The Journey 242
Thursday, August 30
Read: Daniel 3
Finally Hurricane Isaac hit some of the states in US. It sidestepped New Orleans  but the effect of Hurricane was more of flooding in the rural areas. The rain that came along with the hustling winds of hurricane, fell constantly the whole day yesterday and thus flooding the rural part of the state of New Orleans. The government official are on a mission to evacuate  more than 3000 people who are caught in the flash flood waters. The power lines have snapped in some places and the whole state is still placed on a high alert. President Obama has declared federal emergencies in Louisiana and Mississippi late Wednesday. But as Hurricane Isaac was causing havoc in the state, certain Christian leaders have started writing about how Hurricane Isaac is the punishment that God is sending to this country because of the loss of moral and ethical values in the country, especially to the state of New Orleans. A festival called as “Southern Decadence” takes place normally this week end, every year in New Orleans. This festival is a gay festival, conducted for three or four days,  having parades, and other activities that are quite deplorable and which often emphasizes loose moral living. Many have prophesied that Hurricane Katrina that came seven years ago just before the start of this celebration was God’s act of judgment, while Hurricane Isaac has also lashed now at New Orleans again at the same time when the “Southern Decadence” festival was scheduled to be held this weekend.  Yes,  God always hates sin and would want his people to live life that are pleasing to Him and that brings sanctity to human life, but the attitude of Christian leaders to interpret and prophesy that these natural disasters occur only because of the loose living of certain groups of people is questionable. I remember when the state of Orissa in India was struck by a natural disaster a few years back, some Christian leaders in India stated that Orissa was being punished by God, because it was persecuting Christians. But one of the leaders from a different community stated that Yes, God is punishing the state of Orissa but for a different reason, and that is they  could not totally wipe out the Christians from the state.  This can be termed as interpreting historical events to suit our own needs and validate our own arguments. But history speaks and reveals God’ s purpose. In the book of Daniel chapter 3, we find a wonderful encounter between King Nebuchadnezzar and Daniel. What the king does is that he erects an image of gold and orders that people of every nation and language needs to fall down and worship the image. Anyone who does not obey this commandment  was threatened with the punishment of being thrown into a blazing furnace. But this threat does not have any effect on Daniel and his friends and they refuse to obey the kings commands and they are thrown into the blazing furnace. But the experience at the blazing furnace become the opportunity for Daniel and his friends to witness to the King about the living God and King uses the experience of furnace to repent and turn back to God. I believe Daniel teaches us that in every circumstance of hostility and behaviors that are detestable to the Lord, we need to be a faithful witness to the love and power of God and use these opportunities for God to act so as to bring repentance in all of us not just the others. Every event in history has to be interpreted in such a way that we continuously understand the purpose of God and consciously turn back to God with repentance, rather than thinking and acting as if those others in the society are the one that needs repentance.  Does historical events bring repentance in you or others?

The Journey 241
Wednesday, August 29
Read: Acts 9: 36-43
Crisis experience is always life changing. We are never the same after we have gone through crisis. Some people become bitter and cynical after crisis. Some others not only learn valuable lessons in life, but would carry the positive lesson to others in life. One of the nominations for the CNN person of the year is Jonny Imerman. What is unique about Johnny is that like millions of other people, he is also a cancer survivor. He was diagnosed with testicular cancer at the age of 26. While he fought with cancer, he realized that he needed someone with whom he could share his pain and his fears. Once he fought his cancer successfully, he realized that there are hundred of other cancer patients who wants to connect with someone who has gone through the same trauma. It is this vision that led him to start “Immerman’s Angels” an organization, to help cancer patients to connect with cancer survivors, so that the patients gets one to one relationship for support and encouragement  from someone who has also gone through the same crisis situation.  What Immerman’s Angel does is that they carefully match and individually pairs a person who has been diagnosed with cancer, with someone who has fought and survived the same type of cancer . This person is called as the mentor angel. This is a one to one relationship that inspires hope and offers the opportunity for the cancer patients to be very free and formal in asking questions and also receive support from someone  who is very familiar with what the patient is going through. Here is a person who uses his life experience to empower others while they go through crisis. In a world where everyone is left to carry ones own burden, Johnny stand out and also become a model to all of us. I believe the community of believers “The Church” and each of the believers is also called by God so that we also share a one to one relationship with our fellow brothers and sisters so that we are able to be a “fellow traveler” in their journey of pain and suffering. This is one of the truths that we can see in the Word of God. The portion that we shall use for our meditation is from Acts 9: 36-43.  In this biblical portion we find a witness about a lady named Tabitha from others. The immediate context of this portion is that Tabitha became sick and is dead. Her death is mourned by the believers in the early church especially by the widows. When Peter comes to Joppa he is told about death of Tabitha and the widows  shows Peter, the robes and other clothing that Tabitha had stitched for the widows while she was still alive. We do not know much about Tabitha, but here is a lady quite unknown, yet in her own way trying to help the widows who went through pain and suffering. What she did was to be some element of hope, support and consolation for fellow ladies who were widows and were often socially ostracized. Peter listens to the wonderful witness of the widows and then goes to the room to raise Tabitha from death. What is unique about Tabitha is that she become a source of support in her own way for the widows of the early church. Though her contribution is mentioned only in a small portion in the history of the early church, the action that she did, will always be remembered for ever. What is needed today in our church’s and in our community, is relationship that are supportive and empowering. It is sad that relationships that we share in our church as community of believers are sometimes so superficial that we are sometime very lonely even in the church. Let us take a decision that we will forge supportive relationship in the church, so that we become a fellow traveler in the life of a fellow believer offering hope and support. It is to such a relationship that God call us to.

