us the impetus to go forward. Yes, this great event had made us His ‘heir’. Let the Feast which revealed to us that there is space in the heart of Jesus Christ for all creatures, make us more spiritual. Let us dedicate ourselves in holiness to prepare a manger in our hearts so as to equip ourselves to face the challenges of the age in the power of the Holy Spirit.

May this Christmas not be a commercial event for us but this may bring each one of us the sense of our vocation. May the peace of this season continue to sustain and reflect in you to be carried over to a very blessed New Year. We wish and pray that the Almighty grant you all a Christmas of spiritual renewal and joy and a blissful New Year.

May the Grace and Blessings of the God Almighty abide with you forever. May the prayers of the Mother of our God, the Holy Virgin Mary, St. Thomas the Apostle of India, our Holy Fathers Mar Gregorios, Mar Dionysius and all the Holy Saints be a stronghold for us. Amen.

Baselios Marthoma Paulose II
From Catholicate Aramana
Devalokam, Kottayam, Kerala, India
On December 05, 2011.

“The Virgin has Begotten the Wonderful; Let us go and Behold Him” Reflections on the Nativity of Christ

Introduction

When the Creator saw that man, who He had made with His own hands, perish, He was so moved that, “He bowed the heavens and came down”. The Feast of Nativity is the reconciliation of heaven and earth. The birth of Christ has united those on high and those below. Today God has come down to earth, and man ascends to heaven. Today the invisible God, manifests himself in flesh for the sake of His creation. Let our souls and lips cry out – Christ is Born, Glorify Him! Today the Creator has come down into the full reality of His creation.

The Feast of Nativity is a time of joy and celebration – of much giving – but we need to ask ourselves, what is the true meaning of the Feast? If we look around, Christmas in the world today is heavily commercialized, and how much do we as Orthodox Christians contribute to the cheapening of this great Feast? Today, Christmas is about everything but Christ. To a lot of us, the Feast is just an opportunity to have a jolly good time with mulled wine and sumptuous food. It is important for us to step away from the noise and hear the real significance of this Feast. In the words of Isaiah the glorious Prophet: “… to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called ‘Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace’” (Isaiah 9: 6).

The words of the popular Christmas carol echo a great truth, “O holy night! The stars are brightly shining, it is the night of our dear Savior’s birth. Long lay the world in sin and error pining, ‘Til He appear’d and the soul felt its worth… It was not until the coming of the Son of God, that man/the soul realized his/its true worth, meaning and significance. The mystery of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ speaks to us of something so deep and impossible, today God who fashions everything, cries and breathes the breath, which at first He gave to man, now as a babe. The coming together of God and man is at the heart of this great mystery, this great Feast. The Fathers of the Church say, “In the glory of the Incarnation, the divine and the worldly are suddenly, triumphantly, united and transformed.” This Feast is an opportunity for every believer to behold the Wonderful, and be struck with awe because, “today the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, rests in a cave.”

The Feast of God’s Embracing Love: Christmas is a time of coming to terms with God’s all embracing and redemptive love for us, in spite of all our failures and betrayals. When we journey to Bethlehem, this redemptive love becomes so visible. The truth is not only that God became man, not just that the eternally begotten second Person of the Holy Trinity took flesh, but in the manger lies not only God, but also ME. God took my nature for Himself, this is the all embracing and redemptive love. A love that is so beyond description, where me, who am but clay, we, who are but dust are made perfect in Christ.

The Feast of the Greatest Mission: Today is the day of the greatest mission the world has ever seen. In the New Testament you will not find the word “mission” but there are numerous references to God sending his Son, and Jesus sending us. The Nativity Feast proclaims the act of the Father sending His only begotten into the world. The Father does not send Jesus Christ into the world simply to speak, but He sends Jesus Christ to share the life of His people. He sends Christ to give His life for His people, and to give new life to the whole world. Christ shares in the sufferings, the struggles, the hopes and the joys of the people around Him and the Gospels bear witness to that on numerous occasions. We too are sent to give our love and our compassion. St. Paul says that Jesus is sent into the world to “destroy the power of death, and to bring everlasting life to light”. And so we are sent in order to challenge the power of death, and to bring life. Our mission is always more than words – our mission is the sharing of life – life that transforms another life.

The Feast of the Greatest Surprise: The greatest thing about Christmas morning is the surprises of the gifts wrapped and placed under the tree. As Charles Swindoll so beautifully put it, “Surprises are woven through the very fabric of all our lives. They await each one of us at unexpected and unpredictable junctures.” This Feast is an amazing surprise in that God himself decided to become man. “God comes to us, gives Himself to us, and not only in deed and action. Our very nature is taken up into His, and to our mortal frame is imparted a portion of the divine life.”
The Feast of God Descending into Our Reality: The Incarnation is about God becoming man, God descending into the world, but more so He descends into the deeper reality of our hearts – our life. The reality of our weakness. Christ becomes the very center of our life, the source of our energy in the world and the purpose of our life in this world. The sin of Adam banished him from Paradise and today that exile is banished and man is set free and Christ unites in His Person what is fallen in man and what is perfect in His. Today Eden is opened and the fullness of salvation is made manifest: “salvation enters the world, and the curse is destroyed.”

