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FOCUS, April 2022, Vol. 10,Part 2
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FOCUS, April 2022, Vol. 10,Part 2
FOCUS, April 2022, Vol. 10, Part 2
Cover Photo Source Canva and Adobe Creative Cloud Express: ‘Great is Thy Faithfulness’ – 10th Anniversary Special Issue, Cover Design by Lal Varghese, Esq., Dallas
Contents 1. Editorial: Dr. Zac Varghese….…….
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2. Book Review: ‘Glimpses of the History of the Christian Churches in India’: Mr. George Thomas…… Page 6 3. Felicitation Message: Most Revd Dr. Theodosius Mar Thoma Metropolitan……….. Page 7 4. Felicitation Message: Rt. Revd Dr. Dr. Isaac Mar Philoxenos Episcopa……. Page 9
13. Living in Christ, Leaping in Faith: Lal Varghese, Esq. ………… Page 21 14. Trusting in the Faithfulness of God: Dr. Anna A. Panackal……... Page 23 15. Reflections on the attitude of gratitude: Revd Dr. Valson Thampu……... Page 24 16. God’s Great Faithfulness Amidst Worst of Times: Revd Dr. Martin Alphonse....…..
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5: Ebenezer Moments: Mr. O. C. Abraham …… Page 10 6. Living with the Pandemic: Lessons and possibilities: Theme for July 2022…..... Page 12
17. Great is Thy faithfulness: Professor Elias Abraham .............. Page 29
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18. Book Review: ‘Beyond Religion’: Dr. Zac Varghese …..…… Page 30
8. Felicitation to Revd Dr. Sham P. Thomas: Dr. M. J. Joseph........... Page 15
19. Tributes to Dr. T. John Samuel: Dr. Cherian Samuel ......….. Page 33
9.The Faithfulness of God: Dr. George Varghese………. Page 16
20. Tribute - Bishop Desmond Tutu.: Lal Varghese, Esq. ............ Page 34
10. Poem, Diaspora Focus: Revd Dr. M. J. Joseph……. Page 17
21. FOCUS Movement and FOCUS Journal: God’s Abounding Faithfulness: Dr. Cherian Samuel ……..…. Page 35
7. How Faithful is God: Mr. Chhotebhai..........
11. Everlasting Faithfulness: Mr. P. T. Mathew…….. Page 18 12. The Fig Tee: Dr. Varghese Mathai...........
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22. The Origins of FOCUS Journal: (Cover Pages of FOCUS Issues Since April 2013), Lal Varghese, Esq. ……..…… Pages 32, 39
FOCUS, April 2022, Vol. 10,Part 2
EDITORIAL Great is Thy Faithfullness! The Old Testament (OT) has various stories of the abundant faithfulness of God and limited responses of mankind. The Psalmist says, “For the Lord is good; His love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” (Psalm 100:5). The ultimate expression of God’s faithfulness is expressed by St. John, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (Jn 3:16). Faithfulness is related to ‘the Word’, truth, firmness and stability. In response to Apostle Thomas’ question about Jesus’ destiny – “Lord, we do not know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” – Jesus replied, “I am the way and the truth and the life” (Jn 14:5, 6). Therefore, faithfulness, love and truth are the very essence of God. All these attributes of God operate in conjunction, never in isolation. However, God is beyond all our imagination and intellectual exploration; He is the ‘more’, more than anything we can think of, and he is indeed a mystery. Whatever we know about God is through the life and ministry of Jesus Christ and the martyrs of the Gospel of Jesus the Christ. It is through Jesus that we experience the love and compassion of God. In the OT, we often meet an angry and punishing God, but God was and is faithful to all His covenants (Gen 3:16-19; Gen 9:1-17; Gen 12:1-3; Gen 22: 15-18; Duet 30:110; 2 Sam 7: 8-16; Jer 31:31-34; Mt 5:17; Eph 2: 8-9). Some of the early covenants were specific to Israel, but they were binding to make them a blessing to all nations and people through them. Israelites mostly failed to fulfil God’s covenants and claimed God to be their own to do things they wanted Him to do. However, Jessus Christ came to fulfil the law of Moses and to create a new covenant between God and the whole of mankind. Humanity is now given the opportunity to receive salvation as a free gift through the self-less and loved-filled sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the Cross. We sometimes go back on our words because we are unable to do what we are expected to do and responsible for; we fail to be faithful because we lose interest in things that we started out with so enthusiastically and we begin shifting to other areas of interest and move on to a slippery slope in the process. Since God’s faithfulness is His essence, it affects everything He says and everything He does. Several specific examples of God’s faithfulness to Israelites are recorded in the New Testament as well (Heb 11). So, what is meant when the Bible says God is faithful? Faithfulness has to do with being reliable, with fidelity, firmness, stability, trustworthy, true to one’s word and dependability. The Bible teaches that God is faithful in all He does in accordance with His divine character. God is always faithful to Himself and to mankind. God is unchanging; “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever” (Heb 13:8). How do we respond to God’s faithfulness in our daily living? It is when Suffering strikes our lives, COVID-19 Pandemic and such disasters, that we are tempted to question God’s
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faithfulness. We begin to think that God has forgotten us and really does not care for our wellbeing and safety. In the midst of our wavering, fickle faith, we need to remember the firm assurance from Christ Jesus, “in this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (Jn 16:33). We have nothing at all to worry about God’s faithfulness, but we should take care of our own faith in Jesus and the need to grow with an abundance and fullness of ‘in Christ’ experience that St. Paul experienced throughout his mission to Gentiles and wrote about. We selected ‘God’s faithfulness’ as theme for the 10 year anniversary of the FOCUS journal because we have continually experienced God’s faithfulness in its publication and in our lives. We thank God for all those who have helped in publishing this journal and all our world-wide readers who journeyed with us over the last nine years. How can we take comfort in the faithfulness of God and enjoy calmness and contentment when hard times hit us and the wells of wellbeing become dry? The way forward is to follow Apostle Peter’s suggestion: “So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful creator and continue to do good” (1 Pet 4:19). God has the power to carry out His plans in our lives and to accomplish His perfect purposes through all our life situations, including those in our difficult areas of work and daily routines. Therefore, we can sincerely entrust ourselves to His care with complete confidence, and hand the safekeeping of our lives over to Him, believing that He will do what is needed. That is what is expected from our part, the rest is with our Lord, our saviour. th
God has given us His Spirit to live in us and help us, and the Holy Spirit will empower us. He has created us with a free will by which we may choose to flee from the enticement to sin (cf. 1 Corinthians 6:19; 2 Timothy 2:22). But when we live in faith to obey Him, God meets us there with His love. God is faithful in helping us even in our unbelief. At the moment of healing of the boy with an evil spirit, the boy’s father says to Jesus, “I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief” (Mk 9:24). This is our condition too; we need God’s help to reciprocate God’s love and His faithfulness. He is faithful in forgiving our sins and not remembering them (Jer 31: 34); He is faithful in sustaining us through our challenges and difficulties. It is up to us to listen to His call. Revelation 3:20 says: “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” It is a mutual relationship and enduring hospitality. The painting by Holman Hunt at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London beautifully captures Jesus, the Light of the world, as He stands at the door, knocking and inviting us to let Him into our lives. The handle to open this door is inside and we need to turn it to invite Jesus in. There is a song in the Celtic tradition that is spoken or sung as a door is opened to welcome Christ in for accepting His blessings. “This day is a new day that has never been before. This year is a new year, the opening door. The door is opened. Enter, Lord Christ - we have joy in Your coming.
