Are You Trying? Really?

Text: 1 Timothy 4: 6- 10

If you put these instructions before the brothers and sisters you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound teaching that you have followed. Have nothing to do with profane myths and old wives’ tales. Train yourself in godliness, for, while physical training is of some value, godliness is valuable in every way, holding%nd the life to come. The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance. For to this end we toil and struggle, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.

Message:

On 23rd  June 2011, I became the Deacon of the Mar Thoma Church and on 11th July 2011, the same day of my birth 29 years ago, I was Ordained as the Kasheesha (Priest) of the Mar Thoma Church. When I celebrate the two years of my ministry I need to ask myself is there anything to celebrate about. After the many Qurbanas and Sermons, how much have I changed? After writing so many meditations, have I become a better disciple of Jesus?  Well the excuse that I can come up with is “I have tried.” This to my mind is a very common excuse that we exercise. I have ever been listening sermons after sermons to be like Jesus, to follow him, going to camps and dedicating myself and then coming back to just being my old self. And all I had an excuse was, “You know, I tried.”

My mother was an athlete in her school days. There were stories that are now part of family folk lore of how fast she was. The best that I managed was in 8th Standard , I came 4th among 6 runners and felt very proud about it. Once in our school there was a selection for long distance running and I now knew this was my chance. God has a purpose for my lifeThe date was set and we had to run 10 rounds of the ground. All the friends interested started to train accordingly. I started doing sit ups one day and gave up. After a week or so the day arrived. I prayed and said “I am going to try.” We were all at the starting line. Ten rounds. That’s all. Once I cross the line, I too would be a legend. On your marks. Get set. Whistleeeeeee. And I went for the dash. I was coming first as I started with great speed. At the end of the first round, all the other athletes were far behind. Second round starts and suddenly I just can’t breathe. My leg is too stubborn. I tried harder to convince it. But it was just that. I was trying. Half way through the second round, I just could not take another step. As this was not a race but just a qualifying round, half way through, the gate that led us outside the ground came and I silently faded out. With that faded my every illusion of dreaming of having any career in athletics.

But I realized that trying was just not enough. One needs to train wisely not only in athletics but also in matters of faith.   In the passage above set before us for meditation, Paul uses the image of Athletics  when he says in vs 7-8 “Train yourself in Godliness. For, while physical training is of some value, godliness is valuable in every way, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” Paul’s audiences were very familiar to Athletics as Corinth was the site of Isthmanian games, second only to Olympics in Ancient Greece. To enter these games one had to undergo 10 months of intensive training failing which one could be disqualified. Keeping this in mind Paul says “discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.” 1 Cor 9: 27.

One of the crudest comment I got as a youth was when one of my friend said “You are Eloquent in your sermon.” I was beaming already till he completed his statement. “But it is just words.” It just shook me up. It still shakes me. Are my sermons just words? Or am I training to be transformed by Christ? The right beginning is to believe that merely by ones will power one cannot start being the faith that one preaches. The first thing that Alcoholics are taught in their self help group Alcoholics Anonymous is that one cannot become sober just by wishing to be so. For that One needs to follow the 12 steps principle of Alcoholic Anonymous. I have adapted these 12 principles for our journey in faith.  

a)“Knowing our powerlessness to implement our faith in a world full of distractions.”

b) Believing that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to discipleship.

c) Making a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we have come to understand Him.

d) To make a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

e) Admit to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

f) Being entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

g) Humbly ask Him to remove our shortcomings.

h) To make a list of all persons we have harmed, and therfore willing to make amends to them all.

i) To make direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

j) Continue to take personal inventory, and when we are wrong to promptly admit it.

k) Seek through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understand Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.

l) Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we would carry this message to our fellow travelers in faith and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