The Feast that Refuses to Compel Us: God has given Himself away so completely that we meet Him in poverty and weakness, with no splendor or glory. The whole of creation “lives by a love that refuses to bully us or force us or compel us, it is the love of the cradle and the cross.” Christ is the “the fire in the equations” that sustain everything. We live in a world where power is everything, in fact we are so obsessed with power that as Christians we have failed to see the two most vivid images of love – that of the helpless babe in the manger and the dying man on the cross. God empties Himself in the manger and the cross. He gives away all that He is to restore mankind. We live in Him, from Him, and through Him. God never held back His love, instead extended it unconditionally to man. “The eternal God, utterly unknowable, unfathomable, incomprehensible in His innermost being, deigned to enter into the sphere of our daily life, to assume the burdens and suffering of people like ourselves, He did so for one purpose only: to rescue us from the consequences of our sinful rebellion against the Author of Life, and to raise us up from death and corruption.” St. Athanasius puts is so well when he says, “He became what we are, so that we might become what He is.” The eternal Son of God “took flesh” and “became man” so that we might participate now and forever in all the joy and all the glory of His divine Life. Bethlehem points us to Jerusalem, there is no manger without the Cross and Resurrection – all the services in the Orthodox Christian tradition points to the salvific sacrifice of Christ and the glorious Resurrection.

Conclusion

St. Ephrem the Syrian writes, “The Lord of David and Son of David hid His glory in swaddling clothes. His swaddling clothes gave a robe of glory to human beings.” The Son of God is a gift to mankind, and He take up residence in the world. “This dwelling in the midst of Creation, as a part of it, makes God the Son close to, and available to, the surrounding creatures in a way that was not possible before. The presence of the Son here is a “personal” one that involves Him as a complete whole.” Exchanging gifts has become a universal Christmas tradition. I leave you with a question – “What is the best Christmas gift you can give another person?” For what God has given to us, what do we have to give back to Him and to His world?
I personally think the best gift we can give another person is ourselves. I am sure that I will not win many friends by such a statement, what I mean is love and genuine relationship. “The best gift is the gift of self, because in giving oneself, one is giving everything else.” This is what Christ Himself did. In His Incarnation, He gives Himself. He is Immanuel – God With Us. The real meaning of Christmas is to have Christ born in us, indwelling in our hearts.

The Nativity of Jesus Christ is a “crossing of paths” where God meets humanity and in love transforms the fallen human condition. The love of God lays in a manger in the House of Bread (Bethlehem), to feed humanity that hungers for love. It is the birth of that love into our world that we celebrate today. Christ becomes the very center of our life, our faith and our existence. The babe in the manger becomes the light of the world, even when the world is in shambles, for in Christ the Divine and the human cross paths. “No matter where we are in life, no matter in what condition we find ourselves, no matter how far we might stray away, or how unfaithful we are, God, the supreme lover, will pursue us in love for eternity!” God’s love never stops shining on us, and never stops searching for us.

“On this day when the Rich One was made poor for our sake, let the rich man also make the poor man a sharer at his table. On this day a gift came out to us without our asking for it; let us then give alms to those who cry out and beg from us. This is the day when the high gate opened to us for our prayers; let us also open the gates to the seekers who have stayed but sought [forgiveness].”

Christ is Born! Glorify Him!

References
Troparion from Canticle 1 of the Matins Canon for the Nativity.
Fr. Matthew Steenberg, “He Bowed the Heavens and Came Down”, in http://www.monachos.net/content/liturgics/liturgical-reflections/101.
Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, Divine Intimacy, Volume 3, (Ignatius Press, 1987), p. 292.
Charles Swindoll, The Finishing Touch: Becoming God’s Masterpiece, (Word Publishing, 1994), p. 268.
Witness Lee, God’s New Testament Economy, (Living Stream Ministry, 1996), p. 63.
Fr. Thomas Hopko, Winter Pascha: Readings for the Christmas-Epiphany Season, (SVS Press, 1984), p. 89.
Archbishop Rowan Williams, Christmas Sermon, December 2004, http://www.thinkinganglicans.org.uk/archives/000950.html.
Kitty Ferguson, The Fire in the Equations: Science, Religion and the Search for God, (W.B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 1997).
Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Glorious Christianity, (Crossway, 2004), p. 105.
Very Rev. john Breck, “Celebrating Christ’s Nativity” in http://legacy.oca.org/CHRIST-life-print.asp?ID=121, December, 2006.
The Incarnation of the Word by St Athanasius. Trans. by Rev. A. Robertson; Modernized, abridged and introduced by Stephen Tomkins. Edited and prepared for the web by Dan Graves.
Paul Russell, “The Image of the Infant Jesus in Ephrem the Syrian”, in Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies, Vol. 5, No. 1, January 2002, http://syrcom.cua.edu/Hugoye/Vol5No1/HV5N1Russell.html#S4.
Bill Steigerwald, “Christ, Christmas and Capitalism” in Front Page Magazine, December, 2006, http://archive.frontpagemag.com/readArticle.aspx?ARTID=889
Fr. George Morelli, “Christmas and Its Significance” in Christianity Today, http://www.orthodoxytoday.org/articles5/MorelliChristmas.php.
Rev. Bill Adams, “The Original Love Story” in http://www.rockies.net/~spirit/sermons/b-ch00-adams.php.
Hymns on the Nativity 1. Translation in Ephrem the Syrian Hymns, translated and introduced by Kathleen E. McVey New York: Paulist Press 1989. Syriac text at Des Heiligen Ephraem des Syrers Hymnen de Nativitate (Epiphania), herausgegeben von Edmund Beck Louvain: 1959 CSCO 186.