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You have given us life; and we welcome your coming.” People are fed up with empty political or religious promises. They want to see realization of these promises. God’s covenantal promises are everlasting. Two years ago, the Conservative party in the UK won a huge majority in the parliament on a ‘levelling-up-agenda’ to bring prosperity to deprived areas of northern part of England to remove the ‘north-south divide’ of economic deprivation, but they have failed, though they have a convenient excuse through the COVID-19 pandemic; promises and projections have not materialized. This is also true with some of the claims of church leaders to remove various aberrations in the life of church and as a result the influence of churches are fading, and large numbers of people are leaving churches. However, in spite of all these, the saints of our time such as the Late Mother Teresa, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Archbishop Oscar Romero were prime examples of their commitment and faithful responses to God’s faithfulness. I shall never forget the confidence of Archbishop Desmond Tutu when he expressed his faithfulness to Jesus in the following way: “I pray each day, I talk to Jesus, I live with Jesus, I want to learn from Jesus. Jesus and me are always together.” His was a life well-lived-in faithfulness to God, which helped him to create the ‘Truth and Reconciliation Commission’ in South Africa to avoid bloodshed after the abolition of Apartheid. This is the result of knowing a faithful God and believing in His promises with an ‘in Christ’ experience. When we are assured that He cares because He is loving and good; when we are convinced that He is in control because He is omnipotent; when we believe that He is with us and knows all about our problems because He is omnipresent and omniscient; when we believe that He is working everything together for good because He is sovereign and wise (Rom 8:28); then we will have peace to live with this pandemic or any other impending dangers. God’s faithfulness is the assurance that we can go to bed in the evening and wake up in the morning to face a new day of immense possibilities. Valson Thampu in one of his new year meditations wrote: “I derive a lot of comfort and encouragement in this regard from the parable of the talents (Mt 25:1-30). Each of the servants had to give account only of what was entrusted to him. The servant who got two talents did not have to feel inferior to the one who gained five talents more. Both were, equally, ‘good and faithful servants.’ Both were ‘perfect’ in the eyes of the master. Jesus’ definition of perfection is being ‘good and faithful’. Faithful to what? It is faithfulness to what we are envisaged to be in God’s plan for the Creation as a whole.” Growing towards perfection in everything that we do is our act of being faithful to God. May God continue to bless the readers of FOCUS to seek this perfection. When we walk with God on our journey of faith, he will never leave us stuck in the middle of nowhere, isolated from Him in storms of life, in danger of going under, but will be with us always as our creator, Father and saviour. This is our faithful Lord God, the Almighty, the ruler of all; let us respond to him with our absolute faithfulness. It is impossible to conclude this editorial without thinking of the tragedies unfolding in Ukraine, as a result of the Russian invasion. Let us carry the Ukrainian people and others caught up in this tragedy in our prayers and thank God for
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the people in Europe for welcoming millions of children, women and old people who are escaping from the war zone. Let us hope for wisdom to prevail to find a settlement for establishing peace and harmony. I take this opportunity to thank four members of the editorial team who left us on 31 of December 2021. Professor Titus Mathew gave us the encouragement very early on to begin this publication and has contributed much for its growth; we are so grateful for his foresight and leadership. May God continue to bless him with very good health and happiness. st
We also want to thank Revd Dr. Valson Thampu for his many articles over the last nine years. He was also involved with the FOCUS seminars, the forerunner of this publication and a joint publication with his ‘Christian Mind Series for few years, before we started the FOCUS journal in April 2013. Although he is leaving from the editorial board, he has assured us of his continuous support for this publication. We want to express our sincere thanks to him. May God bless him in his manifold activities to establish God’s kingdom values on earth. Dr. Jesudas Athyal also had a connection with the FOCUS seminars. We also express our gratitude to him for his advice and contributions. We wish him every success with his Fortress Press activities and hope that he will continue to support this publication. Mr. Georgekutty V joined the editorial board three years ago and helped us with few articles; he is also leaving the editorial board. We are very appreciative of his contributions and sincerely thank him and wish him very good health and happiness. It is very important to acknowledge and appreciate the most significant work involved in searching for authors, editing, formatting, publishing and distributing this journal to over 200,000 worldwide readers. For this, I express my gratitude to Revd Dr. M. J. Joseph, Revd Dr. Abraham Philip and Mr. Lal Varghese. It gives us great pleasure to welcome Dr. Cherian Samuel as a member of the editorial board. Dr. Cherian Samuel is an economist; he retired from the World Bank Group in February 2021, following a distinguished career. He is a member of the Immanuel Mar Thoma Church, McLean, Virginia (USA). We thank all the contributors who have helped us over the last nine years. We fondly remember and thank all the authors of the very first issue in April, 2013: Mr. Jacob Parappally, Revd Dr. M. J. Joseph, Dr. Titus Mathew, and Mr. Lal Varghese, Mrs. Ann Morisy, Dr. Sam Varghese, and Dr. Anthony Parel. We thank all our subsequent contributors over the last nine years and all our world-wide readers. We are happy in thanking Dr. Anna A. Panackal for her article in the current issue because she and her husband, late Abraham Panackal, attended the FOCUS seminar in 1999. Let us continue this journey together and make it a meaningful, transformative journey of ‘social spirituality’ with an ongoing ‘in Christ’ experience for establishing God’s
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kingdom values on the earth. “Some trust in chariots and in horses, but we trust in the name of Lord our God” (Ps 20:7).
Book Review
Finally, we want to thank most sincerely for the kind message and blessings of the Most Revd Dr. Theodosius Mar Thoma Metropolitan. We also express our heart-felt gratitude to the Rt. Revd Dr. Isaac Mar Philoxenos Episcopa, the Diocesan bishop of North America and Europe, for Thirumeni’s message, encouragements and blessings. Let us continue to pray for these two humble and faithful servants of God for their health and blessed ministry.
George Thomas, Copenhagen
“Move on steadily, and know that the waters that carry you are the waters of My love and My kindness, and I will keep you on the right course” (Frances. J. Roberts) Dr. Zac Varghese, London (For the Editorial Board) http://www.issuu.com/diasporafocus http://www.scribd.com/diasporafocus Web Site: www.facebook.com/groups/mtfocus E-Mail: mtfousgroup@gmail.com Published by Lal Varghese, Esq., Dallas for and on behalf of Diaspora FOCUS Disclaimer: Diaspora FOCUS is a non-profit organization registered in United States, originally formed in late Nineties in London for the Diaspora Marthomites. Now it is an independent lay-movement of the Diaspora laity of the Syrian Christians; and as such FOCUS is not an official publication of any denominations. It is an ecumenical journal to focus attention more sharply on issues to help churches and other faith communities to examine their own commitment to loving their neighbors and God, justice, and peace. Opinions expressed in any article or statements are of the individuals and are not to be deemed as an endorsement of the view expressed therein by Diaspora FOCUS. Thanks.
BEST WISHES FOR LENT AND EASTER "No act of virtue can be great if it is not followed by advantage for others. So, no matter how much time you spend fasting, no matter how much you sleep on a hard floor and eat ashes and sigh continually, if you do no good to others, you do nothing great.” Arch Bishop John Chrysostom (CA 347-407)
Glimpses of the History of the Christian Churches in India. By Professor V. Titus Varghese and P.P. Philip, published by Christian Literature Society, 1983. Pp viii+174. Here is a history of the Churches in India presented by a historian and a layman. Neither of them had had formal Theological training, and so their vision of development of the Churches does contain insights that are natural to laymen. Being keenly interested in Church history, Late Professor Titus Varghese (who was Professor of History in the Madras Christian College for many years) has read widely and written profusely on topics connected with this subject. His co-author Late P.P. Philip was an Accounts Officer in the Office of the Accountant-General, Kerala. He had co-authored yet another book titled Missionary Horizons with Professor Titus Varghese. The book in 174 pages while covering a period of 19 centuries is not too long. The reader is not burdened with too many details. The authors have avoided making assertions where documentary evidence is not adequate, but have given traditions as heritages worthy to be treasured. The Christian Church, though one in essence as the Body of Christ, came to develop as separate branches caused by the vicissitudes of history. It takes a very strict sense of fairness and rare skill to do justice to all the different branches without particularly favoring any one. The earnest effort of the authors to present a balanced and fair picture in such a limited space looks abundantly successful. The closing chapters narrate the impact of the Churches on the social and political life of the country. The book carries a forward scripted by the Lamented Metropolitan Alexander Mar Thoma.
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Ebenezer Moments O. C. Abraham, Philadelphia* "Samuel then took a large stone and placed it between the towns of Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer (which means “the stone of help”), for he said, “Up to this point the LORD has helped us!" (1 Samuel 7:12). The “stone of help” was erected to commemorate Israel’s divine and decisive victory over the Philistines. It marked the spot where the enemy had been routed and God’s promise to bless His repentant people had been honored. "EEbenezer moments" are times when we know without a doubt that God has intervened in our lives. We realize that only God could have allowed the outcomes we have experienced. Only His help has brought us through.
On reflecting my life for the last 87 years, especially the last 62 years in the Americas, I have had the opportunity to experience hundreds of "Ebenezer Moments", the special blessings of Jehovah. Coming to the United States with forty dollars for graduate studies in Theology at the University of Dubuque (Iowa), McCormick Theological Seminary (Chicago), Jane Addams School of Social work (University of Illinois, Chicago), The Ecumenical Institute Bossey (Geneva, Switzerland), and Temple University (Philadelphia) were all, “How great is Thy faithfulness” moments. The internship at the Federal prison in Leavenworth (Kansas), working at the Hull House (Chicago) with inner city black youths, working at the World Council of Churches (WCC) office with the Church World Service (Geneva), working for the resettlement programs for Uganda immigrants with WCC (London), participating as a Youth Delegate at the 1963 WCC Conference on World Mission and Evangelism in Mexico, were other “Ebenezer moments” I experienced during the 1960s. Through this essay, I like to share in depth few of my greatest Ebenezer moments, for illustrating how the "How Great is Thy Faithfulness" hymn has become a reality in my life, the times that God has shown me His love, wisdom, guidance, and mercy.