The Journey 240
Tuesday, August 28,
Read: 2 Kings 22, 23
          With the entry of digital television, the viewers are often confused as to what to watch on television. Because of the vast array of programmes that are aired, people do not even know what are some of the programmes that  is being offered. Normally teens and youths end up watching some movies while the older adults end up watching some game shows and serials. Last Thursday, the GSN channel started broadcasting the much awaited series “ The American Bible Challenge”. The series has began with a bang. According to the GSN sources, the bible challenge series had about 1.7 million viewers when it was premiered on August 23rd.  They claim that it has surpassed the record for the show “Family Feud” hosted by Steve Harvey. It is the comedian Jeff Foxworthy who is hosting the American Bible Challenge which is a  one hour game where the participants compete against each other in the area of Bible Knowledge. One of the notable features of this show is that the participants who play in this game show is playing for the cause of a particular charity organization that they feel close to their heart. But there is lot of skepticism against the show. In a land where the knowledge of the Bible is very low and mediocre, basically because of the learning methods adopted in school. In an educational environment, where  memorizing is not given any importance, the kids and the adults find it hard to study the bible verse and also the different aspects of the Bible. People especially woman study the Bible only when there is bible competition organized by the Sevika Sanghom. Other than that I feel, we all don't take seriously the study of the Word of God. What is important for our times is not only involving ourselves in the Bible Quiz programmes but also deliberately seeing that we devote seriously in studying the Word of God. In a time when moral and ethical values are declining, I think it we all need to return back to a serious and intensive study of the Word of God. As we meditate on the theme “ Transformed Living” we will be meditating on how the Word of God becomes the most powerful tool in the transformation of a nation. The Bible portion that we shall use for our meditation is from 2 Kings 22, 23. In this portion Josiah does the restoration work of the temple which had fallen into a state of neglect.  The neglect of the temple also showed how the people also had been neglecting their spiritual affairs and were leading life that was not pleasing to the Lord.  It is while the restoration of the temple was going on, that Hilkiah the priest finds the Book of the Law. When the book of the Law is found, the king rents his clothes because he realized that the anger of the Lord had kindled against the people since they were not following the laws of the Lord. It is then, we find Josiah doing his reforms whereby he cleanses his whole kingdom which had descended into idolatry [ worshipping Baal] and also idolatrous living. Thus the Word of God becomes a tool to bring revival in the life of a nation and also its people. We the members of the Marthoma Church claim that we believe in the open Bible, which means our life and the ministry and mission of the church is guided by the principles of the Word of God. But it is high time that we evaluate our lives and see that all that the church suffers or the pain that a family suffers or the crisis that an individual or society is going through is because we have deliberately deviated from focusing the truths of the Word of God and also not taking any serious effort to  study the Word of God. Just as Josiah could bring about reforms, I think we also need to get back to the study of the Word of God so that our church, family and individuals experience change and transformation in our life which only God can bring.

The Journey 236
Friday, August 24
Read: 1 Samuel 1: 21-28
      This week has been stressful in many homes. Stress of a different kind. The stress that comes out with the realization of two wonderful aspects in life. 1. The kids have grown up and 2. They are leaving home to venture into the new big, wide world. These thoughts come because the new academic year has begun. This week, I had to behold lot of my youth members leaving home and going to college, to stay in the dorm for the first time. Kids leaving home to college was stressful both for the kids and for the parents. Stress for the kids for a variety of reasons. They are leaving home for the first time, going to live all by themselves, little apprehensive as to what the future holds for them. The scene in college may also be a bit frightening in the beginning. It is like coming out in the wide world, with some faces familiar but most of the faces new. All these days, the kids knew that their parents was with them physically to take care of all their needs, but suddenly they are thrown into the wide world. In the context of Indian homes, leaving home is very stressful because the parents are trained in such a way that they would go after kids for everything, nagging from the beginning of the day, and whenever there is an  opportune time,  to give a dose of their not sought advises. You can hear a hundred times in  most homes sentences like these “How many times do I have to tell you this”, “When are you going to be responsible” and so on.  From eating breakfast, to what to wear on Sunday worship in the Church, to the dress that one needs to wear while going out, what to see on TV, whom to talk,  is all scrutinized and monitored by the parents. With kids leaving for college the parents are now short of words and also very anxious. The thoughts like “ Will he stick on to the morals and values that I gave him in my home”, “Will he enter into wrong company”, How will he cope up with the studies” are all questions that linger in the back of the mind of every parents . I think it is here that we need to look at the life of our kids in a new perspective, the perspective of allowing them to mould their life, with the values and morals that have been given at home. To understand what it means to “let go” as kids leave home for college.
We are meditating on the theme “ Transformed Living” and the bible portion that we shall use for our mediation is from 1Samuel 1: 21-28. This is the portion where we find Hannah dedicating her son Samuel for the Lord. But in the process of dedication there are two steps that  Hannah does for the welfare of the son. Hannah had prayed for a son, and the Lord grants her wish. Once the son is born the mother, nurses her son and also takes care to see that the son is weaned away from her, so that he could be used for the glory of the Lord. Here is a mother as she nurses, she  takes care to see to it that the boy learn to be independent by himself, thus teaching him to take up responsibility that he has to take up later in life. Being responsible is one of the most valuable lesson that a parent can teach their children. This is the first step that Hannah takes in the nurturing process of Samuel. The second step that Hannah does is that the child is offered to the service of the Lord and the boy Samuel starts ministering in the house of the Lord at Shiloh.  I think as kids leave home,  I believe all our homes should be a training ground in these two aspects. Building up of responsibility and also in helping the child to understand that whatever he does he has to do for the glory of the Lord. As kids leave home, let us as parents and children thank the Lord for the blessing of our home and the lessons that we learnt at home, lessons that will equip us for life.