The doubt of St.Thomas is described in the eastern orthodox tradition as “blessed”, for it was not a doubt of resistance to truth, but one that desperately desired a truthful answer –a “ doubt which gave birth to faith” –when the answer was revealed. In a hymn of the Orthodox Church, Christ says to Thomas, “Your doubt will teach my Passion and Resurrection to all,” and we affirm that his doubt “brought the hearts of believers to knowledge”. The conversion of Thomas’ doubt into faith led him to the clearest confession of Christ’s divinity, addressing Jesus as my Lord and my God. (St. John 20:28). Jesus’ meeting with St .Thomas happened to be a milestone in the history of Christianity. But for this glorious event, the world would not have known completely of the truth revealed to humanity through the incarnate Christ. The statement, “My Lord and My God”, from St. Thomas was so revealing. The Christian understanding of Christ’s divinity finds its fullness in this great proclamation of St. Thomas having looked at the risen Christ and hence it happens to be the tap-root of Christology. This profession of faith by St. Thomas turned out to be the key-phrase for the Nicene Creed formulated in 325 CE. On comparison, we can see that there is a degree of depth on theological understanding of the Person Christ in the proclamation made by St. Thomas (“My Lord and My God”)rather than the proclamation made by St. Peter(“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”) as recorded on Mathew 16:16.

We read from the holy Bible that St. Thomas dared to be outside when all other disciples hid themselves inside a closed room for fear of the Jews following the death of Christ(John 20: 19). He was, in fact, longing to have a deep and direct knowledge of his master by touching the nail prints on the palms of Jesus Christ for the reason that he might have been more kinaesthetic than auditory and visual.( In terms of Neuro- Linguistic Programming[NLP]). We all know that senses are the gateway to knowledge. Each person differs in their sense of perceptions. Some people comprehend something profoundly by way of touching rather than by merely seeing or hearing. The importance of using all senses is clear in the verses of St.John, the evangelist. “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life – the life was manifested, and we have seen and bear witness and declare to you that eternal life which was with the father and was manifested to us –that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his son Jesus Christ . And these things we write to you that your joy may be full” (1 John 1: 1-4).

By this very act of touching the wounds of Christ, St. Thomas got the complete healing for his whole being just like the woman who with the issue of blood had been healed( St.Luke 8: 43-48). It was to redeem us from the punishment of our sins that Christ, our Lord and Saviour, came to the world and bore our sins. “Christ himself carried all our sins in his body to the Cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness. It is by his wounds that we have been healed”. (Isaiah 53:5, St.Matt8:17, I Peter 2: 24) But one must be receptive and must accept this Salvation of God. (Romans10:9). St. Thomas, in fact, was receiving that Salvation rendered by God by way of touching the crucified and risen Christ. Thus, he was giving us an example how we too can be healed by touching the body of Christ. And this is possible in the present time by touching in faith the holy things like the Altar, Cross, Oil, Priestly Vestments, Relics of Saints, etc in the Church.

With the analytical mind of a scientist, St.Thomas, after having made the observation and experiment, came to the inference that Christ was both full man and full God. This proves beyond doubt that the Christian faith on the resurrection of Christ is based not just on hearsay but a scientific truth leaving not even an iota of falsehood. But at the same time, it was with the innocence and inquisitiveness of an infant that St. Thomas approached the resurrected Christ. The ‘infant’ in him or his ‘child nature’, in terms of Transactional analysis, was curious of knowing the truth and exploring his surroundings. It was also the fulfilment of his prayer: “Send forth your light and you truth; let them guide me and bring me to your holy mountain and to the place where you dwell. Then I will come to the altar of God, to the God who makes glad my youth; I will give thanks to you with the lyre, O God, my God”(Psalm 43:3-4). Moreover, he might have believed that it was “in Him (Christ) dwells all the fullness of Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2: 9) and that it was necessary to go near Him to obtain mercy and grace. (Hebrews 4:16).

This event was, of course, an enrichment of the spirit of the human (Thomas) when the Spirit of the divine (the resurrected Christ) met him in the upper room at Jerusalem and melted into him. This episode obviously speaks of the nature of sensitivity of St.Thomas and the nature of tangibility or palpability (Tactus) of the resurrected body of Christ. In other words, this meeting was the reflection of a deep devotion of a devotee to the Divine. St. Thomas, as an ardent believer, aspired for a personal nexus with God so as to make their relationship stronger, perfect and lively. It is worth mentioning that the appearance of the risen Christ to His disciples for the second time was mainly and exclusively for St. Thomas proving that St.Thomas was so precious in the sight of the Lord Jesus and that He treated everyone equally. What the testimony of the women or the other disciples could not accomplish, the radiant presence of the Risen Christ must certainly have sufficed to do in an instant. St.Thomas was no longer the sceptic, the waverer (Jn14:5), the troubled man (Jn. 11:6). It was an entirely different man who confessed the divinity of Christ, and so wholeheartedly! His cry: “My Lord and my God!” was to be on the lips and hearts of countless future Christians in the presence of the Eucharist, the hidden but living God. St. Thomas’ words were the occasion for Jesus to give reassuring praise to the faith of those who ask for no tangible sign.

If we take these verses from the gospel of St.John chapter 20 for granted, there arises a question whether just he alone was a doubting disciple of Christ or was there someone else? What about St.Peter? How about St.John and the rest of all? (Read Luke 24:11, 38, John20:8). Even the priest Zechariah doubted (Luke1:18-20).

St. Thomas deserves to be respected for his faith. He may seem to be a doubter but his doubt had a purpose –he wanted to know the truth and to affirm his faith. He did not idolise his doubts; but gladly believed when given a reason to do so. He expressed his doubts fully and had them answered completely. Doubting was only his way of responding, not his way of life.

His commitment to his vocation is vivid in his venturing a voyage to the Far East. He came all the way from Jerusalem down to India for disseminating the gospel of Christ, and that too at a time when transportation facilities was not so advanced as that of today. It is worth mentioning that he has covered a vast geographical area as part of his mission work with the sole and noble intention of establishing the holy Church for and on behalf of our Lord Jesus. It is a notable fact that there was no one to accompany him or to assist him except the Spirit of God and that too he was having his herculean and tiresome journey all by himself. It is an astonishing fact that he made his marathon missionary journey covering a vast area starting from Jerusalem to Persia, to North India, then to South India and even to the shore of China. This was more than what St.Paul had done. And finally he became a martyr in South India for the sake of his Lord and God Jesus Christ. It is believed that St. Thomas during his missionary work in Persia happened to see the Magi (the wise men from the east who came to see baby Jesus) and baptised them into Christianity.

