You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name.
John 15:16
Reading : John 15:11-17
When Jesus begins his ministry he goes by the Sea of Galilee where two brothers, Peter and Andrew are fishing.(Matthew 4:18-22). As they are casting their nets out to catch fish, He calls them to come and follow him, to fish for people. At once they leave their nets and follow him. Traditionally disciples choose the Rabbi they want to learn under. But it is Jesus who chose his twelve disciples to fish for souls (Mark 3:14).
C. S. Lewis says, a Christian society is not going to arrive until most of us really want it: and we are not going to want it until we become fully Christian. I may repeat “Do as you would be done by” till I am [blue] in the face, but I cannot really carry it out till I love my neighbour as myself: and I cannot learn to love my neighbour as myself till I learn to love God: and I cannot learn to love God except by learning to obey Him. When we learn to love and obey God joyfully we are able to love our neighbor. It is Love that defines the Christian communities relationships with God and our neighbor.
Christ came that we may be filled with love and joy (John 15:11-13). We are often under the misconception that we chose to follow Christ. It is the other way around, Christ chose us and died for us in his abundant love so that we may by his grace be part of God’s family. This blessed assurance frees us to love. We are chosen so our joy might be complete as we open our hearts and minds to the light of God’s Word and delight to do His Will. We are chosen to love one another; to proclaim the gospel message that Christs sacrifice on the cross has opened the pathway to a relationship of love with our Heavenly Father. Christ said greater love has no man than to lay down his life for his friends. What an amazing challenge to his disciples to follow in his path of love to do works of love?
The Christian Church by commonly accepted tradition firmly believes that St. Thomas came to India in 52 AD. He arrived at the Port of Cranganore, a center for trading spices during the Roman Empire. He planted seven churches in the state of Kerala in South India. His evangelical work took him to Mylapore, a sacred temple town for the Hindus and an ancient port of trade for the Roman Empire. Here the orthodox priests became extremely jealous of his work and he was martyred in 72 AD on a hill, which much later came to be known as the St. Thomas Mount. The apple didn’t fall far from the tree. Jesus said, “I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit (John 15:16).” The lasting fruits of St. Thomas’s labor live on in the hearts of millions of Christians and thousands of churches bearing his name spread all over India. In 1952 there was celebration all over South India by Christians for the nineteenth centenary arrival of St. Thomas.
Jesus said, “The Holy Spirit will convict the world of sin” (John 16:8). If ever there is a phrase that will pierce into the heart of the congregation of the churches planted by St. Thomas is the oft repeated prayerful Greek chant “Kyrie Eleison” means “Lord have mercy.” This prayer of a repentant heart has been passed down through the centuries along with the fragrance and smoke of burning incense, a sacrifice pleasing to the Lord. The gift of peace given by Jesus to the disciples (John 14:27) now being a blessing to so many all over the world who have found forgiveness in Christ.
Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, open our hearts and minds that we may love you and our brothers and sisters in gladness and in peace. We offer our lives as a living sacrifice and empower us to proclaim your word with conviction. Amen
1 comment:
St. John starts his Gospel starting from the beginning. From the time when time, space and matter did not exist. Only God existed. When God spoke everything came into existence according to the Word spoken. The Word identified God, being an essential part of God. The Word of God was spoken through the Spirit of God, which we read in Genesis as God pondering at the confusion within. When we say 'In the beginning' Time came into existence. Since space did not exist outside of God, the confusion God saw was within God. When God created light, it was created within God. So were the suns, moons and stars. All were created by the Word when God spoke. It was the Word of God that created. Man alone was created and crafted by God. And God chose to create Man in His own image. When God created Man, Woman was inside of that Man who was in God's image. All humanity descended from this first couple, both according the Science of evolution and the Bible. Because of being a special creation of God, all humans are to live loving their fellow humans as much as they love themselves. By this humans love God for creating Man through love. True is the saying, we love God because God first loved us. Since the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, Man owns nothing but only the stewardship of the earth. So we should share all that we have in excess of our needs with those have less or nothing. John the Baptist described this easier by saying that if we have two coats we should give away one to the one who has none. Yeshua asked us to sell all and follow Him, meaning we don't form attachments to worldly goods and thoughts, but share everything as common. The early Christians did just that. Can we, today? Yeshua gave us just two Commandments- Love God in entirety and love our neighbors. Sin, or missing of the mark, is anything that we do or not do that is hurtful to God and/ or fellow humans. Nothing else is sin. The woman caught in adultery hurt her husband or the man's wife and thus hurt God. So let's try our best to Love God and love our fellow humans either with our own strength and ability or strengthened by God. If we have sinned, we repent, meaning we're both sorry and determined not to repeat the offence, and thank God for the forgiveness already given, through the compensatory payment made by Yeshua through the Blood shed on the Cross.
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