The Journey 234
Wednesday, August 22
Read: Luke 10:25-37
       Images, Images, Images. Images that sometimes force people to act……...There are certain images that you see that you cannot forget, image that brings pain, anger and frustration in oneself. Images that brings instantaneous action and reaction from our fellow  human beings.  I still remember very vividly the image of a person named Hamid Ansari begging for life in the infamous Gujarat riots. Last week when India celebrated its independence, another image brought in agony and pain to hundreds of Indians in general and malayali community in particular. The image was that of three nurses huddled together on the  terrace of the Mar Baselious Hospital, Kothamangalam, Kerala. The terrace itself resembled the scene before creation “chaos and disorder”, with bricks, metals and rods being strewn all over. These three nurses were braving sun and rain and lying on the terrace for almost two days, threatening to commit suicide, if the legitimate demands of the nurses working in that hospitals were not met, needs of the nurses who were on strike for almost 114 days. Who were these nurses? And what forced them to take these extreme steps . The names of these nurses are Priya, Vidyarani and Anu. Of the three nurses, two of them comes from home, where they were in dire financial crisis. They had taken loans for their study and were not in a position to repay back the loans, because the salary offered by the management of the hospital was so meager that forget about the repayment of loans, they could not even take care of the needs of their immediate family. With loans being not paid back, the bank authorities had also come with the threat to seal and auction their house to recover their loan. They dreamt that a job as nurse, would help them to tide over the financial crisis and would also help them to pay back the educational loans. But it seems the hospital run by the church were more bent on making these nurses work like a bonded laborers, without even giving them dignity, and honorable financial benefits. With the future being dim and dark, it was essential for these unknown and poor girls to carry on the fight, a fight not just for their rights, but for their and their family’s survival. It is these factors that seemed to have prompted these poor girls to take the extreme step of threatening of committing suicide. The most agonizing part of the whole incident seems to be the total lack of sensitivity on the part of the church. Neither the clergy, nor the bishops seemed to be empathetic to the cry of these nurses. What a strange paradox. You have clergy and laity creating law and order situations and having no qualms in fighting on the roads, when the church factional fights were going on, and now not even a single soul ready to at least give a patient hearing to these nurses. How can the community of believers call themselves as the church, when the church itself become insensitive to the needs of the common people are not moved by images that are horrifying. When Jesus was teaching the young man about who his neigbhour was [  Luke 10: 25-37 ], he uses the parable of the good Samaritan. Here are three individual who sees the image, the person who is wounded. Both the priest and Levite are not moved by the image of the person lying wounded on the street, as they had other important matters to do and were more concerned about their benefits and gains rather than the loss that they would suffer if they go to help the wounded person. But on the contrary, the Samaritan also was on a journey, he was also not on a pleasure journey or a cruise in the north American term, he was also busy with his work. But the image of the wounded man made him to forget his needs and his gains and he decided to loose some of his time, money so that another person in need could be helped. It is in such a context, that Jesus justifies the action of the Samaritan.  I think that is also what God expects the church and the corporate community of believers to do. To be ready to act, to forget ones gain and be ready to loose something when you encounter certain humane images in life. Does images force you to action on their behalf?
P.S. The story of the three nurses has still not ended. Their life is now put more in agony, as the state government got them arrested them for threatening to commit suicide.

The Journey 233
Tuesday, August 21
Read: Luke 19
    We all have  misconception about people. Misconception that come because of a person’s look, race and culture.  Because of misconceptions, there are people who are condemned and not taken care of or given due care and attention. Listen to this wonderful incident reported by Kerry Kind in the Wesleyan Church news a few days back. It is about Cedar Grove Wesleyan Church which is in north west Oklahoma. This church has attendance of only 46 members but these forty six members are touching lives of people who are truck drivers. The Pastor of this church is  Harold Hanson. Their idyllic life started experiencing problems when oil wells and pipelines began sprouting all around the church and parsonage. With this came the arrival of huge trucks along their paths, bringing not only dust and noises but frustrations as well. Everyone got annoyed and did not know how to handle this issues, as  the people felt that they cannot talk to the truck drivers since they seemed to look very unfriendly and hostile. The Pastor soon came up with the idea that the Lord is giving an opportunity to minister to the truck drivers. “ How about offering a glass of cold water so that some of them would slow down and stop”. The pastor asked the congregation. But the congregation was not convinced. But soon they started serving not only cold water but also muffins and coffee. One of the parishioner would take turn to stand by the side of the road in the dust and the heat one day a week. At first the truck did not stop, and those who did stop were taken by surprise.  But soon the words of kindness spread around and now more than 200 items are handed over to the truck drivers everyday. But this act of kindness did not stop in just giving food packets and drinks. Slowly the parishioners started  giving them scripture packets and offered a prayer for the drivers and also their contact information. The truck drivers soon became friends with the members of Wesleyan church and some have even started seeking prayer support and counseling. A wonderful action done by just 46 members of a congregation. An act that helped them not only to remove misconception about people, but also paving way to use hostile opportunities to minister and show God’s love to others. I think this morning we also need to think whether we are missing chances of ministering to others just because we have certain misconceptions about them? I think this was one of the major issues that Jesus raised when he ministered his people. He would constantly break rules so that people could change their misconceptions about people and thus allowing God’s grace and love to flow through them. There are countless examples like that. Jesus talking to Samaritan woman [John 4], Jesus going to the house of Zacheus [Luke 19: 1-10], Jesus praising the woman who was sinner, in the house of Simon [ Luke 7:36-50] and so on. In each of these biblical portions, people in the society had certain pre conceived notions about others. But Jesus did not go by those notions instead he consciously tried to break those notions, so that He could be a channel of His Father’s love and grace. When we have misconceptions about people we are actually creating barriers in ministering meaningfully to them. What is needed in our life, is asking God to remove from our life all misconceptions that we have about others, so that we could become channels of God’s grace and love. I think the shooing of the Sikh people in Milwaukee was an example of certain misconceptions. Let us therefore this day make a commitment that we shall not judge people by their race, color, culture, looks or religion but on the contrary use every opportunity to engage people in meaningful relationship so that we could minister and serving them .