It is a pity that there is no one in the Christendom to acknowledge his great service rendered for the extension of the Kingdom of God. He is indeed worthy to be called the ‘Patron Saint of the Diaspora or the Immigrants’.

As an ardent disciple and a true follower of Christ, he paid the cost of discipleship by relinquishing his personal and earthly security like family and homestead. He even sacrificed the honour due to his parents which he was supposed to render to them. Luke 9:57-62, 14: 25ff speak in detail of the cost of discipleship.

History says that he was first brought to North India as an architect by the merchant Habban, precisely to the place called Taxila in 45 AD, where he converted many including the King Gondaphorus by his sincere and dedicated mission work. After that, he is believed to be taken back to Jerusalem in a whirlwind to have a last glimpse of the mother of God, St.Mary, following her demise. Tradition holds that before his arrival in Jerusalem, the holy body of St. Mary was transported to heaven by the angels. Seeing that glorious event, he prayed to St.Mary to bless him. And it is said that the girdle tied around her loin fell into his hands as a shower of blessing. That girdle is still kept as a holy relic of St.Mary with all reverence in a Syrian Orthodox Church in Holms.

Let us glance through the salient features of the person – St.Thomas.

1. St.Thomas, a man of immense courage and great philanthropist:

His courage was so immense that he spent all the resources which he got from the King, Gondaphorus, to get the Royal palace built. He showed the temerity in demanding the Emperor for more and more funds amounting to what he could spend on charity for the poor and the needy as if he was spending the whole sum for the cost of construction of the regal mansion. Prima facie, it seems to anyone as a sheer example of a deceptive deed, but his good intention, his concern for the poor, his prospective approach to his true calling, and his deep faith in God, all made it possible to have a fruitful result. We see in the biography of St. Thomas that God in a mysterious and quite a miraculous way setting and offering a beautiful abode in heaven for the resented king and thus saving St. Thomas from the edge of the king’s sword. This kind of his brave commitment for the cause of Christian mission is a good example for us to emulate for which he deserves great applause. He was an honest man who used his potentials and opportunities in a prudent way to accomplish his mission. If not an exaggeration, he was indeed the greatest Christian missionary whose contribution to the Church was so unique and extraordinary. But, quite unfortunately, this great personality has been shrouded in the clouds of parochial attitude in the history of Christianity.

2. St. Thomas, an obedient man of God who yielded to the values that he upheld:

Although our glimpses of St. Thomas are brief, his character comes through with consistency. He struggled to be faithful to what he knew, despite what he felt. At one point, when it was plain to everyone that Jesus’ life was in danger, only St. Thomas put into words what most were feeling, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him” (John11:16). And it is true that he did not hesitate to follow Jesus. This bold and inspiring statement from the unwavering mind of St. Thomas is an unwitting prophecy of his own future martyrdom. It was indeed a great revolutionary one. He was inspiring and exhorting his fellow disciples to be willing to pay off the cost of discipleship as envisaged by Christ our Lord. (Luke 14: 25-33). His later life story proves beyond doubt that it was not merely his figurative platitude, but, in fact, he lived on those words courageously; which teaches us of a fact that “A true Christian discipleship goes to the extent of martyrdom”. In simple terms, he walked on what he talked proving his identity and integrity. It also illustrates the path that all believers must take –that we die daily to the world for the sake of following Christ. (Luke 9:23-26).

“I am the way, the truth, and the life”. This perpetual word of promise from our Lord Jesus Christ was first revealed to St.Thomas. It is clear from the Bible that Christ, our Lord, had chosen 12 persons to be with Him, to be sent out for undertaking his mission of preaching, healing and exorcising (Mark 3:13) and further, in Mat 28:28, we see Christ sending the twelve out as part of His last commissioning. All of them were given equal authority on earth and in heaven, to bind and to unbind, to absolve the sin and to retain the sin. (Ref. St.John 28:18, St.Mat 20:23). The word ‘Apostle’ is a derivative of the Greek term ‘Apostolos’ which means “one who is sent for a specific purpose for and on behalf of with the same authority as that of the sender”. It was obvious that they were sent out with authority as Jesus himself was sent to this world with authority by his Father in heaven. Thus, we can be sure that St. Thomas too had the very same authority, privilege and right as that of every other apostle. There is no room for any sort of argument on the superiority or the inferiority attributed to any apostle such as the hierarchical supremacy of St. Peter on administrative matters and the intellectual supremacy of St. Paul on theological issues. To some, he may seem to be the last among the apostles, but it is a fact that he was not the least. To me, he is a coal turned into a diamond coruscating in the firmament of Christian history.

With every reverence, may I salute this great man of God who happens to be the founder and patron saint of Indian Orthodox Church! O Mother India! You are blessed for you carry on your soil the indelible foot prints of his holy man.

Queen Helene, Mother of Roman Emperor Constantine, was the one, who ventured a pilgrimage to Palestine to discover the Holy Cross in the year c.326-328, though she was nearly eighty years of age at that time. She was able to find the Holy Cross and the ‘Church of the Holy Sepulcher’ was built, where the Holy Cross of our Lord was found out. Tradition says that a dead person was made to touch the three crosses that were found in a pit down the outskirts of Jerusalem and at the touch of the real and holy Cross of our Lord the dead person came back to life. We get a notion of this legend in the song ‘Sleebaye vandippanaay Helene Rajnji…’ as well.