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A Dream Catcher It was on the morning of August 26, 1960, that I was ecstatic as I saw the Statue of Liberty and the skyscrapers of New York City, after 35 days of travelling from Cochin, India, on a Spanish cargo ship, crossing the Arabian Sea, Red Sea, Suez Canal and the Atlantic Ocean. Somehow, I was able to forget all the trials and tribulations of the journey like packing, bidding goodbye to my family, a forty-mile taxi ride to Cochin from home, and getting inside the ship by climbing a rope ladder as the gang way of the ship was already closed. All in seven hours! Weeklong sea sickness while crossing the turbulent Arabian sea during the monsoon season, surviving over a month with Spanish-only speaking ship crew, unfamiliar Spanish food, changing weather, and loneliness as I was the only passenger, were all challenges I faced during the voyage. I was bewildered and lost, but the great dreams about higher studies in theology at the Dubuque University Seminary in Iowa, kept me going. Standing on the deck of the ship, I reflected on what inspired me to this goal of graduate education. I pondered about what my mother used to remind me: that she has dedicated me for the Lord's work while I was in her womb at the 1934 Maramon Convention as she prayed and longed for a boy child after three girls. As I stood on the deck, I praised and thanked God for all His extraordinary guidance, love, and blessings, “Up to this point the LORD has helped us!" a true Ebenezer Moment. The reality hit me only when I landed on the American soil with forty dollars in my pocket and a forty-pound steel trunk in my hand. There were no friends to receive me at the dock, I knew no one in New York to call for advice, I had no idea where to catch the bus for going to Chicago, where I knew two Malayalees. I also found out that the funds I had, was not sufficient to get to Iowa, which was almost a thousand miles west. All I remember is sitting on the steel trunk in great desperation, I earnestly prayed, with tears in my eyes, and fear and anxiety in my heart. As I was praying and committing myself to God's will, a person came to me and introduced himself as Dr. C.C. Thomas from Ranni, Kerala. He was looking for his nephew coming from Bombay in another cargo ship. We located Chacko and traveled in his 1953 Studebaker to Kankakee, Illinois. Dr. C.C. Thomas, who was married to an American lady, was a lecturer at the Nazarene College. As we rode in the car, I experienced my "Ebenezer Moment ", with the meaning of the songs, “How Great is Thy Faithfulness”, and “how great Thou art”, becoming a reality. His divine help had
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brought me through so far. I thanked God for sending His angel. Black Life Matter When I came to America in the Fall of 1960, Dwight Eisenhower was the President. The country was on the brink of elections. The Vice President, Richard Nixon, and John F Kennedy were the Presidential candidates. The major political issue of the day was Civil Rights. All over the country, especially in the Southern States, African Americans (called Negros at the time) faced issues of voting rights, unwarranted arrests, and serious discrimination in social, economic and political life. They were excluded from restaurants and public libraries. Many parks barred them with signs that read, " Negros and dogs not allowed". African Americans were expected to step aside to let a white person pass and they dared not look any white lady in the eye. They had to drink from separate water fountains, sit in the back of buses, use separate rest rooms and waiting rooms, separate schools, separate cemeteries, and even swear on separate Bibles. Interracial marriage was illegal, and most Black people couldn’t vote because they were unable to pass voter literacy tests. I also experienced all these prejudices. Getting food from the restaurants, staying in motels, travelling in public buses, getting haircuts, walking through main streets, shopping were all challenging experiences for me. During the Spring break of 1962, I visited a few Southern states like Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama to observe the Freedom Riders and Civil Right movements under the leadership of Martin Luther King (MLK), Jr. (1929-1968). During his lifetime, MLK was arrested 30 times for participating in civil rights activities. In 1963, he was one of the organizers for the March on Washington and the following year, received the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1965, King helped organize the Selma to Montgomery marches. MLK worked tirelessly to assure the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. I had to transfer a few buses and observe the protocol of the time by sitting at the back of the bus, using the designated washrooms, and waiting rooms. I felt that I was curiously observed by the people in the bus as I was neither very dark nor white. Seldom anyone wanted to talk to me, though I had tried to initiate a conversation. On the second day of my travel, I was hungry and thirsty as the little food, which I brought with me had finished. However, I was very scared to go to any place where they sold food. An elderly black lady, who was sitting at the back of the bus not far from me, asked me where I was from and where I was going. She was a volunteer activist for the Civil Rights moment and was going to Alabama. I learned a lot from her during that long ride about the issues faced by black people, their social conditions, and the leadership of Rev. Martin Luther King. I felt a sense of oneness with her in the struggles and what the black
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people were going through. She offered me an apple, my only meal for that day. Later in the evening, she helped me get some food at a bus stop and we broke bread together. She also helped me get a place to sleep that night and taught me some skills for how to survive in the South. On the next day, she helped me see Martin Luther King from a distance while he was addressing a rally. We were together that day in the Civil Rights demonstration group, which Rev. King was leading. Another close encounter with an Angel and experience another “Ebenezer Moment”! The First Americans My first seminary Internship assignment was a dream come true program as a Fraternal Worker among the Indigenous or Red Indians. It was a blessed three summer months in1961 with the Choctaw and Seminole tribes in Oklahoma and Arkansas, which was arranged through the National Missions of the Presbyterian Church, Louisville, Kentucky. Native Americans, the indigenous people of North America, had lived in this continent for several thousand years before Europeans began exploring the "New World" in the 15th century. Among the several Native American tribes, there existed and exists, many ways of life, world view, clothing styles, shelters, foods, language, spiritual and philosophical beliefs, social and political systems. Native Americans excelled at using natural resources, climate, and terrains in which they lived. They have many of the same values we cherish in our community like, great respect for older people, love for children, close-knit families, and moral values. I have been always interested in Native Americans, their unique culture, their rich tradition, and their value system. I was very sympathetic to their plight for justice, genocide, atrocities, coercions, unkept treaties, wars, forced resettlement and other horrible treatments, which they went through. They have serious economic problems, lack of leadership, organizational skills, collective voice in political life, and educational opportunities. Many communities suffer from poverty, alcoholism, health problems, unemployment, high school dropouts, and suicides. Only 20 percent of the total population was affiliated with any Christian church. Of these, only 25 percent of the churches were led by Native Indian leaders. Before 15th century, an estimated 40-90 million indigenous people lived in the Western hemisphere. Currently, there are only a little over two and half million First Americans live in this country. In contrast, the Asian American population in the United States is estimated to be approximately 20 million, 5.6% of the total population according to the World Population Review and American Community Survey. Very early on June 2nd, 1961, I left the secured and comfortable university campus and drove alone 650 miles in my 1957 Studebaker automobile through Southern states where active discrimination was prevalent.
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Though anxious and scared, the encounter with Choctaw and Seminole indigenous people was the most exciting and blessed experience in my life. Probably, I may be the first Asian Indian Malayalee ever, who has worked as a missionary among the indigenous people in this hemisphere. Jokingly, I used to introduce myself as the "real Indian" from the Mar Thoma tribe and addressed them as the "real Americans". During summer months, the Native Indians conduct Bible camps in their family churches attended by fifteen or twenty families. They set shelters around the church compound for each family, cook and eat together. Parents, children, and youth had their own separate worship, singing, Bible study, witness, play time etc. My role was to provide leadership for the summer gatherings. I moved around during the three months in ten different Bible camps in different small towns in Oklahoma and Arkansas among the Seminoles and Choctaws. I slept in the wooden benches in the church, enjoyed the natural food and the great hospitality. The older people were wise, as they live in harmony with nature and believe that experience brings knowledge. The children and youth were very loving and curious. For me it was an unforgettable three months, heaven on earth! I was in tears on my last day with the loving First American hosts before bidding Halito-goodbye at Kvli Chito church near Broken Bow, Oklahoma, the place where the "Trail of tears" ended (The Trail of Tears was part of the Indian removal Act of President Andrew Jackson, an ethnic cleansing measure and series of forced displacements of approximately 60,000 Native Americans of the Five Civilized Tribes between 1830 and 1850 by the United States government). The outpouring gestures of love that each family gathered there expressed by presenting me with various kinds of lovely gifts that I could use for my life in America are still etched in my mind. Each one came, hugged me and bid farewell. At that moment, I felt oneness with those great and proud children of God, another "Ebenezer Moment”. “Up to this point the LORD has helped us!" Little did I know at that time, that God was preparing the ground and sowing the seed in the American soil for the future Native American mission by the Diocese of North America and Europe of the Mar Thoma Church. *O.C. Abraham, MA, M.Div. and his wife Nirmala Abraham live in Delaware. They are blessed with two daughters: Anisha Abraham, MD and Ajita Abraham, JD and five grandchildren. During 1965-66, O.C. worked with World Council of Churches in Geneva. He also ministered as a Lay Chaplain of the Mar Thoma Church in Kerala. As an Administrator for Mental Health Services for Adolescents, he served 35 years in the State of Delaware. Currently, both are very active with Native America Mission of Mar Thoma Church.