The Journey 232
Monday, August 20
Read: Acts 16:16-24
          Last week the Willow Creek Association,  a not profit Christian organization in the US organized the Global Leadership Summit at Chicago. A conference that is held so that it can transform Christian leaders around the world with a renewed sense of vision, development of skill and become a sense of inspiration for the local church. They call leaders from around the globe to address the leaders of the different church’s so that they become agents of transformation in the local church. One of the leaders that they had for this year was a dynamic lady from India. Her name is Pranitha Timothy and she is the Director of International Justice  Mission based in Chennai, India. Pranitha and her team works for the deliverance of bonded laborers in India and in the past nine years she has rescued more that 4,000 bonded laborers. During the summit meeting last Friday, she recalled how God called her for a life where she had to risk her life for the freedom of others. She had gone through different crisis in her life. Being a daughter of a missionary parents she had lots of financial difficulty and she was sent to boarding school. She grew up with resentment not only about her status as a missionary child but also at her physical attributes since she felt she was not good looking. She was a rebel in college and was always at the wrong side of the law.  All this led to a hatred towards Christian faith. Later as she was doing her masters degree she was diagnosed with brain tumor. She had to undergo surgery that left her with the loss of ability to speak, hear and swallow. But slowly she regained all these and with this healing, started a new life for her. God began transforming her life with a vision. to live for others. From then onwards Pranitha and her organization  has been a hope to people who still live as slaves. I am proud that an Indian lady could like Pranitha could address the global leadership summit. It is in this context that we also need to address the issue in our Christian life whether our Christian life and living involves taking risk so that we bring the hope of freedom in others.
We are  mediating on the theme “ Transformed Living” and the portion that we shall use for our meditation is from Acts 16: 16-24. This portion deals with the conversion and also deliverance of a slave girl by Paul and Silas.. The slave girl was a prized possession for her owner as she had a spirit in her due to which she could prophesy the future. This was exploited by her owners for financial benefits. As Paul and Silas were walking, the slave girl followed them and started exclaiming that both Paul and Silas were the servant of Most High.  The girl who was possessed by the spirit was following Paul daily and shouting in the same manner and that is when Paul decided to heal her by driving the spirit out of her. This action of Paul enrages the slave owners as they realize that the girl is no longer bonded to them nor can they use her for their selfish and materialistic needs. This angers them and both Paul and Silas are dragged to the market place, flogged, stripped and thrown into the prison. Here is Paul and Silas consciously risking their life for the sake of the slave girl. In a world of today I feel we all live our Christian life where most of our concerns is very personal. All our issues in Christian life are addressed to cater to our own selfish needs. But here is Paul and Silas teaching us a valuable example that if we need to witness to the love of Christ, we may have to risk our live so that through our action, another person could experience freedom and hope through Jesus Christ. Let us decide to rise above our selfish and personal ambitions in Christian life, to a life lived for the sake of others. Leaders like Pranitha are  model for us and let us ask God and submit to God so that He could use us also in the transformation of others by giving to them  freedom and hope.

The Journey 229
Friday, August 17
Read: Genesis 32: 22-32
We all fly often or occasionally. While travelling on an aircraft, If given a choice of selecting a seat, which seat would you take? The Aisle seat, the window seat or the middle seat?. Or is it that you just don't care, because you are comfortable in any seat that is assigned to you by the airline staff?. Personally I am very choosy while travelling on an aircraft. I would always prefer an aisle seat because of my height and I also would prefer sitting at the back of the aircraft, since most people do not prefer sitting at the back, leaving most of the seats empty, thus giving ample space for me to stretch. This week the news agency CNN has brought about an interesting study on the habits of people as they travel in the aircraft and the personality types of people who prefer to choose either the window seat or the aisle seat.  According to the study, people who choose window seats in the aircraft are people who love nature and who enjoy panoramic views. They are also people who may want to be by themselves, relaxing without anybody troubling them. On the contrary the people who take the aisle seat are supposed to be people who care least for the sights outside the aircraft or are least interested in photographing these scenes. They are it seems focused in life, and their concern is to do some serious business even while travelling and would want to walk and stretch without disturbing the person sitting next to them. But I believe it is the person sitting on the middle seat who has to be appreciated. Normally nobody would choose a middle seat, but here are few people who are comfortable even if offered a middle seat, probably, they know and they feel it, that for them sitting anywhere is the same, and they have no qualms to excuse, if they wanted to stand or would want to go to the restroom. But this study brought  about an interesting aspect of human personality. What is it that we want in life? What are our goal and how much are we ready to persevere, discipline and suffer to achieve our goals. It is this aspect that clearly marks out between and ordinary and an extraordinary individual.
We are meditating on the theme “ Transformed Living”. The biblical portion that we shall use for our meditation is from Genesis 32: 22-32. This portion depicts the return of Jacob to his household. Here is Jacob coming to realize that you cant live a life of deception and cheating, because ultimately life itself will deceive you and cheat you. What you give to life, life gives back to you. Jacob has learnt his lesson well and now he wants to have a reconciled life with his brother Esau and wants peace and contentment in life. Here is Jacob on his return journey, the journey of repentance when suddenly as he crossed the fork of Jabbok, a  man wrestles with him. But Jacob fights with the man and soon the man realized that he cannot overpower Jacob. This forces the man to wrench the hip of Jacob, but Jacob still does not leave him, and tells him that he will not leave him unless he blesses Jacob.  The man ask Jacob his name and later the name Jacob is changed to Israel, because he fought and overcome. That is when Jacob realizes that it was God with whom he fought. He names the place Peniel [ Gen 32: 30]. Here is Jacob returning back in the journey of life. He now knows what is important in life and what is values in life should be and he is ready to stand for that values and priorities in life. What God wants us in our life, is to live a life where we have perseverance and determination and discipline with regards to our goal and priorities in life. It is when we are sure of what our goals in life is, goals that are transformatory in nature, that God’s strength and grace abounds in us to achieve what we want in life. We all have choices and priorities in life, but to stand up for those choices and  priorities is what matters in life.