Holy Cross is the means of salvation that drives away all evil spirits because the Lord carried it upon His shoulders to Mount Calvary during His ultimate fight with evil. There beyond He ornamented it with His very own human body. Holy Cross is the symbol of peace and the flag of victory. It is in the Holy Cross that our glory confides. It is the fortress for all, who take their refuge in, including churches and monasteries. That is why we all ornament ourselves with a Holy Cross, mostly gold though!

Let us sing once again with optimistic and positive trust in the symbol of peace, the Holy Cross that ‘sleeba pallikal dayaraakal kkellaamaakatte kotta’!

Worship in the Orthodox perceptive does not simply mean prayer alone. It is beyond prayer. Prayer means communion with God in a rather personal way. Worship means doing prayer collective. When two or more people join together in prayer (cf. St. Matthew 18:20) under the same well defined framework and structure, it is worship in the Orthodox understanding. Liturgy means worship elevated to the Holy Eucharistic service or services on special feast days like, for instance, Christmas, Palm Sunday, Holy Friday or Easter. Holy mysteries like baptism, matrimony or ordination can only be administered in a liturgical setting as well. Culmination of all prayers, worship and liturgy is in the Holy Eucharist.

For the Orthodox worship and liturgy include some or all the five senses, namely, the sight, hearing, smelling, touching and tasting. One sees the worship going on, one hears the prayers, jingling of bells, melodious music etc., one smells the incense, one touches each other at the kiss of peace, and tastes the eternal food at receiving the Holy Eucharist.

However, in the Orthodox point of view worship does not limit itself to the five physical senses, rather goes on to the five spiritual senses as well. Wherefrom do we get the concept of five spiritual senses? Nowhere, but from the Holy Bible itself! David in Psalms repeatedly speaks about it (cf. Ps. 33:2; 92:3; and 144:9) that he will sing with the ten-stringed lyre to the Lord. Fathers have always interpreted the ten-stringed lyre as ten senses, the five physical and five spiritual senses. The five spiritual senses are the ‘mind, intellect, reason, discernment and will’. When the priest exhorts the congregation during the Holy Eucharistic service to lift up their minds, thoughts and hearts to the high place, where Christ sits at the right hand of the Father’, nothing but this very concept of ten senses resonates. Said more precise, intellect and reason are alluded with thought and discernment and will are referred to with heart.

Burning candles, various shades of lights, incensing, singing and reciting prayers loudly and quietly, jingling of bells, shuddering of Marbahsa to symbolize the fluttering Angels, processions, kiss of peace and wishing of peace, elevation of mysteries, and disbursal to go into the world with divine power to face with forces of dark are mystically embedded in the Orthodox worship and liturgy.

In short, the Orthodox perceive a total communion with God and seek the best from God for the whole creation, especially for their fellow beings with actions of worship, prayer and liturgy.

Recently a United Methodist bishop was reprimanded by his church for his heretic view that Christ did not resurrect from His tomb. In recent times there were many western theologians, who had proposed that the resurrection of Christ was just a myth. We wonder why these so-called theologians and liberal clergyman are speculating against resurrection when Paul clearly says that our faith has no meaning without resurrection. If a theologian attacks the virgin birth of Christ and His resurrection what else is there for a theologian to theologize! If Christ is stripped from His virgin birth and resurrection, what else is there for us to BELIEVE in!

The apostles of Christ were terrified of what had happened in connection with the crucifixion of Christ. They were even afraid of getting out, because they thought that they lost their leader and His movement. They were a defeated group. Even after the resurrection of Christ, which was reported by some lady-disciples of Christ, they were still afraid of getting out. Jesus Himself had to appear to them in order to convince them of His resurrection when they were hiding in a basement. But it took a mighty wind blown by the Holy Spirit to power them for preaching the resurrected Jesus. All, but one, were martyred for this faith. Who is going to show his neck to the sharp edges of a sword if he does not have a convincing reason to die! Who is going to stretch his hands for crucifixion, if he does not have Master, who conquered the cross and death on it! Yes, the suffering of all apostles demands a convincing reason behind it. The reason is that unique event in the history of mankind: Christ conquered death by His resurrection. That is what gave them hope.

Our Christian life is meaningless without our resurrected Lord. It is also meaningless without a resurrected life. We are all buried under our sins, our voluptuous desires, our carnality, and our selfishness. Our resurrection takes place through true repentance. It is not enough that we are sorry about our fallen lives. It is important that we convert to Christ, by rejecting our sinful and carnal way of life. It requires determination and resolution; the determination for conversion to Christ, and resolution not to sin again. Then only can we be sure of our own resurrected life.

In our Liturgy of Resurrection, there is a moving component, which is the announcement of resurrection to the public. Immediately after the announcement the faithful attending the liturgy greet each other with the following: Christos Aneste (Christ Is Risen)! The response is also suggestive of the great joy every Orthodox experiences when listening to this glad news: Alithos Aneste (Indeed He Is Risen)!

WE WISH ALL OUR READERS A VERY BLESSED EASTER AND A JOYFUL SPRING SEASON!

God told Abraham one day to sacrifice his only begotten son Isaac. The place was specified as the top of the Mount Moriah. It was somewhat three days away from where Abraham lived. Third watch of Tuesday night vigil has a very detailed description of this event, which includes the promion and sedra. We attempt here to have a close look at the event on the background of the above mentioned prayer to better understand salvation effected by the Lord Jesus Christ.

Word Meanings

Abraham means ‘merciful father’. Isaac means ‘he laughed’. Moriyah means ‘my Lord is Yahweh’ or otherwise ‘considered or ordained by the Lord’. Yahweh Yireh means ‘Lord is the provider or the Lord will provide’. However Yahweh Yireh in Hebrew has other derived meanings as well, like ‘the Lord will look after or the Lord will take care of or the Lord will foresee the goodness’ etc.