It is indeed a sobering fact to use the techniques of Alcoholics in the journey of faith. But I guess the struggle to practice our faith is as tough or even tougher than the struggle of an alcoholic to remain sober. Last Saturday as I was preparing for the Holy Communion, I started to read a 17th Century Book called “The Practice of the Presence of God” written by a Cook in a monastery who was known as Brother Lawrence. This book was compiled after the death of brother Lawrence who wrote letters to his friend about his spiritual training and discipline. “I have radically practiced the Presence of God in the most mundane affairs of my life. I do not like to cook but I pray ‘Lord, let this be pleasing to You and You alone. ’  After cooking again I pray thanking God. Every waking minute I live just to please my Master and therefore very waking moment in my life is now a prayer. It took me 10 years of sufferings to reach here but my deep sense of communion and love of God has deepened. I live only to please Him.” These verse touched a cord deep within. I was visibly moved. Have I trained myself to feel the presence of my Lord in every waking minute of my life? Do I strive to please God or I long for the approval of the people around? Is my life a prayer? Why do I get so irritated after I preach about patience? Why do I become judgmental after preaching about Love or hearing a sermon on it? Why do I fall into temptation soon after I have resolved to lead a virtuous life? Well these questions work as an inventory to know where I stand as a disciple.

In U.S after the 2nd World War, At Madison’s square, New York, Chuck, Bill and Chris were the three youths who brought the Gospel of comfort to a nation bruised with war and the after effects of Depression. It is said Chuck Templeton had a deep captivating baritone voice. His narration of the sermon kept the audience spell bound. His Conventions were well attended and his voice was the talk of the town. In 1950s Radio became a huge business. Chuck was offered a post as a News Broadcaster for his enviable voice. Initially he rejected it to concentrate on his ministry but later accepted the offer. He soon became a celebrity News Reader. He started to ignore his ministry and later on in an interview he professed “Lack of Conviction about his Christian faith which has forced me to discontinue my ministry.”

Chris Broff had unbelievable humor. People were glued to their seats once he started to speak. It is said his sermons never had a dull moment. And then he fell in love with a girl. He was rejected time after time. He started drinking. Became an alcoholic and died at a very young age. A man of promise and conviction lost the plot.

The Third man was Billy Graham. I admire Graham more for his tenacity and focus in ministry. He was a man f spiritual discipline who lived and preached his faith. Three young promising stars started ministry in difficult times. But only one completed the race. It is not how well you start, but how tenaciously you run with discipline and finish the race.

As people of faith, we need to focus on training to be Disciples of Jesus. We have tried enough. We need to be effective witnesses of Jesus. Or else the words of Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan will ring true. “Christians are ordinary people with extraordinary claims.” Let us dedicate ourselves in the training of Godliness and faith. May God give us the grace. Amen.

Rev Merin Mathew

Mar Thoma Syrain Church

Guwahati

Geese In The Barnyard

Text: Mark 8: 27 – 33

Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”

 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.”

 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.”

Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.

He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

 But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

Message

In the passage that we are going to meditate we are with the disciples at Caesarea Philippi when Jesus asks them the most important question. “Who do you say I am?” I can picture Peter being the smartest boy in the classroom who always has his hand raised up to give the answer. “You are the Messiah” is his prompt reply.  It is a high point in his life as a Disciple to be the first one to Declare Jesus as the Messiah. But before we wait too long, Jesus tells the disciples that His journey to the Cross is through suffering, rejection, death and finally rejection. This was not appealing to Peter who took Jesus to his side and rebuked him. He could not imagine his Messiah being so vulnerable and weak. He did not imagine suffering, rejection and death the ideal for the Lord he was following. He had much more spectacular expectations from his Messiah. And how did Jesus respond? “Get behind me Satan” “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”  Peter like most of us was ready to have a Messiah and declare him as one but wanted to follow him in his own terms. Being a disciple to a Messiah who was a Superman was great. He healed, He walked on water, He taught with authority. But a Messiah who was going to suffer, was going to be killed was not to the liking of Peter.

Recently the movie “Man of Steel” the Superman movie was released. I did not watch it yet but there was an article that said that this Superman was designed on a Jesus archetype. It feasts on a savior complex of us where we need a savior who cushions us from all sufferings and the fear of death. It has increased our obsession as people of faith to be more and more obsessed with ourselves. We want a Superman who will fulfill all our needs and keep us safe. But in act of faith we seldom think of sacrificing or suffering for Christ.  So lofty ideals of sacrifice, loving your neighbor, purposeful living, Feeling the presence of God, are more matters that sound good in sermons or books. Let us also remember that even though our faith practices has made us self centred, we still love to hear the great stories of people with faith, who sacrificed and laid their life for the Lord. We become all emotional and content to live this vicarious life. Soren Kierkegaard explains this phenomenon in a beautiful parable. It goes like this.