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Theme – FOCUS July 2022 Living with the Pandemic: Lessons and Possibilities
International violence, troubles and instability of the 22nd century started with the bombing of the World Trade Centre at New York by Al-Qaeda/Taliban terrorists on 11th September 2001; it is widely known as 9/11. This attack injured over 25,000 people and killed nearly 3,000. people. This was followed by large number of violent events across the world such as Taliban, Al-Qaeda, Iraqi war, Yemeni crisis, troubles in Syria, ISIS, refugee crisis, Taliban takeover of Afghanistan and war in Ukraine. From the beginning of 2020, we saw the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic; it caused over 6 million death world-wide, so far. Before this pandemic, we saw above problems affecting only certain groups or countries or regions. But the pandemic made the whole world to realize that 'we are all in it together'. We learnt many lessons such as the voluntary restraints of some of our personal freedoms for protecting others around us by, lock downs, social distancing, wearing face masks, getting vaccinated, sharing vaccines and personal protective equipment (PPE) with less-developed nations of the world. From this background arose the idea of a 'new normal'. Therefore, it is an opportune time to think about the lessons learnt, so far, for living with this pandemic and the possibilities open to the world for more cooperation, sharing resources, reducing the wastage of resources, ecologically friendly developments, stability and peace. We request the readers of the FOCUS to think about these and other aspects prayerfully and give a Christian perspective for living with the pandemic and facing other storms of life. Dr. Zac Varghese, FOCUS Editorial Board
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HOW FAITHFUL IS GOD? Mr. Chhotebhai, Kanpur, UP, India* The mandate given to me was to write about “How great is the faithfulness of God”, in the context of FOCUS completing 9 years. This sounded like a categorical statement that brooked no argument. The best answer would be “Please read the Bible. You will discover how faithful God is”. Unfortunately, this seemingly innocuous question from FOCUS landed at the wrong desk! I am not a doubting Thomas, but a seeking Thomas – one looking for proof. “Unless I can see …” (Jn 20:25). I shall try to see. My supplementary question is, “What do we understand by faithfulness? To what do we compare it – a faithful dog, a faithful servant or a faithful spouse?” Notice that faithfulness seems to be a relative term, as in a masterservant relationship. So let us explore the Bible to understand God’s faithfulness. The greatest testimony to this would be the exodus from Egypt, followed by the release from Babylonian captivity. Some exegesis would shed more light on this. Joseph, the abandoned son of Jacob, had found favour with the Pharaoh. When famine struck the land of his father, Jacob, they migrated to Egypt under the Pharaoh’s and Joseph’s patronage. They were just 70 in number (cf. Gen 46: 27). They were accommodated in the region of Goshen where they multiplied prolifically (cf. Gen 47:5) to the extent that they became very powerful and overran the country (cf. Ex 1:7). Subsequently, a new Pharaoh, who was ignorant of Joseph’s contribution to the nation, felt threatened, hence enslaved the Israelites (cf. Ex 1:8-14). This prompted the faithful God to say “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt” (Ex 3:7). Most of us would be familiar with the rest of the story – the ten plagues, crossing the Reed (not Red) Sea. Can we juxtapose this story on today’s scenario, especially in India? The majority Hindu community (80%) feels threatened by the growing numbers of Muslims (14%) and Christians (2.3%) as per the last Census in 2011. (The 2021 Census could not be held because of the pandemic). A caveat: it is the political leaders (Pharaohs) of the majority community that are raising the bogey of a danger from the Muslims and Christians, thereby justifying attacks on them – bans on animal slaughter, the leather industry,
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wearing of the hijab (head scarf), anti-conversion laws, demolition of religious structures etc. Now what should our faithful God do? Should he send ten plagues to avenge the attacks on his “chosen people”? Remember that the entire Egyptian people, not just the Pharaoh, suffered for the perceived insecurity of their leader. What was “faithfulness” for the Israelites would have been “collateral damage” for the Egyptian people! I have often wondered how the Coptic Christians of Egypt view the events of the Exodus that occurred between 1290-1224 BC, during the reign of Rameses II, the 19 Pharaoh? th
Nevertheless, the faithfulness of the God of the Israelites was not unconditional. He was angered at their lack of faith in his providence, saying “Your children will be nomads in the desert for forty years, bearing the consequences of your faithlessness, until the last one of you lies dead in the desert” (Num 14:33-34). So, faithfulness and faithlessness are a two-way street that no “chosen people” can take for granted. I have a favourite expression: “Love without truth is an indulgence. Truth without love is an imposition”. We need a balance of both love and truth to understand the faithfulness of God. After several years of slavery in Egypt and forty years of nomadic wandering in the desert, the chosen people later experienced 48 years of the Babylonian Captivity (587-539 BC), till the edict of the Persian (Parsee to us in India) King Cyrus in the first year of his reign (cf. Ezra 1:1-4). Many chosen ones would have been born and even died in captivity. “By the Rivers of Babylon” is a hep dance number. It is actually a lamentation, the Song of the exiles, Psalm 137. “By the rivers of Babylon, we sat and wept . . . How could we sing a song of Yahweh on alien soil?” (Ps137:1,4). Far from being a romantic dance number it ends on a vengeful note, “A blessing on any one who seizes your babies and shatters them against a rock” (Ps137:9)! In the post exile period (5th century BC) we have the lamentation of Job (known to Muslims as Ayub, the epitome of forbearance). His famous utterance was “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, naked I shall return again. Yahweh gave, Yahweh has taken back, blessed be the name of Yahweh” (Job 1:21). How many chosen people today (Christians) would have the faith to go through Job’s ordeals and still say “Blessed be the Lord”? How many of us, in an era of breaking news and 2-minute noodles, can wait for 40/48 years to see the Lord’s deliverance? Can we see the Lord’s faithfulness in the slaughter of the innocents in Bethlehem (cf Mat 2:16)? Why should those innocents and their families have suffered? Would they proclaim “Hosanna, salvation has come”?
FOCUS, April 2022, Vol. 10,Part 2
What about the persecution of nascent Christians for 300 years of the Roman Empire, till Emperor Constantine’s Edict of Milan in 313 CE? Did they experience the faithfulness of God in the catacombs and the Coliseum? How many of us in a similar situation would be able to say “Our God is great, alleluia”? Cut to today – sub-Saharan Africa, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, some Gulf States, Pakistan, China, Myanmar and some parts of the Far East. Are Christians safe? Several reports state that today Christianity is the most persecuted of all religions. The cold war over pseudo-secularism has hit erstwhile Christendom (Europe) with a sledge hammer. It is no longer politically correct to say “Merry Christmas”. Ultimately Pope Francis had to raise his voice against this excessive secularism that was earlier confined to France; a consequence of the French Revolution centuries earlier. Have I painted a gloomy picture? Let us look at the other side of the coin. While the Israelites were grumbling in the desert God said to them “The clothes on your back did not wear out and your feet were not swollen, all those forty years” (Deut 8:4). How many of us can say what Paul said to the Romans? “Can anything cut us off from the love of Christ – can hardships or distress, or persecution, or lack of food and clothing, or threats or violence; as scripture says ‘For your sake we are being massacred all day long, treated as sheep to be slaughtered?’ No; we come through all these things triumphantly victorious, by the power of him who loved us” (Rom 8: 35-37). Paul makes this exhortation after first explaining that “It was not for its own purposes that creation has frustration imposed on it, but for the purposes of him who imposed it – with the intention that the whole creation itself might be freed from its slavery to corruption and brought into the same glorious freedom of the children of God” (Rom 8:20-21). The coup-de-grace comes from the Letter to the Hebrews. “God is treating us like his sons. Has there ever been any son whose father did not train him? If you were not getting the training, as all of us are, then you would not be sons, but bastards” (Heb 12:7-8). This echoes what was said earlier, “Learn from this that Yahweh your God was training you as a man trains his child” (Deut 8:5). Other, more poetic translations use the word “chastise” for “train”. Do we feel chastised by such a train of thought? There is a thread running through the Bible that faith in Jesus is not meant for the faint hearted. To experience the faithfulness of God one should have a deep faith of one’s own. It is a challenge to Christians in a secularised, polarised, consumeristic society, where the pursuit of individual happiness scores over what Pope John XXIII described as the “common good”. Will Jesus say to us what he said to the Roman Centurion, “In truth I tell you, in no one
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in Israel have I found faith as great as this” (Mat 8:10). At the Last Judgement will we hear the Lord say “Well done good and faithful servant, you have shown that you are faithful in small things, I will trust you with greater things; come and join in your master’s happiness” (Mat 25:21). Here again there is a message for all of us who profess to be Christian. Faith isn’t linked to heroic acts like martyrdom or being thrown into a lion’s den / raging fire as Daniel was. Our faithful God expects us to begin with small things, even the limited talents that he has given us. Only then can we expect to rise to greater heights. Let us not commit the fatal error of the man with one talent who blamed his misfortune on his master saying, “I had heard you were a hard man, reaping where you had not sown, and gathering where you had not scattered, so I was afraid, and I went off and hid your talent in the ground” (Mat 25:24-25). The master’s retort was swift and lethal. “As for this good-for-nothing servant, throw him into the darkness outside, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth” (Mat 25:30). Do I sound cynical or agnostic? Far from it. I do not presume God’s faithfulness. The sin of presumption is exactly how Jesus was tempted in the desert with these provocative words: “If you are Son of God throw yourself down from here for Scripture says: He has given his angels orders about you, to guard you; and again, they will carry you in their arms in case you trip over a stone” (Lk 4:9-10, cf. Ps 91: 11-12). Jesus, the epitome of wisdom, didn’t fall into the trap and retorted “Scripture says: Do not put the Lord your God to the test” (Lk 4:12, cf. Deut 6:16). From the above interaction (one of my favourites) we find that the Evil One is adept at quoting scripture out of context. It is for this reason that I am wary of over zealous Bible thumpers, or miraculous claims. I may add that I believe in God’s providence but not in magical miracles. To allay any doubts, I shall share just two instances (there are umpteen) of God’s hand of protection over me. From 1975-82 I lived in Jyotiniketan Ashram, Bareilly, founded by Rev C. Murray Rogers, an Anglican priest, since handed over to a Capuchin friar. Inspired by St Francis of Assisi I often embarked on Gospel journeys with just a cloth shoulder bag, a spare kurta-pyjama, Bible, crucifix, cymbals and a toothbrush (the last being something you cannot borrow), but no money. My longest journey was 2000 kms over two months in blistering summer. My Christian identity was never hidden as I always wore a wooden rosary (mala) with a crucifix. 47 years later, I still do.
During these journeys I drank brackish water from wayside ponds, ate food fallen on the road, plucked grains of wheat or wild figs, crossed the mighty Ganga and a crocodile infested tributary (in a boat)! When exhausted I would hitch a ride on a truck or a farmer’s tractor trolley. A herd of wild elephants once crossed the
FOCUS, April 2022, Vol. 10,Part 2
road just ahead of me. When one is most vulnerable that is when one experiences the fullness of God’s faithfulness. I give just one more testimony. Rev Rogers had relocated to Jerusalem. In 1980 he invited me to spend Holy Week there. That year the Holy Week of the Western churches and the Eastern Orthodox coincided, as also the Jewish Passover, so Jerusalem and flights were packed. Back then India did not have diplomatic relations with Israel, nor were there any direct flights. From Bareilly I came to Lucknow (240 kms) to collect my passport. As a mendicant I was sitting on the floor near the door of a general compartment in the train. Somebody flicked my bag that contained the passport just as the train was about to move. Providentially I realized it and saw it lying on the railway track and was able to retrieve it just in time. I then proceeded to Delhi to get my visa for Israel, only to be told that the Israeli Consulate was in Bombay, 1500 kms away! The Anglican archbishop of Jerusalem had paid for the ticket. The travel agent thoughtfully booked me on a flight with a day’s break at Bombay. When I reached the Consulate on the 7th floor of a building all I saw was a closed door and a police guard. I sat on the staircase and took out my prayer book. After some time, I heard a voice over the intercom asking me why I had come. I answered. The voice said that the Consulate was closed for three days for the Passover. I continued to pray quietly. The voice relented, opened the door and asked for my papers, including three photos that I didn’t have. Again, providentially, I found a studio on the street that gave me the photos in 30 minutes. I was on my way to Tel Aviv. Indeed, I can proclaim “How great is the faithfulness of God”. With Mary I will also say, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour; because he has looked on the humiliation of his servant” (Lk 1:46). The moral of the story is “God is faithful. He expects us to respond to his call-in faith”, devoid of presumptuousness. Then only will there be a fairy-tale ending “living happily ever after” *The writer is the Convenor of the Indian Catholic Forum, former National President of the All-India Catholic Union (1990-94) former Director of the International Council of Catholic Men (1994-96), a regular columnist and author of 5 books.