The Journey 228
Thursday, August 16
Read: 1 Corinthians 11
Church is a place where we all go for worship. A place where through worship we have fellowship, communion both with the  Lord and our fellow believers. It is also a  place of comfort and hope as we silently share our joy, our dreams and sorrows with the Lord, seeking his will and guidance in our life.  But this is not what happened last week to a lady who went to the church here in Philadelphia to pray. The Philadelphia news agency reports about a tragic incident that happened to a  53-year-old woman who had recently lost her job, and thus out of her sheer desperation and agony she decided to go to the church to pray. But there she became a victim of being robbed inside the church. As she walked to receive the holy communion, sitting in the church, she felt that this was the most secure place and hence she kept her purse on the pews and went to receive the communion. That is when a couple who was another fellow worshipper, saw the purse in the pew, grabbed the purse and ran out of the church. The couple took her money and also used her credit card to buy gas and then later bought chicken nuggets from MacDonald's, but later when the cashier asked them to sign the receipt for the food that they bought, they got scared and ran away. The woman who lost her purse and has been burgled is in a shock and cannot believe that this happened in a church and that too when she went to receive communion. It is common sometimes in the church’s in India where the ladies complained that their costly slippers has been taken away leaving behind useless slippers. The tragedy of the whole issue is that here is a lady who is coming to the church seeking hope and solace, but instead of getting hope, her hope is betrayed and she is now left with the felling that even church is a place where you are not safe. All because one person whose motive to come to church was not to worship and to seek the face of the Lord. This brings raises the question whether we become a stumbling block to others, do we strengthen the faith of other through corporate worship and fellowship  when we come to the church.
We are meditating on the theme “ Transformed Living”. Today the portion that we shall use for our  meditation is from 1 Corinthians 11. Here is Paul exhorting the Corinthian believers that they should be very careful in their walk with the Lord especially as they participate in the Lord’s table. In the early church it was the fellowship meal that was considered as the Lord’s table and as believers participated in the fellowship meal they would also remember the words of institution that Jesus said, as He celebrated the last supper. But what happened in the fellowship meal was that there were certain believers who were not concerned about the need of the other believers and they would participate in the meal in such a way that they would not leave anything to eat for the rest of believers. Hence you had cases where some believers had to go hungry even when they participated in the fellowship meal. I think it is these instances that later brought about the change in the way the Holy Communion was celebrated and thus the present way of celebration of communion. But the crux of the matter here is that, there are believers in the church who can come to worship and have communion but are not ready to be sensitive to the needs of the fellow believers. When we come as a corporate community of faith let us make a sincere effort that all that we do in the church, the way we talk, the way we act and behave does not become an impediment to another believer in his/her faith journey and also in the corporate worship. It is only then can we say that the church truly becomes a place for transformation of the sinners to the saints rather from saints to sinners.

The Journey 226
Tuesday, August 14
Read; Luke 7:1-10
Wedding Day  is a special day for the couple who decide to get married. A lot preparation is done with regards to the whole event like wedding service, the dress, the reception the food, the music and so on. People want something special that day. But look at this amazing incident that happened in Arizona. Five siblings decided to lay aside their personal desires and dreams and decided to get married the same day. Yes Five siblings ! got married on the same day. News agencies like CNN, abc news have reported this  amazing incident.  The five siblings who decided to get married on the same day  are Emily, 28; Bradford, 26; Sydney ,25; Walker, 24;  and Brooke, 20;. and they all belong to a family of Doug Waldie, whose family consists of eight children.  Of the five children who got married, four of them met their future spouses only in October last year. Each of them wanted to have a separate and a unique wedding being conducted in a manner they felt would reflect their individual taste and liking . But they soon put aside their differences when they realized that one of their siblings had to report to the Air Force Pilot training. Being brought up in a close knit family, the siblings and the family decided that the best way is have the wedding together. This was a blessing to the father who feels that such a wedding would also be  cost friendly  and thus paving way for the sibling to come together. They all got married at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints Mesa Temple followed by a reception at an Air Force Museum. But each of them saw to it that they had a separate wedding cake according to their likings. I think this incident is unique not because the sibling got married together, but the way each of the sibling decided to lay aside their personal differences but also embrace the need of their sibling. They bring to light a quality in family life which seems to be getting distinct. The quality to rise above personal and selfish interests to the level of community, family and corporate interests.
We are meditating on the theme “ Transformed Living” and the Bible portion that we shall use for our meditation is from Luke 7:1-10. This is one of the most unique incidents in the gospel where you find the owner, a Centurion who comes to the presence of Jesus through the help of fellow Jews, so that his servant could be healed.  What is remarkable about this centurion is his humility and also his faith that Jesus commends, but I believe more than the humility what leads to such a faith perspective is his willingness to suffer, go an extra mile or rise about his own his selfish needs for the sake of his servant. What makes the role of centurion more worthwhile is when we think that he is doing for his slave. It is fine when one does for ones family member or someone close to us in terms of blood relations or friendship, but to bear discomfort, pain and to consciously seek the goodness and welfare of  a person considered least is something that needs to be emulated. In a time when even in the context of family, the spouses and the children have their own selfish interests, the members of Waldie family and the centurion teaches us that in life there will be times when God will be asking us to rise above our selfish needs, to rise above the perspective of just  looking into what our needs are, but on the contrary to be willing to suffer and endure so that there is a common good for all of us. It is at this juncture that goodness that is truly corporate and holistic is enjoyed by one and all. Ready to rise above selfishness for common good?