The Event in a Nutshell

After the Lord took care of Abraham and proved that He is the Lord to him, He wanted to test Abraham to make sure of his commitment. The Lord said to him to sacrifice his only son Isaac as a burnt offering at the top of a Mountain at the land of Moriah. Next day, Abraham saddled his donkey and set out early in the morning with his only son Isaac, some young men as servants with wood for burnt offering, fire and a knife to kill the animal to offer.

Abraham saw the place at a distance and he said to his servant men to remain there with the donkey. Once he worshipped, he would come back, he said to them. He took the wood, laid it on his son Isaac and he himself took the fire and knife.

Isaac asked his father, “Father, the fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”

Abraham replied, “God Himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.”

When they came to the place that God had shown them for the offering, Abraham made the wood in order on the altar that he maid, caught hold on his son, laid him on the wood and tied strongly thereupon. Took his knife and swung it to cut his son before the burnt offering. At once, an Angel of the Lord appeared and told Abraham to not to kill his son. “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son form me”, said the Lord.

Abraham looked up and saw a ram, caught in a thicket by its horns. He went, took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place Yahweh Yireh or ‘the Lord will provide’.

The Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said; “By myself I have sworn, says the Lord: Because you have done this, and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will indeed bless you, and I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of their enemies, and by your offspring shall all the nations of the earth gain blessing for them, because you have obeyed my voice.”

Thereafter Abraham and the young men went back.

Exposition

Jesus Christ was called ‘Son of David, who was Son of Abraham’ (Mt 1:1). The same Jesus said to the Jews that being God He was God Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (cf. Ex 3:6, 15, 16; 4:5; Mt 22:32; Mk 12:26; Lk 20:37; Acts 3:13; 7:32). Abraham wished to see His day and has seen to be happy, and before Abraham I was (Jn 8:40, 52, 57, 58). Jesus, therefore, was surely the God of Abraham. Yet, in the above mentioned event Abraham stands for God the Father. The name Abraham means merciful father and Isaac stood for Jesus. Just as the Son, the second person of the Holy Trinity, is the Only begotten Son of God the Father, Isaac was the only begotten son of Abraham, the Patriarch.

Isaac was seated gloriously on the donkey until the Land of Moriah and Jesus was seated on the donkey until Jerusalem. The young servants took care of Isaac until he reached the land of Moriah and the people of Judah, especially young ones, shouted Hosanna to the Son of David, Son of Abraham until Jerusalem. Just as Jesus carried the wood of the cross, Isaac carried the firewood, the wood for the burnt offering upon him. Just as Jesus said to the Father, “My Father, if possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want, but what you want”; Isaac inquired about the animal for burnt offering to his father. Just as the Son laid foundations to the earth in complete accordance with the Father, Isaac made the altar for the offering with his father Abraham. While binding him on to the wood Isaac was quiet and silent, Jesus did not resist his crucifixion. Just as a ram was miraculously made visible from a thicket, Jesus was born from the virgin in a fashion only known to God. Just as the ram saved Isaac from destruction, Jesus saved the whole humanity from destruction and dissolution. Just as Sarah was pleased to see Isaac again, the virgin was pleased at the resurrection. Just as Isaac means ‘he will laugh’, the humanity was happy and content at the final result of Jesus offering on the cross. It is also a proof that the Lord will provide, will look after or will take care or will foresee the goodness for the humanity, Yahweh Yireh.

Some notes on Mount Moriah

In the course of time the mountain had acquired an aura of sanctity and the subject of many traditions. Indeed, its sacred status may date back to the early Canaanite period, when it perhaps was the cultic center of ‘El Elyon,’ god of Melchizedek, king of Salem: “And Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine; he was a priest of God Most High (El Elyon). He blessed him, saying, Blessed be Abram of God Most High, creator of heaven and earth” (Gen 14:18).

The tradition of ‘Jacob’s Dream’ is also identified with Mount Moriah: “He came upon a certain place and stopped there for the night, for the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of that place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. He had a dream; a stairway was set on the ground and its top reached to the sky, and angels of God were going up and down on it. And the Lord was standing beside him… Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the abode of God and that is the gateway to heaven” (Gen 28:10-18).

This is perhaps the most colorful representation of the essential nature of the site which some would later claim was the ‘navel of the world’. At the summit of Mount Moriah, traditionally, is the ‘Foundation Stone,’ the symbolic fundament of the world’s creation, and reputedly the site of the Temple’s Holy of Holies, the supreme embodiment of the relationship between God and the people of Israel.

The northern area of Mount Moriah’s summit lay desolate for long after Zion’s capture by David. It was in fact still the private property of Araunah, the city’s former Jebusite king. For various reasons David did not confiscate the site but preferred to buy it from Auranah for full value: “So David paid Ornan (Auranah) for the site 600 shekels’ worth of gold. And David built there an altar to the Lord and sacrificed burn offerings and offerings of well-being” (1 Chr 21:25, and a slightly different version at 2 Sam 24:18-25). Traditions say that Abraham wanted to offer Isaac exactly on the same place, where David built the city of Jerusalem.

Upon the completion of King Solomon’s Temple, famed for its sumptuous splendor, the Ark of the Covenant was placed within its confines. The sanctity of the site is reflected in the graphic description provided by the Book of Kings: “the priests came out of the sanctuary for the cloud had filled the House of the Lord and the priests were not able to remain and perform the service because of the cloud, for the Presence of the Lord filled the House of the Lord…” (1 Kg 8:11).