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Felicitation to Revd Dr. Sham P. Thomas - New Director of the ECC, Bangalore We offer heart-felt congratulations to Revd Dr. Sham P. Thomas M. Sc, M. Th, PhD, an ordained minister of the Mar Thoma Church, who has succeeded Fr. Dr. Mathew Chandrankunnel as the 9th Director of the Ecumenical Christian Center (ECC), Bangalore. In a zoom Ceremony on 8th January, 2022, Revd Dr. Sham P. Thomas was installed as the Director. A farewell to Dr. Mathew Chandrankunnel, the previous director, was also conducted at the same function. Most Revd Dr. Theodosius Mar Thoma Metropolitan, the Chairperson of ECC, presided over the function. Revd Dr. Sham P. Thomas took his Ph.D. in the field of Christian Communication from the Edinburgh University, of the UK and then, he taught at the United Theological College, Bangalore, as the Head and Professor of the Christian Communication department. He also served several Mar Thoma Parishes in and outside Kerala and has held several offices at the regional and national levels. He is well known for his academic excellence and very engaging oratorical skills. He is an author of a number of books and a persuasive preacher of the Gospel. Achen hails from Punnakkadu, Kerala, and is married to Mrs. Achamma Thomas. Their daughter, Shama Ann, is a medical doctor. Revd Dr. M. J. Joseph, a member of the editorial board of the FOCUS gratefully remembers Revd Sham P. Thomas as one of his bright B. D. Students at the Mar Thoma Theological Seminary, Kottayam, and delighted to see him as one of his successors as the director of the ECC. The editorial board and the readers of FOCUS offer congratulations to Revd Dr. Sham P. Thomas. We pray for God’s blessings for a bright tenure as the Director of the ECC. May the change of guard at the ECC shed rays of continued hope and progress in the ecumenical pilgrimage of the Center. Revd Dr. M. J. Joseph, Kottayam For the Editorial Board
FOCUS, April 2022, Vol. 10,Part 2
The Faithfulness of God Dr. George Varghese* Scripture talks about a God who reveals to His chosen people His essential nature, His Name. We do not impute these virtues to God but He talks about Himself for us to know Who He is! One of these statements is that God is a God of Faithfulness . . . (Due 32: 3-4). God is a God of Promise. He is a Covenant keeping God. This is the essence of faithfulness. He enters into a covenantal relationship with His people and He is committed to keeping His side of the promise. 2 Tim 2:13. He remains faithful because He cannot be otherwise. His word is true. He cannot go against it. We have many songs that describe this truth. “Faithful God, so unchanging…. Great is thy faithfulness . . . No shadow of turning with thee. This gives me Hope, confidence, security. He keeps us. He holds us.” The story of Jesus is the fulfilment of the promises of God. Centuries ago, Prophets of old held on to the faithfulness of God as they looked at the crises all around them. In spite of all the negative events, the sins of God’s people and their failure to keep their promises to God, the Prophets held on to the truth that God would keep His word. He shows us that He is a faithful husband/lover. How do I experience this truth about God’s faithfulness in my life? Whatever I embrace and make it my own becomes a living reality for me. I move from arbitrary theoretical mediocre statements to practical flesh and blood reality in my daily life. I remember the time in 1972 when I knelt near my bed inviting Jesus Christ to take me as His child. I believed what God did on the cross to save me from my predicament. I didn’t understand everything . . . but I took a leap in the dark and found myself in a different dimension. I was surprised by Joy . . . my burden lifted and I experienced a clean heart. I discovered a thirst for His love and a greater love for people. I became a child of God and looked up to Him and called him “My Daddy”. The promise in 1 John became real. Whenever I failed to follow the path of truth and got tempted and betrayed His love . . . I came back and confessed my failures to Him and experienced
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forgiveness and restoration. No condemnation. Again, the promises of the Word became real. As we sought the Lord for our place of work as young doctors, He moved our hearts to look at Manali. A remote tiny place. God’s promise to be with us in that place have proved real over the years and this has kept us here till now. “My Presence will go with you.”, “I’ll be your Reward”, and these became the anchors for my soul. God continued to enlarge our vision, to reach out to new places in the Himalayas. Some of these desires were our own. But deep down there was a seeking after God and His Kingdom and to share the story of Jesus with others who had never heard about this wonderful person. As we ventured into the higher Himalayas the promise of “I am with you” became the anchor for our dreams. I too went through periods of darkness, serious doubts, crises, failures . . . in those situations, His gentle loving eyes followed me. Nothing can separate me from God’s Love . . . this too was experienced as a reality. Sometimes, even now I forget that He is with me. Yet I was aware of the watchful loving eyes of my God, no matter what I did. There were times when we struggled financially for various needs especially children’s education. Sometimes it was difficult to know between needs and wants. There were times we were tempted to seek options B and C, if A did not work out. If God didn’t give (option A), we had other means. We could make it happen. Whatever we wanted or desired . . . so many of these projects left a sour taste. In those moments, consciously to let go our schemes and hold on to God’s promises became a challenge. Not by might nor by power but by my Spirit (Zech 4:6) continued to beckon us to trust Him When we let go of our plans, God stepped in. He remained faithful. There were many instances where a dream or a whisper or a letter from a friend reinforced God’s faithfulness. There were two instances of sickness where I could have died. Yet some strange peace came over me. And in my delirious state I was reassured that I would live . . . but had to go through the crisis. Even though I walked through the valley of the shadow . . . thou are with me. The Truth about this promise became real. Strangely, I never prayed for myself, for the healing of my body. But others prayed and God kept his promise.
FOCUS, April 2022, Vol. 10,Part 2
Recently, I had the opportunity once again to experience the faithfulness of God. In Matthew’s Gospel Jesus talked about not being anxious, don’t worry for your daily needs . . . that worry and trust are incompatible. He said, “Seek my kingdom . . . and all these needs will be taken care of.”
The Diaspora laity of the Mar Thoma Church longs to have a focus. Focusing is meant to generate power. Laity as frozen credit of the church. Must melt and become chanels of generosity. How is it possible to get melted? The fire of the Holy Spirit alone will be able to awaken it.
When we came for the surgical treatment to Kerela, we had decided that we will not ask for help from anyone as God has promised to take care of it. We had no big bank savings. Soon we started to receive deposits into our account from various friends and house groups. This was enough to pay for all the bills (including the unexpected medical bills) It was so strange to be honoured like this.
Who can prevent the urge of the Spirit to have something beautiful for God? The scattered gems of the Church must have a strong string to hold. Holding together is meant for gathering, Gathering is for scattering and scattering is for gathering. It is the metaphor of life. The vision of the Church in each generation takes its own course.
This gives me a greater reason to seek Him and His ways and not to worry about our needs. What a God we have! Faithful to the core. In spite of our faithlessness many times, He remains faithful. He kept his side of the promise. What to do with such a God? . . . Love, worship and gratitude are all we have. Will His faithfulness move us towards developing this character in us? Will this fruit of God’s Spirit manifest in my life? . . .Faithfulness in all my relationships with others. Am I willing to keep my promises to God? This remains an eternal question. *Dr. Dr. Geroge Varghese (Laji) and his wife Dr. Sheila Varghese dedicated their whole life to the service of rural communities in the foothills of the Himalayas in the North Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, please read their testimony in the October, 2021, issue of the FOCUS, Vol.9 (3), p8-12.
Diaspora FOCUS Revd Dr. M. J. Joseph, Kottayam [This poem was first published in the inaugural issue of the FOCUS in April 2013. It was dedicated in honour of all those who participated in the FOCUS (For Christian Understanding and Solidarity) seminars held at Santhigiri from 1999-2003.] If there is no focus, there will be only a blurred vision. The light rays passing through the clouds must get focused as a rainbow. It is a symbol of plurality, Plurality is integral to reality. Plurality is held together by a string of love; It is the love of God in Christ that makes its appeal universal.
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Sometimes, it gets deviated; Sometimes, it takes a new course of action. The reality of Christ must be made known through word and deed. The priesthood of the Church universal is meant to shine; It must flutter its wings and soar high in each continent; In each nation, its power must generate the power of love. Love of power negates its focus. Men of vision are always on the side of God, And God is on the side of them! The digital network of the FOCUS Group is more than a gadget; It is the meeting of the hearts across the globe; ‘The other’ is made near to our side We are being transformed into a hymn of praise. We make a name for the voiceless across the globe. The clergy must be grateful to God for our being and becoming. The period of slumbering is over. The cracked walls of the Church must be rebuilt for common wellness. The global must be made local The local must be transformed into universal. The bricks once used for walls must be used for making bridges. The periphery must be brought to the center. The awakening must happen from below. The power must come from above. The Amazing grace will be our strength. May the Diaspora FOCUS flutter its wings in all the continents. May its waves refresh the clergy and the laity in their spiritual journey. May God’s name be glorified through its acts of love for the posterity. This is our prayer to Thee, Lord: Let our rising out of ashes be an offering to you Enable us to spread our rosy wings high.