The Journey 220
Wednesday, August 8
Read: Mark 6:31-44
The summer time in this country is the time when the parishes and church’s plan lot of programmes and activities for their members. Some of the activities that most of the Marthoma parishes in the North American diocese focuses are three major programmes. They are 1. Parish family retreat, 2. Parish Picnic and 3. Vacation Bible School [ VBS]. I believe  all these three activities are done very earnestly and people wait eagerly to participate in these activities. VBS is one of the activity that both parents, youths and children look forward to. A time of learning, a time of fun and also some time for doing crafts and other stuff. But a church in Indiana made their summer time and their VBS entirely different, adding lot of meaning and work that goes along with the Christian nurturing.  This unique VBS was planned by the Henryville Methodist Church in Indiana. The theme for their VBS was “ Construction Junction”. A VBS that focused on reconstructing the life of Jesus Christ through the VBS and also reconstructing  hundreds of home in Indiana. About six lives were lost and almost 200 homes were destroyed in the tornado the struck Indiana in March. What the children from the Methodist church is doing through VBS is reaching out to the community. Their daily activities in the VBS was something of this sort.  The children from the church and from the community would wear a yellow construction hat and tinkered with the tools of construction as they learned about Christ.  Then they would go to respective tents where the teachers were dressed as story tellers and tell the biblical narratives. The children also later would go down to the basement to  do some construction work  and later interact with the local community children to listen to their story of suffering and pain. Thus Methodist church through their VBS, helped the community in Indiana not only to reconstruct their home but also in the reconstruction of their life. Thus the Methodist church in Indiana created a new milestone in the way camps, retreats and VBS were being conducted.  In such a context it is important for us also to think as to what are the objectives of the retreats, picnics and VBS that we all plan for summer?
We are meditating on the theme “ Transformed Living”. The portion that we shall use for our meditation is from Mark 6: 30-44. This is the portion in Mark that depicts the feeding of the five thousand. But preceding the feeding of the five thousand we find something very unique that Jesus does. In v:31, Jesus tells his disciples to “ come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest”. I feel this was the secret that Jesus taught his disciples on how to recharge their life and make their ministry more blessing to the people. Here Jesus is asking his disciples to do there things; 1. To be with Jesus, 2. To be with Jesus in a quiet place and 3. To be with Jesus in a quiet place and find rest. I think this is what every Christian should be doing and this should be what the focus of our retreats and our camps and conferences should be. People often come to attend the retreats more out of the recreation that is offered by the retreat centers like the pool, hiking and other attractions, forgetting that we need to spend time with the Lord and find peace, rest and energy to do His will and work once we leave the retreat centre. In the portion that we read we find that as soon as Jesus retreats to the quiet place that is where he encounters the hungry people which moves Jesus to compassion and thus the miracle of feeding the five thousand. Rest that recharged Jesus to action. Let us also consciously retreat during retreats and camps with Jesus Christ so that we come back recharged to work for the Lord and for the upliftment of the community. Did you recharge this summer through retreats?

The Journey 219,
Tuesday, August 7
Read: 1 Samuel 17
As the Olympics is going on full steam, the spotlight  this week was on Usain Bolt for winning the 100 meters dash and Michel Phelps for creating world record by becoming the athlete who won the maximum number of medals in Olympic history. The spotlights are focused on such star athletes who have number of sponsors and are consciously kept in the limelight. But behind the scenes of these stars is the story and achievement of young punitive Indian lady who is also now creating history and is becoming the toast of the nation. Her name is Mary Kom and she is in an unlikely sports for woman– boxing. Mary Kom has reached the semifinal and has thus been assured of a medal. But what makes this diminutive pugilist a star in her own right?. Mary grew up in a small village in Manipur, a north eastern state in India, where she had to face issues resulting out of insurgency and economic blockades. This resulted in people toiling hard to make ends meet. Even as a child her parents described her as a no– nonsense girl who would not tolerate anyone  especially the boys who would tease her. Mary would thrash these boys and that is how she grew up. She first started her sports career in athletics but soon switched to boxing which she felt was her calling. But being a woman, and that too from the north east state, she hid her passion and her participation from tournament from the eyes of the villagers and her parents. But one day her photo of winning the boxing title with a trophy appeared in a local daily and her secret was public. Her mother was upset that her daughter dabbled in boxing, but seeing her passion she supported her. Yesterday as Mary fought in ring, her mother was besides the ring to support her. But as she prepares for her semi final bout, Mary is optimistic and has a strong faith in her Lord and she quips by saying that every time she enters the boxing ring she remembers the fight between David and Goliath.  The new agencies have reported Mary Kom saying that “ I pray hard the second I enter the ring and I find asking God for a fair bout”. I believe the tenacity, the persistence and the faith the Mary carries is really worth emulating.  Mary is also a social activist fighting for the rights of woman in her village. What a remarkable individual. A boxer, who is woman, a  mother of two, raising up a family, raising up funds for social upliftment, fighting all odds not only to win medals but also to live life in honour. As we mediate on the theme “ Transformed Living” the model of faith that Mary has shown is something that we also need to inculcate in our life. The passage that we shall use for our meditation is the story of David and Goliath, story that Mary remembers as she fights in the boxing ring. The portion is from  1 Samuel 17. What is wonderful is the way David perceived his battle with  Goliath. He is dressed up in war clothes by Saul, which he removes and tells the king that he is not used to such heavy armour. What was the armour that he is going to take– stones and sling. If he would have told this to the king, he would have become a laughing stock. Yes he becomes the laughing stock when he comes face to face with Goliath, who is outraged that Israelites had sent this boy to fight a giant.  He roars and tell David “ Am I a dog that you come to fight with me with sticks”. But David gives him the apt reply “ You come with swords and spear while I come in the name of the Lord almighty”. I think it is this perspective of David that made the whole difference in his life and in his fight with Goliath. One of the negative aspects of most of us is that when we face crisis, crisis often overpowers us. The reason for this is that our focus and attention is on the problems, the crisis and the challenges of life. But both David and Mary teaches us that we need to look to the Lord, and that is where  our strength and hope in life will come [ Psalms 121].  Where are your eyes set– On the Lord or on your problems.