Solomon built his palace in the ‘miloh’ (infill) area which separated the summit of the mountain and the Temple from the city below. This was also a concrete expression of the divine inspiration that was attributed to his kingship. Other palaces were also built nearby, such as the “House of the Forest of Lebanon” and the House of Pharaoh’s Daughter. Solomon used dirt to fill in this east-west lateral rift, hence the area’s name: ‘miloh’ (infill), or Ophel, from a Hebrew word referring to the road that ascended to the Temple from the city which at that time was topographically lower.

As we continue to increase information exchange over the internet, it so happens that we are led to use English as the language for this communication. In this predicament we may sometimes use, perhaps inadvertently, some words or terminology which we may think is correct, but convey the wrong meaning. We are used to saying ‘25 nompu’, ‘3 nompu’, ‘50 nompu’, etc. in Malayalam. Possibly because we have seen ‘50 nompu’ being referred to in English usage as ‘Lent’ or Lenten period, we may have gotten to think that ‘lent’ is the same as ‘nompu’. English equivalent for the Malayalam word ‘nompu’ appears to be ‘fast’. Our Lord fasted for forty days in the desert. He did not observe a ‘40-day lent’!

One can look up the meaning or definition of the word ‘lent’ in any English language dictionary or encyclopedia. There are a few popular online dictionaries, such as merriam-webster.com, learnersdictionary.com, and wikipedia.org. A rather lengthy but informative excerpt from the last source (wikipedia.org) is given below:
“Lent in the Christian tradition, is the period of the liturgical year leading up to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer – through prayer, penitence, almsgiving and self-denial – for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, which recalls the events linked to the Passion of Christ and culminates in Easter, the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Conventionally, it is described as being forty days long, though different denominations calculate the forty days differently. The forty days represent the time that, according to the Bible, Jesus spent in the desert before the beginning of his public ministry, where he endured temptation by Satan.

This practice was virtually universal in Christendom until the Protestant Reformation. Some Protestant churches do not observe Lent, but many, such as Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians, and Anglicans, do.”

For the roots and origin of the word ‘lent’ Wikipedia has this:
“In Latin the term quadragesima (translation of the original Greek tessarakoste, the ‘fortieth day’ before Easter) is used. This nomenclature is preserved in Roman, Slavic and Celtic languages (for example, Spanish cuaresma, Portuguese quaresma, French carême, Italian quaresima, Croatian korizma, Irish Carghas, and Welsh Crawys).

In the late Middle Ages, as sermons began to be given in the vernacular instead of Latin, the English word lent was adopted. This word initially simply meant spring (as in German language Lenz and Dutch lente) and derives from the Germanic root for long because in the spring the days visibly lengthen”.

Online merriam-webster.com shows this for Definition of LENT:

“the 40 weekdays from Ash Wednesday to Easter observed by the Roman Catholic, Eastern, and some Protestant churches as a period of penitence and fasting”. The same resource also has this for Origin of LENT: “Middle English lente springtime, Lent, from Old English lencten; akin to Old High German lenzin spring. First Known Use: 13th century.”

So, it is clear that lent is a fasting period associated with a particular period of the year (springtime) and a particular Church calendar event (Easter). The word clearly has limited meaning, was adopted for convenience, and got into use much later in the history of the Christian Church. Although ‘lent’ is indeed a fasting period, every fasting period is not a ‘Lenten’ period. It so happens that the Great Lent (Great Fast in Orthodox usage) leading to Easter is the only fasting period in most Protestant Church calendars. On the other hand, Orthodox Churches observe several other fasting/penitential (‘nompu’) periods. The ones observed by Malankara Orthodox Church are either in honor of special events or days (like Nineveh, Wednesday, Friday), or in preparation for specific feast days of the Church: Nativity of the Lord, Resurrection of the Lord, Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, and Dormition of the Lord’s Mother. Of these, the 50-day fast before the Resurrection seems to be the only one that is the ‘Lent’, according to the meaning of that word. There is no ‘Advent lent’; it is Advent (Nativity or 25-day) fast. There is no ‘3-day lent’; it is 3-day (or Nineveh) fast. And so on. Shall we correct our thinking and usage?

Readers are welcome to further expound this concept and write short artiles to express their views on this issue. Those ones with convincing arguments irrespective of for or against will be published. To respond click here
Editor

The writer Alex Mathew is from Wesley Chapel, Florida

St. Luke 12: 32-48

According to the lectionary of our Church February 27 marks ‘All Souls Day’ this year. This is the Sunday that just precedes the beginning of the Holy Lent as well. The holy gospel that we hear on this Sunday is taken from St. Luke 12: 32-48. Parallels thereto can be seen in St. Matthew 6:19-21 and 24: 45-51.

Before we get in into the exegesis of the gospel portion, let us remind ourselves of two important concepts the Holy Church emphasizes thoroughly. For one, the holy Church includes the faithful, who are physically visible and invisible for us and for the other, holy lent is a combined experience for both the parties. In other words, we enter into the holy lent not without our departed ones, but with them. Our prayers gain wind when are added with that of the departed and their prayers gain momentum when added with that of ours. Since the seal of baptism is active upon us and upon them, we pray on this Sunday for them and in their realm they pray for us that the Lord prepare us all without spot and blemish to experience the heavenly bliss of resurrection. Therefore, the fathers have arranged the lectionary remembering all the departed clergy and faithful on two very Sundays before the holy lent commences.

St. Luke 12: 32-48 can be divided into three sections: I. v. 32-34, II. v. 35-40, and III. v. 41- 48. These three sections highlight the necessity to become poor by giving alms, the necessity of being watchful and the necessity of being faithful managers.