FOCUS, April 2022, Vol. 10,Part 2
Everlasting Faithfulness of God Mr. P. T. Mathew, Dallas* “It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness” (Lam 3: 22-23, KJV). A new year brings lots of questions: will our health hold? Will our children get admission in the right school for the right course? Will the economy improve? Will I live to see the end of the year? Will this Covid19 get under control? Will the life be getting on back to normal or need to continue with this new normal? Our God, the creator of the universe says to us, “don’t be afraid, and don’t be discouraged”. What happens in this coming year is not left to chance, but with the knowledge and control of the good Lord. Lord our God will be with us all, wherever, we go. That is the reason we can wish each other a” Happy New Year ”We have entered into a new year, the year of 2022. Let us begin this year by trusting in the promise of God that His presence will be with us from the beginning till the end of the year. So we can cast all our worries and anxieties unto Him, He will strengthen us to cross the hills, the valleys. He provides us the resources for life, the water, which indicates the physical and spiritual food for our day to day life. He is faithful and His faithfulness is everlasting; He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. Because He is faithful, He keeps up His side of the relationship even when I don't. 2 Tim. 2:13: If we are faithless, He remains faithful - for He cannot deny Himself. God’s loyal love couldn’t have run out, his merciful love couldn’t have dried up. They’re created new every morning. How great is your faithfulness! A Reason for Hope is stated in Lamentations 3: 22-23, “. . . His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness. Jeremiah wrote these words at a time when Israel was suffering much affliction. He described their sin and suffering in chapters 1 & 2. He described the destruction of Jerusalem, which was to come soon, in all its horror in chapter 4. In chapter 3 he shares his own personal pain in verses 1-18. But with a prayer to God to remember his bitter condition, the prophet gets his eyes off himself and unto the Lord. Hope is revived when he remembers that the Lord’s mercies and compassions . . . are new every morning, and that His faithfulness is great. It is one of the saddest stories of the Bible, yet it inspired one of the most hopeful hymns of the twentieth century. Great is thy faithfulness, O God my father, Morning by morning new mercies I see; All I have needed thy hand hath provided, Great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto me.
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(The Hymn ‘Great is Thy Faithfulness’ was published in 1923. For several years, the hymn got very little recognition, until it was discovered by a Moody Bible Institute professor who loved it so much and requested it sung so often at chapel services, that the song became the unofficial theme song of the college.) Jeremiah is the author of the Book of Lamentations. Jeremiah is also referred to as the weeping prophet. The Book of Lamentations tells of his sorrows over the tragedy that befell the city, the country and, the people of Israel. In response to what happened, he urged repentance. He knew that God was a God of mercy and compassion. He stood in the gap for his people and urged them to return to God. Through the pages of Lamentations, we are given a glimpse into the awful sufferings endured by the people of Jerusalem at the hands of the Babylonians and King Nebuchadnezzar. However, Jeremiah knew what God would do for his people and for himself. Jeremiah knew that God was faithful. Jeremiah knew that God would do what He said He would do. The prophet Jeremiah witnessed unimaginable horrors when the Babylon invaded Jerusalem in B.C 586. What is it that could bring Jeremiah out of his depression? As he is reflecting on how awful the situation is, he is reminded of the goodness and faithfulness of God. Let’s look at what he remembered and be reminded of God’s goodness to us: God’s Mercy is a covenantal Love God’s mercy is His loving kindnesses—which we can relate to better than mercy, but the word used for mercy is the reflection of His loving kindness. It means a love or affection that is steadfast based on a loyalty or devotion, especially in relationship to the covenant and God as it’s author. Out of the faithfulness to His covenant God grants mercy. His mercy is limitless and can never fail. What was it that kept hope alive in Jeremiah in spite of the terrible situation he was in? It was his knowledge of the mercies of the Lord. Jeremiah’s hope came from his personal experience of the Lord’s faithfulness and from the knowledge of God’s promise in the past. God’s mercy involved in His undying love and loyalty toward His people through the covenant that He had made with Israel. It was because of that covenant that Jeremiah could expect that the Lord would love them in spite of their sin. He might discipline His disobedient people, allowing them to be ravaged by their enemies, and even letting their temple and the Law be destroyed, but He would never ultimately forsake His people.
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Being a Diaspora community we also might have gone through the times of absorption and abandonment. But in our deepest sorrow, we are often surprised by the light of God’s never-failing love and mercy. Then by His grace and mercy, we can echo the words of Jeremiah. His mercy and grace have been extended to those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom 8: 1), and nothing can separate us from His love (Rom 8: 31–39). As a result, we can have hope even in the midst of the gloomiest circumstances (2 Cor 1: 8–11). But not only did Jeremiah remember the mercies of God, he also remembered the compassion of God. Compassion of God—God’s tender care Hudson Taylor, the humble servant of God who went to China, demonstrated the extraordinary trust in God’s love, care and faithfulness. In his journal he wrote: “our heavenly Father is very experienced one. He knows very well that His children wake up with a good appetite every morning----He sustained three million Israelites in the wilderness for forty years. We do not expect He will send three million missionaries to China, but He did, He would have ample means to sustain them all----- Depend on it, God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply.” We may be faint and weary, but our heavenly Father is all Powerful. Our feelings may fluctuate, but He is unchangeable. His love and care is unfailing and unchanging. The words “unfailing love” (Lam 3: 22 NLT) or “compassions” are translated from a Hebrew term related to the Hebrew word for “stork “or “womb,” suggesting a mother’s love and faithfulness. Compassion is a word that requires action. It is more than pity or sympathy, because it causes us to do something. The Bible says Jesus was “moved with compassion” and as a result He healed the sick, fed the hungry, cast out demons, and taught them the truth continually. Jeremiah in Lamentations said two things concerning the compassions of God Firstly, “. . . fail not." God never fails to be compassionate. The judgment of God never comes until every means of grace has been exhausted. Secondly, "They are new every morning." It seems that God is looking for some way to demonstrate His love for us each new day. Not only did we have the mercies and compassions of God when we got saved, but we have them now — new every morning. Every morning we have fresh instances of God’s compassion towards us! He gives us the life and breath we need to live; He provides the sunshine and the rain we need to grow our crops; He gives us jobs so we can pay our bills and feed our family; He gives us the birds to sing to wake us up and bring a smile to our faces; He paints beautiful sunrises and sunsets across the sky for our enjoyment;
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He smiles upon on us each day with more blessings than we can possibly think of or imagine. We must learn to see each day as a gift from our loving compassionate heavenly Father. Like a mother or father tenderly loving their child, God gives His children His bountiful blessings every morning. He smiles upon us with such love and compassion that no earthly parent could ever give to their children. And He doesn’t do this one time, but He does it every day of our lives! The proof of God’s love and compassion can be seen every time you look up at the sky and see the sun. Even on a cloudy day, you still know that the sun came up in the morning and therefore, you are reminded that God has fresh, new mercies & compassions for you for this day. Every morning when the sun comes up, we have new, fresh, mercies and compassions from our loving heavenly Father. Our Father loves us so much He doesn’t want us to have old stale mercies and compassion to live from during the day. What will you face today? Not the same things you faced yesterday or what you will face tomorrow. Each day has its own trials and difficulties that are unique to that day. Our Father knows that, so He gives us new and fresh mercies and compassions that are just what we need for each day. Faithfulness of God—God’s steadfastness, firmness, commitment The word faithfulness comes from a root meaning “be permanent, secure, reliable.” The word here is often translated “faith” but literally means “firmness” or faithfulness. Thus, it is used for the faithfulness of God Himself (Ps 36: 5; 40: 10; Lam. 3: 23). The steadfastness of God is great—meaning that it is not just a little firmness, but it provides us a whole lot of stability. When the storms of life are blowing around us, we can know that God will be there in all of His power as solid as a rock. He is the anchor that we can hold on to, no matter high the waves crash or how hard the winds blow. When your heart becomes overwhelmed by the circumstances of life and you feel that even God has deserted you. Remember, His mercies, His compassions, and His faithfulness and you will be able to have hope in the midst of any storm. Conclusion I could go on mentioning the rich benefits that flow from being related to God. Because He is faithful, I can conquer every temptation, 1 Cor 10: 13: "No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to humanity. God is faithful and He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation He will also provide a way of escape, so that you are able to bear it.” Because He is faithful, He keeps up His side of the relationship even when we don't. “If we are faithless, He will remain faithful - for he cannot disown himself” (2 Tim. 2:13).
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God is faithful, and we are called to walk by faith and not by sight (2 Cor 5: 7). Despite the evolving and unstable seasons that life brings, we are called to trust God. Through times of joy and tribulation, God’s faithfulness remains consistent and steadfast. Life can be hard, challenging, and seem unfair. When things do not go according to our plans, we become frantic, but God remains faithful. Within our own strength, it is easy to want to become cynical and dismiss how God has kept us in the past. I invite you not lose hope, but instead to use God’s track record of faithfulness as our strength. God has specific attributes that He will continually show us those that represent His faithfulness. God is a consistent provider, encourager, comforter, source of strength, and supporter. I will focus on these five traits and ways that God remains faithful, through the peaks and valleys of life. We may be going through a season of rejection, loss, grief, or uncertainty. Do not be discouraged; there is good news for us: God’s faithfulness will never waver. Prayer: O Lord our everlasting God, we are so grateful for your everlasting love and compassion. Thank you because your great love we are not consumed, for your compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Amen. * Mr. P. T. Mathew. M.A., M.S, was a college teacher in Kerala, from 1970-1975. He is living in Dallas Texas since 1976. He is retired as an Engineer from Raytheon, USA. He is a member of the Mar Thoma Church of Dallas, Farmers Branch, Texas.