The Journey 218
Monday, August 6
Read: 2 Samuel 9
Terror has struck again. The blood of innocents have been shed again. The Americans has not got over the indiscriminate killing that happened in Aurora during the screening of the movie Dark Knight, when yesterday the news channel started beaming live the scene of another indiscriminate killing. This time the innocents were the a community of Sikhs who had gathered for fellowship and worship at their worship place called as gurudwara at a place named Milwaukee. According to the news agencies,  a gunman barged into the gurudwara and fired indiscriminately on the worshipping community who were assembled there. These members were reading their scriptures and cooking food for the main Sunday service and the community lunch that was to be followed later, when the tragedy struck. The cops rushed to the scene and the gunman was also shot dead in the encounter. This indiscriminate killing leaves 6 people dead and  the community of Sikhs shocked not only in the United States but also throughout the world.  After the 9/11 terror attacks, the Sikhs have been target of hate crimes. This is basically because as part of their religious expression, the  male members grow their hair and beard and they wear a customary turban. Thus they are often confused as Muslims and targeted for crimes that members of some other community does.  We do not know the reason behind yesterday’s shooting but it is presently treated as an act of domestic terrorism.  This leaves behind lot of questions. Why and how does the presence of someone who is different from us, cause insecurity in us. What cause a person to take such a sadistic step to barge into a worship place and then fire on innocents people? We don't know that answers for these questions. But then it brings to the fore the aspect of intolerance  that is rising in human being and the immense hatred for the other who is different from us.  How do we view these acts of hate crimes or domestic terrorism and what are the changes that we can make in our Christian living so that we become more inclusive in our thinking and in our behavior?
We are meditating on the theme “Transformed Living”. The bible portion that we shall use for our meditation is from  2 Samuel 9.  In this portion we find David doing his kingly and his pastoral duties. He is asking whether there is anyone in the house of Saul on whom he should show kindness and mercy.  That is when a servant named Ziba tells the king that there is a son of Jonathan named Mephibosheth, who is crippled and who would need the mercy of the King. David orders that Mephibosheth be brought to his palace. Mephibosheth is scared but David assures him and tells him not to fear and that he is going to show mercy and kindness to him. Mephibosheth is asked to dine along with the King David and thus through his noble gesture, David sets a lofty standards in human relationship. The graciousness of this act can be understood when we realize that  Mephibosheth is  actually a potential rival and can be considered as a threat to the throne of David. But these things don't matter to David. Here is David consciously enlarging his boundaries of his life so that he can even accommodate members from the family who tried to harm him, people who could be potential threat later to his power. In times of today, when people are becoming more and more intolerant, God is asking us to enlarge the boundaries of our heart and life so that we are able to accommodate and accept people who are different from us not only in their looks but also in the way they express their faith, lead their life style. That is what is the message of cross and the mission of us who are Christians.

The Journey 215
Friday, August 3
Read: Hebrews 4: 12, 13
Fox News reported last week that a new version of the Bible has arrived. This Bible is called “The Voice”.  What is unique or some people may say strange is that it has some form of a screen play format. The idea of having  screenplay format was devised by Chris Seav, the pastor of the Houston Ecclesia Church who along with Frank Couch, the Vice President of publishing house Thomas Nelson, devised this unique format for the Bible.  What Chris used to do in the church was assign different roles to different members as the bible portion were read and this brought about role play and also emoting the role of the Biblical characters. It is was this concept that gave him a vision to translate and bring out a Bible in a screen play format. For this a team of translators worked along side poets and writers and musicians and soon The Voice took shape.  What the Voice translation does is that it not only reformats Bible, but also inserts words and phrases into the text to clarify the action or to  make an emotion more expressive.  For example, In Genesis 3, while reading the depiction of the fall of human being due to sin, you have Adam “pointing fingers at Eve” and then saying the verse 3: 12 [ the woman you put here…….]. Later when Eve bears a son she is “Excited”.  This emotion of excitement is brought into the translation. But care has been taken to see to it that the words that clarify the action or emotion are  put in italics so that the readers know that these were the additions.  The whole vision behind this translation of screen formatting the Bible according to the producers is that they wanted the readers to feel engaged in the biblical text or the biblical story. I believe the effort taken by the publishing house Thomas Nelson to publish the screen play format of Bible is commendable, but we don't know what is in store for the future as new and innovative ideas may be brought into the translation of the Bible. But whatever be the translation of the Bible, whether in prose form or screen play form,  until and unless the Word of God is not living and dynamic, having a Bible in our home is of no use.
We are meditating on the  theme “ Transformed Living”. The portion that we shall use for our meditation is from Hebrew 4:12,13. One of the questions that people often ask is “Did you read the bible today?”. It is a very relevant question as it is our encounter with God through His Word that recharges and transforms our life. But one of the things that we often forget and which the writer of Hebrews brings to our attention is that the Word of God is very sharp and it has the ability to penetrate deep into the human life, so deep that it can penetrate our souls, our joints and even our marrow. Moreover it also understand and judges the thoughts and the attitudes of our hearts.  I think as we encounter God through the Word of God, what is important here is not we reading the Word of God on the contrary the ability of the Bible or the Word of God to read us. It is important that we ask ourselves that as we read the Bible do we allow God to read us, to examine our motives and our thoughts through the Word of God. If this does not happen, the reading of the Word of God would degenerate to a meaningless ritual.  I believe this is what is happening in our family devotion time, bible lesson reading during the worship service in the Church and even sometimes during our fellowship and prayer meeting. Let us therefore consciously prepare ourselves to see to it that we allow God to read our life, us through His Word, so that our life is transformed.