I. Necessity to become poor, give alms (v. 32-34)

When we buy something we pay the price, either in cash or in kind, just as the proverb goes, ‘there is no free lunch’. V. 32 exhorts that the little flock need not to fear for it is their Father’s good pleasure to give them the kingdom. One needs to buy a share or place in the kingdom by earning the good pleasure of the Father. To get into the kingdom, and to have a good treasure in the kingdom one is advised to sell all possessions off and give alms. When one sells ones possessions one gets money and that money shall be distributed as alms to get rid of it. In other words, one shall be poor in this world to enter into the kingdom and it is by becoming poor that one is buying a share in the kingdom.

I know a person, who has literally distributed all his wealth to the ones, who asked him therefore. Recently an Achen, who was a close ally to LL Catholicos HH Baselios Marthoma Mathew I narrated an incident similar. Bava Thirumeni had 42.5 laks of Rupees in his possession from the sales of Qurbanakramam, which he used to publish for decades. At his mid eighties, during 1980s, Bava Thirumeni would suddenly start distributing his wealth to anyone, who asked him. All the money was gone and his secretary Fr. Binoy (later LL Augen Mar Dionysius) told Bava Thirumeni that anymore checks would mean he would become bankrupt. That prompted Bava Thirumeni to preach a sermon about the need to become poor before dying. The Achen himself, who narrated this to me, heard it from Bava Thirumeni. It is very important to become poor, if one needs to enter into the kingdom.

One might think in the line, like Bava Thirumeni was a monk and a monk can distribute his wealth like that. In fact a monk is not supposed to own anything as well. Can we, the ones, who live in this world

There are many ways to keep a good Lent. During Lent time, a faithful believer of Christ is supposed to abstain from some particular food or pleasure, especially avoiding non-vegetarian and sex. This is what exactly St. Paul meant when he wrote in 1 Corinthians 7:5 “Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self control”.

Some people doubt whether diet regimen during Lent in our Church is biblical or not. Abstaining from the king’s rich food, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah ate vegetables (lentils) and drank water. (Daniel 1:8-12). See what Daniel says, ” In those days, I, Daniel, was mourning for three weeks, I ate no delicacies, no meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, for the full three weeks.”(Daniel 10:2-3). It is said in Joel 1:14; 2:12 that we have to lament and mourn for sanctifying fast. The fasting period is called the lamenting period. Daniel did not eat any delicacies, meat or wine during fasting period. According to one’s strength, power and call everyone adjusts the dietary arrangements and the duration of the fasting. We see that St. John the Baptist, the greatest of all born of women abstained from eating fish or meat. The children like Hananiah and the rest ate only lentils, and drank water. Daniel rejected the delicacies and wine. The Church takes note that the Hebrew youths were blessed by God through holy fasting. It was fasting that delivered the children from the furnace and Daniel the prophet from the jaws of the lions.

Simple food in small quantity helps creating in oneself awareness that gluttony is a sin. A scoop of simple food would help one to cherish an idea that our prayers should be need based and not greed based. Lent is, further, an opportunity for oneself to abstain from bad habits like smoking and drinking.

The Church’s commandment is that one should not eat anything until evening or 3 p.m. If one is not capable of doing it, fast till mid-day. If possible, one should avoid tasty and rich food like egg, milk, fish, meat, etc. And purify himself/her self through prayer, meditation on Bible and prostration. One is bound by moral obligations, such as giving alms and helping the needy etc, during fasting period. It is compulsory that one should participate in the Holy Qurbana after the true confession.

As our lives become ever busier, there is the danger that the voice of the Lord gets drowned out. Even in Jesus’ own time, it was easy to become distracted by the cares and duties of everyday life as the episode of Martha and Mary shows. As an antidote, Jesus invites us to “come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while” (Mark 6:31). In the early centuries of the Church, men and women accepted this invitation quite literally and withdrew to a solitary life in the deserts of Egypt and Syria. From this began the Christian monastic tradition. While not all of us feel a call to become monks or hermits, there are many disciplines and practices we can all undertake to help us live this season of renewal to the full.

Lent means living exclusively with God. It means making a space for God in our life. Spend time reflecting on your own baptism. Read John 4:5-42, John 9:1-41 and John 11:1-45. Ask God to renew the gifts you have already received. Do something extra, like visiting the sick. Lent is a time of not only prayer, but also for fasting and alms deeds, which Augustine called “the wings of prayer” meaning, presumably, that without the fasting and alms deeds, our prayer remains earthbound and ineffective. It is good to have a charity box for each one of us. Earmark the money thus collected by fasting for philanthropic activities. See what kind of fasting God wants from us all. “Remove the chains of oppression and the yoke of injustice, and let the oppressed go free. Share your food with the hungry and open your homes to the homeless poor. Give clothes to those who have nothing to wear, and do not refuse to help your own relatives” (Isaiah 58: 6-7). This is not enough to fulfill a Lent. What is necessary is to have repentance.

When Jesus began his public life and preaching, his first message was not “Love one another” or even “Love your enemies”, it was “The kingdom of God is close at hand, Repent”( St. Mark 1:15). The English word `Penance’ is the translation of a Greek word `metanoia’. The root of penance is the Latin word `Peona’, meaning punishment, penalty, pain, grief. It is not surprising that Lent, time for penance, is not our favorite time of the year. Metanoia, however, does not mean punishment or pain: literally, it means a change of mind. So Lent is not meant to be a time for punishment and pain, but a time for changing our minds, changing our outlook and attitudes, a time for changing our hearts. This is vividly illustrated when Prophet Joel tells Israel, “Let your hearts be broken, not your garments torn” (Joel 2:13).

Finally, apart from abstention of food and worldly pleasures, it is good to have `Mauna Vretham’ (Keeping silence all through the days of the Lent). Silence is the best way to hear the voice of God for it is written thus in Psalm 46:10: “Be still and know that I am God”.

May God give us strength and enthusiasm to observe this Lent without failure.