The Fig Tree* Dr. Varghese Mathai I recall a casual meeting with a fellow student out on a walk during my earlier college days. He told me that he was from the distant countryside, the only son of disabled parents confined to their home. He would therefore, go home every other week or so to make sure that they had all the supplies needed, including drinking water. I was very impressed with the account of his filial care. He quickly added that he was also a lay preacher. At this, my esteem for him rose even higher. Soon we had a schedule of regular walks together, and good discussions along the way. Often, he would comment upon the Bible of which I knew very little, and about the little I knew, I had unending questions. One of those evenings he quizzed me: “Do you know this story of Jesus cursing a fig tree because he found no fruit in it?” My ears perked up. I had read that portion in Mark 11 and in
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Matthew 21. It had bothered me that Jesus would be upset with a barren tree. “Do you know what that means?” he asked, sensing that I didn’t. “No,” I said, hoping that he might say more about it. He seemed, however, to show no eagerness to enlighten me any further, though he appeared confident of the meaning. “Would you mind telling me what that could be?” I asked, rather imploringly. His face showed a steely look. “Nope!” came his slapping reply, and then he turned around and walked away. “Goodness, what a jerk!” I said to myself in disbelief. I have never seen him since. I could think of none on my campus that could interpret this curious gospel story. About six months later—and I had been thinking about this withered tree all along—I had a surprise call from the Lions governor, a wealthy plantation man, inviting me as a student speaker at their state conference. A few weeks later I arrived at his mansion, as appointed. I had to wait a little for my turn, so his steward offered to give me a tour of the estate garden, all filled with exotic plants and fruit trees. I noticed a midsize tree, lush in its cascading leaves, each the size of an ancient war shield, gleaming in lively green. It seemed to sit on the ground, shaped overall like a large Moghul dome. I asked the steward what tree this was. “The fig tree,” he said. “The fig tree?” I echoed back in surprise. “Yes,” came his lowkey reply. “The fig tree, did you say?” I asked again. “Yes,” the man assured me, obviously wondering about my excitement. I asked to be excused; he moved on. I walked around that tree a few times like a tickled squirrel, and then paused; then I parted its cloaking foliage, which to my sheer marvel, gave way and led me to the clear view of its trunk. And what did I see within? Scores of ripe fruits, the size of tennis balls on long stems from the trunk and the branches. I plucked one of them, bit into it and got nothing but a watery taste. I threw the fruit away. In an instant, I recognized something: this tree would look the same, with or without fruit, to a passer-by. If it had fruit, it would make no boastful show of it, which might be a good quality; but if it held no fruit, then too, the rich leaves would cover its barrenness, thus fooling one into thinking that it might have great yield inside. That very instant I thought that Jesus could have been giving a figurative lesson on the nation of Israel: The fig tree was Israel; he was its great gardener, looking for fruit and finding no fruit in the tree of his own planting. A fruitless tree signals its own doom by the axe and fire. Prophet Micah gives the idyllic picture of the elderly sitting under the fig tree, watching their little one’s play. Consider such a national symbol being so barren, yet hiding that curse with its gleaming cover. I did not have to go to Israel for the rest of the story. It is my own hypocrisy that I tend to hide with the beguiling blanket of green. *“The Fig Tree” is a story by Dr. Varghese Mathai, #11 from The Village Maestro & 100 Other Stories, and is used with his permission. Published by Pippa Rann Books & Media, U.K. The book can be ordered via https://pipparannbooks.com/product/the-village-maestro-100-otherstories/ or directly from the author, Dr. Varghese Mathai vmathai50@gmail.com US $14.95 for the paperback, $24.95 for the hardback, plus packing and postage.
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Living in Christ, Leaping in Faith* Lal Varghese, Esq., Dallas John 15: 4 says: “Live in me, and I will live in you. A branch cannot produce any fruit by itself. A branch has to stay attached to the vine. In the same way, you cannot produce fruit unless you live in me.” Living in Christ means, being attached to Christ and live a life in faith. The entire Bible centers on a single and simple theme: God loves us so much that He has made a way to save mankind and His creation through forgiveness, reconciliation and redemption through his death on the cross and the resurrection. Jesus told Thomas, “I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6). That’s the essence of the gospel, and the central subject of the Scriptures. The written Word of God is intended to help us understand this “good news.” By studying the Bible, we learn that each person needs to be saved (Romans 3:23), each person can be saved (Romans 1:16), and God wants each person to be saved (2 Peter 3:9), in order to live in Christ as a branch attached to the vine and produces the fruit.
Corinthians 5:21). According to the Scriptures, anyone can be “saved”—forgiven by God and guaranteed heaven—through faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 10:13). This isn’t a call for blind, ignorant belief (Acts 17:11; 1 John 4:1). It’s an invitation from the Holy Spirit to submission and trust (James 4:7). It’s a choice to let go of everything else in order to rely entirely on God. The only way for a person to live in Christ is by accepting Jesus Christ as their savior and walking in faith. Paul had that experience on the Damascus Road and he lived that ‘in Christ’ experience all his life and expressed the phrase ‘in Christ, over 200 times in his letters. Paul in his Areopagus exhortation told the Athenians: “For in him we live and move and have our being “Acts 17: 28). Apostle Paul is one who lived in Christ by leaping in His faith. The term “living in the gospel” has become a popular one in the past few years, being used by people such as Tim Keller, J.D. Greear, David Platt, and many others. Many variations on the term exist: “living out the gospel,” “living in light of the gospel,” “being the gospel,” “living in Christ’” and so on. While most people probably hear the terms and skip right past them without a second thought, there are others who have repeatedly and loudly declared opposition to all such uses of these terms. Some even question the truth of the Bible and the existence of God. Gospel is the Word of God (Logos) and it should be practiced and preached, which is only possible through faith. The faithful should tread the unknown roads and visit less frequented Samaritan wells spreading the gospel. The process of living in Christ in faith is the work of all three persons of the Trinity—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The book of Hebrews is an excellent place to find answers to our questions about faith and leaping in faith. Chapter 11 begins with this short definition of faith: “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1). Chapter 11 is termed as the ‘Hall of Faith’ of the Bible.
What separates us from God is sin like a branch when it is cut from the tree. No matter how good we think we are, every person is guilty of sin (1 John 1:10). Since God is absolutely perfect, no one deserves to spend eternity in heaven. Instead, we deserve to be separated from Him forever (Romans 5:16). No amount of effort, no good deeds, no money, no talent, no achievements are enough to take away this guilt (Isaiah 64:6). Fortunately, God doesn’t want us to be separated from Him, so He made a way to fix what’s broken (John 3:16-17) and to live in Christ. That one and only way is through faith in Jesus Christ (John 14:6). God Himself came to earth, as a human, living a perfect and sinless life (Hebrews 4:15). He willingly died as a sacrifice to pay the debt for our sins (2
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What, then, is a leap of faith? The term leap of faith is not found in the Bible, but it is a common usage. Usually, to take a leap of faith means “to believe in something with no evidence for it” or “to attempt an endeavor that has little chance of success.” We find a list of men and women in the Bible who took a “leap of faith,” as it were. These are just a few of the people mentioned who took God at His Word and trusted Him to do what He had promised: By faith, Noah obeyed God and built an ark to save his family from the flood (Genesis 6:9 – 7:24). By faith, Abraham prepared to sacrifice his son, believing God would provide a lamb (Genesis 22:1–19). By faith, Moses chose to side with the Hebrews rather than stay in the Egyptian palace (Exodus 2 – 4). By faith, Rahab risked
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her life and sheltered enemy spies in her home (Joshua 2:1–24). By faith Enoch walked with God and was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death, it is written: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” (Hebrews 11: 5) Throughout the rest of the Scripture, the stories of the faithful continue. By faith, David confronted a giant with only a sling and a stone (1 Samuel 17). By faith, Peter stepped out of the boat when Jesus invited him to come (Matthew 14:22–33). God miraculously delivered Joseph from slavery and placed him in charge over all of Egypt. God transformed Gideon from a coward to a courageous warrior. These biblical characters took leaps of faith because they trusted in the God who was powerful enough to rescue them, hold them up, and not let them fall (see Jude 1:24). These accounts go on and on, each story helping us to understand the biblical meaning of a leap of faith. Leaping in faith involves the risk even to the loss of one’s own life. Hebrews 11: 6 says: “Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” A leap of faith might mean leaving the safety of your comfort zone. Peter abandoned his safety and comfort when he jumped out of the boat to walk on water to reach Jesus. He could take that leap of faith because he knew his Lord and trusted that He was good. When we demonstrate authentic trust in God, we know that our “leap of faith” is actually a leap into His all-powerful and loving arms. He delights in our trust and rewards those who earnestly pursue Him: “Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). Scripture calls us to "be doers of the word and not hearers only . . . [for] faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead" (James 1:22, 2:17). Jesus Himself directs us to "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations . . . teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you . . ." (Mt 28:19-20). Life in Christ is a life of active witness. It demands moral leadership and commitment to take the risk. Each and every person baptized in the truth of the Christian faith is a member of the "people of life/God" sent by God to evangelize the world. So, let us be a people with a difference by living in Christ and for the gospel; let us be like Paul who transformed himself as a different man ‘in Christ’. “For in him we live, move and have our being” (Act 17:28). Yes, we are a letter from Christ to the world and the letter should be read by others and not to be thrown in the trash. Let us be the aroma of Christ and enable us to heal the fractured world and to overcome the uncertainties surrounding the world in a post COVID-19 landscape. Paul in Romans 6:3-4 testifies that: “. . . Priscilla and Aquila, my co-
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workers in Christ Jesus. They risked their lives for me.” They leaped in their faith in Christ Jesus, thus risking their life in the 1st century, when Christians were persecuted everywhere in the 1st century. Apostles also leaped in faith and traveled to the ends of the earth with the gospel. St. James wrote, “What good is it, my brothers, if a man clams to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?” (James 2:14). God wants our lives to overflow with mercy, love, and compassion — the marks of His kingdom. As followers of Jesus, we have a choice: respond to unsettling realities in fear and withdraw, or follow Him in responding to the greatest needs of our day with love and hope. We also know that caring for those in need is the evidence of a faith that changes lives. We should be doers of what God has instructed us. Pope Francis said: “Gospel calls us to feed all the hungry, clothe all the naked and visit all the sick and oppressed.” In fact, living in Christ and leaping in faith is actually living the Gospel. In a materialistic world, the chances of neglecting the above words of Lord are very frequent in our lives. Simple, apostolic mission to do justice to others by leaping in faith does not require large sanctuaries or halls and lengthy pulpit preaching. It is much simpler than that just open your heart to do justice to others who are being ignored by the world around them. It means finding the living thread from one person to another, from house to house, from one town to the next. It means discovering the footsteps of Jesus Christ to see which way He went, so that we can go to the very place where He has been. Jesus didn’t make the Pharisees or other people in authority or position as His disciples, but He went and gathered those who were in the lowest strata of the society to be with Him and to do His justice in the world. He entrusted the twelve disciples to continue the spread of the Good News, the gospel, and they lived in Christ and leaped in faith to spread the gospel to the end of the earth. He made ordinary people to do extra ordinary things by leaping into faith. All of the disciples except John, who died of natural causes, were martyred for leaping in faith of Jesus. David Platt in his book, “Taking Back Your Faith from American Dream Radical” wrote: “We were settling for a Christianity that revolves around catering to ourselves when the central message of Christianity is actually about abandoning ourselves.” When we do not live in Christ or for the gospel and not leaping in our faith, we are settling around and catering ourselves, while the central message of Christianity is actually about leaping in faith and abandoning ourselves. May the Lord, enable each one of us to live in Christ and for the gospel by being the letters of transmission of the good news to the whole world. [*This article was prviously published in the Souvenir of the 33rd Diocesan Family Conference of North America and Europe, 2021, P83-85.]