"A certain flock of geese lived together in a barnyard with high walls around it.  Because the corn was good and the barnyard was secure, these geese would never take a risk to fly beyond the barns. One day a philosopher goose came among them. He was a very good philosopher and every week they listened quietly and attentively to his learned discourses. 'My fellow travellers on the way of life,' he would say, 'can  you seriously imagine that this barnyard, with great high walls around it, is all there is to existence? I tell you, there is another and a greater world outside, a world of which we are only dimly aware. Our forefathers knew of this outside world. For did they not stretch their wings and fly across the trackless wastes of desert and ocean, of green valley and wooded hill? But alas, here we remain in this barnyard, our wings folded and tucked into our sides, as we are content to puddle in the mud, never lifting our eyes to the heavens which should be our home.”

The geese thought this was very fine lecturing. 'How poetical,' they thought. 'How profoundly existential. What a flawless summary of the mystery of existence.' Often the philosopher spoke of the advantages of flight, calling on the geese to be what they were. After all, they had wings, he pointed out. What were wings for, but to fly with? Often he reflected on the beauty and the wonder of life outside the barnyard, and the freedom of the skies.

And every week the geese were uplifted, inspired, moved by the philosopher's message. They hung on his every word. They devoted hours, weeks, months to a thoroughgoing analysis and critical evaluation of his doctrines. They produced learned treatises on the ethical and spiritual implications of flight. All this they did. But one thing they never did. They did not fly! For the corn was good, and the barnyard was secure!"

We are very secure in the World of Malls and Online stores. It all cushions us from all realities of life. We draw great security from the things that we can buy and own. It gives us stability and calmness. This is the reason why retail therapy is catching on. So as long as I grow more and more selfish and self- obsessed, things will keep falling in place. I do not have to worry about anything. My biggest worry is “I now have iPhone 4, when will I Buy the next.” Or “This particular car is my dream, when will it be mine”. We are conditioned to believe that these are very essential to our life and circumstances. We will keep rationalizing with ourselves and at the same time feel very happy to read the verse ‘Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.’ (Matthew 16: 24). As a Church we have a huge cloud of witness that have laid down their life, sacrificed and became heroes of faith. They denied themselves and took up the cross to follow Jesus. Today these heroes make us feel proud. We own them. We feel all emotional that they are part of our tradition. We may also trace our ancestry to them. But we will not fly. For the corn is good and the barnyard is secure. The living presence of Christ that moves people to action, to lay their lives down for God and their neighbor is now lost.

As a child the song that I ridiculed the most was the classic Malayalam song “Ennod Ulla Nin Sarva nanmaggal Kay”. This is song No 67 in our Kristhiya Keerthanam. Whenever there is any material or familial fulfillment like a House is bought or at the time of the Girl about to leave for the wedding this song is ritually sung. It is a song that articulates thanks giving in the best possible manner. One day when I was talking to my friend Rev Abraham Thomas, who is the Youth Chaplain of Bangalore, he told me the story of a man of faith, P.V. Thommi. He was an evangelist who ministered to the villages in Kunamgullam, in Kerala. He was a great witness. Because of his preaching and works, many people came to faith. One day the epidemic of plague broke out in one of the villages. Many well-wishers advised him to leave the village and run for security as the epidemic was fast catching up. But Thommi said that “I have thus far preached about love. Now is the time to practice it. I am going nowhere. I am going to serve my people in this time of crisis.” With his relentless work,  exhaustion caught up with the 38 year old Thommi. He too became the victim of plague. He had a choice of running for security. But he decided to deny himself and carry the cross.  Holding his 5 year old daughter close to him he sang this song which is credited to him “Ennod ulla Nin sarva nanmagal.” He looked into the eyes of death and suffering and sang a song of gratitude and hope. Because for Thommi after the suffering and death, there is the resurrection that Jesus has promised. The song writer of Classics like “Innu pagal Muzhuvan”, “Enth athisheyamme Daivathin Sneham” wrote his ever beautiful song “Ennod ullla Nin sarva nanmagalkay” on his death bed. The faith in Jesus challenges us to embrace suffering and death in our stride so that we can fly in the hope of resurrection.

Like Peter we too wish to be secure in faith declarations. That is important. But when we are faced with real choices in life to practice faith, we run for security and comfort. There is too much of noise around us but if there is silence we can hear Jesus rebuking us “Get behind me, Satan! You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

Rev Merin Mathew

Mar Thoma Syrian Church

Guwahati