The Journey 214
Thursday, August 2
Read: Romans 12
Eating chicken is very normal for most of us. But yesterday on August 1, here in this country, eating chicken was a very symbolic action done by many Americans. Yesterday was the Chick Fil

A Appreciation day, where people flocked to the chain restaurant Chick Fil A , not only to buy chicken sandwich but also to lend support to the concept of traditional family and to support Chick Fil A Appreciation day. Chick Fil A has over 1, 500 restaurants in over 40 states The whole issue arose and was blown out of proportion and also became a political and social issue, when the CEO of Chick Fil, Dan Cathy, affirmed that the biblical view of marriage should be upheld. Moreover Chick Fil A company claims that this company runs on Biblical principles. The restaurant does not open on Sunday, so that the employees who work there can attend church services. Chick Fil are having a huge pressure from the malls, and other business houses to keep open the restaurant on Sunday’s, but the Cathy family has firmly resolved not to do that. Now this family and the restaurant have been bitterly criticized not only for their stand on the concept of traditional family but also for their opposition on gay rights. They have also been criticized because they have been funding pro life and pro family organizations rather than pro gay rights. I don't know whether the true intention of Chick Fil A in supporting the traditional concept of family is based on faith or whether there are any other motives behind these voicing of opinions, but one thing that the Cathy family has shown to the world, through the way they do their business is that they have certain ethics in business and are also ready to affirm their views and faith in public even if it affects their business. It is this affirmation of ones faith in public and ones ethics that makes all the difference not only for Chick Fil A but also for all the Christians.
We are meditating on the theme “ Transformed Living”. The portion that we shall use for our meditation is from Romans 12. This is one of the most powerful passages in Paul’s letter that emphasizes on how a Christian should live and witness in the world. He emphasizes on what sort of life style that a believer should show in the world. There are a few aspects that Paul emphasizes. One of the aspect that he emphasizes is that every believer should see to it that we should not be confirmed to the patterns of the world, on the contrary should be transformed. It is only when we do not confirm to the patterns of the world and are transformed that we will be able to discern God’s will in our life. Here is a wonderful truth. Everyone wants to know what God’s will and purpose for ones life is but the word of God is very affirmative in saying that one can understand God’s will only if we are ready to oppose the patterns of the world and be a channel of transformation. One of the thing that Christians tend to do today is that they want to get the best of both the world. Hence we do not like to express our faith, nor are willing to stand up for ones belief and ethics in public. This is because when we do that we will loose something. We will stand up for our faith and our ethics only at times when we are sure that what we are going to loose is not costly. When we know that the price for standing up for our faith and ethics is going to be costly, we are smart enough to maintain silence or be neutral. Chick Fil A company is showing the world that they have certain ethics and faith, let us also as believers be willing to tell the world that we also have some ethics and faith on which we live and build our life.

The Journey 213
Wednesday, August 1
Read: John 1:1-18
India in darkness. This was the news that caught not only my attention but international attention. For the last two consecutive days, more than 600 million people in India went without

power. It is like the whole of United States and Canada going without power. The states that were affected were Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa and Jharkhand. This loss of power turned the life of ordinary citizens into a nightmare. People were caught unawares and suddenly all hell broke loose. The metro services in Delhi got jammed leaving hundred of people stuck inside the metro. Another 300 trains including trains like Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Duronto, got stuck at various places, leaving people panting for both fresh air and water, not knowing what to do. Traffic on the road turned to a total chaos as the traffic lights did not work. Worse was the case of about 265 miners in the coal mines of West Bengal, who got trapped in the coal mines and finally were rescued after several agonizing hours. But there something more bizarre that also happened. When India was groping for power and seeking answers as to why such a huge power crisis occurred, you see bizarre incident of shuffling of portfolios of cabinet ministers. The Minister in charge of Power was shifted to more powerful ministry, made the Minister of Defence and that too on the same day when 600 million Indians went without power. Indians in the last two days realized the true value of power and what it means to go without power. Is there a parallel between Indians who went without power and also Christians who also do not have power?
We are meditating on the theme “ Transformed Living”. The bible portion that we shall use for our meditation is from John 1: 1-18. In this portion we find what God offers to us through His Son Jesus Christ. We find in v: 12, 13 that everyone who received God’s son were made the children of God and were made the members of the family. What is imperative here that we become members of God’s family only if we have a relationship with Jesus Christ and we receive Jesus Christ in our life. It is only then that we are given the power to become God’s children. John states affirmatively that this position of being children of God is by adoption and not by natural descent. God adopts us to become the members of his family so that no one can claim to be His children. Thus when we become the members of God’s family and are called God’s children, He anoints us with His Holy Spirit, thus giving us power for living authentic Christian living. It is this power that transforms us. What does this power do to a Christian? In the letter to 2 Timothy 1: 7, Paul states that God has given us not the spirit of fear nor timidity, but He has given us the Spirit of power, of love and discipline. It is this power that empowers us all through our life. The power to love, the power to discipline ourselves and also the power to witness for Christ [ Acts1: 8]. When there was no electricity, I believe every Indian understood what is the value of power and how without power ones life become useless and chaotic. I think the life of a Christian could also be like this– chaotic and nightmarish. It is in such context, that God calls us to connect and relate to him so that our life is never powerless and always powerful, through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Are you powerless or a powerful Christian?