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Trusting in the Faithfulness of God Dr. Anna A. Panackal, Philadelphia* Almost every one of us has wondered at some point in our lives, where is God? We tend to think we are most blessed when life is running smoothly, everyone is getting along, we are healthy and our jobs and relationships are thriving. These are indeed blessings, but what we often forget is that God can bless us even in the midst of suffering. But what happens when your faith is tested and your prayers are unanswered and things don’t go according to your expectations. There were situations in my life when I felt God is not faithful or He doesn’t care. I must confess that this feeling of abandonment by God happened to me when I needed Him most. First when I came to this country in 1966 and second when I lost my husband in 2010. I came to US in 1966 as a student to pursue my graduate studies. From a country that molded me into a Christian woman with rigid cultural, social and religious customs, I moved to a flexible society emphasizing in materialistic achievement and symbolic recognition. I had a new problem of being placed into a new culture with a different set of norms and values. Back home I had emotional support of parents, relatives and friends. Here I had no one to give me that kind of support. I had a hard time adapting to the surroundings and adjusting to the university life and understanding the new system of education where you are expected to think independently to solve problems rather than memorizing from notes and books. It was not an easy task for me to grasp the extensive syllabus and I had to work very hard to keep up with the never-ending homework and tests. I long to have a good roommate or friend with whom I could confide my sorrows and frustrations. I used to cry and say to myself if God is real why He is not helping me or answering my prayers. Even though I had doubts and fears, I must say my dependency on God has increased but my faith continued to be on a roller coaster ride. Although I felt guilty being that way, I used to console myself saying even John the Baptist, while he was in prison sent his disciples to Jesus to ask Him “Are you the one who is to come or should we wait for someone else?” How do you wrestle with a God who doesn’t meet your expectations? When I lost my husband in 2010, I was not ready for this tragedy and scarcely new how to go on. I was anxious, nervous, panic-stricken, confused and uncertain. When this happens, our thoughts may be jumbled and our life
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out of control especially because I was alone and my children where not near me. Finding fault is a common reaction and sometimes God becomes an object of our blame. When your plans fall apart and feel there is a chasm between you and God what do you do? Either you trust Him and move forward or think God is not genuinely faithful. Divine logic is beyond the grasp of my mind. Can I wait in faith and patience without fretting and without questioning God’s wisdom? We prone to judge God according to our environment or circumstances we are facing. When we are faced with spiritual battle, we tend to think God is not faithful (1st Thessalonians 5:24). What is the meaning of faithfulness to God? It means God does the right thing. There are so many verses in the Bible talking about God’s faithfulness. We must believe God knows everything about our frailty and our weakness. I started realizing God’s presence in my life despite my doubts and fears. I must say God’s faithfulness has sustained me thus far. He gave me a loving husband, good children and grandchildren. He provided me with a nurturing sister and family as well as a sister- in- law and family, caring friends at church and helpful neighbors. I believe that He sees your affliction and He knows the troubles of your soul. He is not necessarily plucking you out of darkness, but while you are there, He is with you. As I am getting old, I realize that I don’t have the energy and adequacy I used to have. My body tends to be weaker and the sharp memory I once had is waning. And yet as I looked back, no matter what has happened in my life, God was there to pick me up, dust me off and encourage me to go on. When we worship and follow God, we may have more questions than answers. That is why surveying the strange ways of God, Paul says in 1Cor 1:25: “What seems to be the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom and what seems to be God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.” “Great is Thy Faithfulness, Great is Thy Faithfulness, Morning by morning Thy mercies I see; All I have needed Thy hand has provided; Great is Thy Faithfulness Lord unto me.” *Note: Dr. Anna A. Panackal, received PhD in Chemistry from Temple University, Philadelphia in 1972. Worked as Research Investigator in the Department of Physics at the University of Pennsylvania developing high-performance rare-earth polymers for optical amplification relating to fiber optics, till retiring in 2004.
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RELFECTIONS ON THE ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE Revd Dr. Valson Thampu There is something worse than ingratitude. And that is insincere gratitude, which adds untruth to ingratitude.
denotes inner un-freedom. Hence the Commandment, ‘You shall not covet’. Covetousness constrains freedom.
Yet, our religious life abounds in this spiritual aberration. God is Spirit. Those who worship him must worship him ‘in spirit and truth’. But, from the dawn of the human religious consciousness, untruth has had a substantial presence in religiosity. Else, the emphasis with which Jesus prescribes that God must be worshipped in truth would have been superfluous.
Covetousness is ineradicable from a ‘self’ un-liberated by God. God confronts us, in practical terms, as the mandate to grow towards perfection. We need to love God with the whole of our being –body, mind, and spiritbecause that is the way we grow holistically. In biblical thought, growth is the essence of freedom.
To Jesus, untruth lurks in the public domain, which is a sphere of appearances, not of truth. He insisted that the craving for publicity should be excluded from the religious discipline we practice, which is the main concern in the 6th chapter of St. Matthew in relation to alms-giving, praying and fasting. Far too often, the craving ‘to be seen by men’ gets the better of us. We showcase a religiosity, in tune with the prevailing pietistic stereotypes, we simply do not feel or value in life. The irony of this must be recognized. We believe that God is all-knowing. He knows, as King David says, ‘the truth of our inward parts’. So, it is futile to pretend to be otherwise than we really are. Yet, we do pretend, in order to be seen in a favourable light by others. The funny thing is that they too, like us, do not care for what we show off to them as our merit. If they had, they would have seen through our play-acting and condemned us outright! Our religious life is riddled with this tension between the eye of God and the eye of man. How does this come into being? We know it is right, proper and necessary to give thanks to God. Life brims with the logic and need for gratitude. What we are, everything we have is God’s gift. To acknowledge anything as God’s gift is to recognize oneself to be under the obligation to cherish it. To cherish, in spirit and truth, is to put what is received to the proper use. By doing so, we cherish the giver of the gift through the gift. The proof that we do so in relation to God is that we grow towards perfection, which is God’s will concerning us (Mt 5: 48). There is no margin for gratitude to God, in regard to anything in our life, if we stay indifferent to the worth of who we are, the amazing potential this implies, and the unique relevance of all of this to the plan of God for the world at large. The spiritual truth is that gratitude is a sign of perfection. This too has a logic of its own. To be able to give thanks to God, one should have the giving-orientation. Giving denotes a state of inner freedom; whereas covetousness, or the craving to receive, indeed receive out of proportion to one’s merit,
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Jesus came to ‘set the captives free’. Spiritual captivity inheres in human littleness, or under-development. Jesus presents ‘the grain of wheat that is not sown’ as a metaphor of self-centredness. The tragedy of this state is that the grain remains alone. This ‘alone-ness’ is a state that precludes the need and opportunities for growth, preferred by the ‘third servant’ in the parable of the talents, who went and buried his talent. Love for the Master is authenticated by growth. Enthusiasm, or infinite passion, is a catalyst for growth, provided it is aligned to wholesome purposes. The talent entrusted to me will grow only if I have a positive, growth-oriented nature. Selfishness excludes this. Selfishness, which minds the advantage of the self alone, cripples us with insecurity. It disables us in relation to the risk-taking necessary for ensuring our growth and fulfilment. To play safe is to live sterile. The seed of freedom is within us. No one can be truly free, as Jesus said, unless one is inwardly free. Jesus is the giver and guarantor of that inner freedom. Hence the teaching, ‘If the Son of Man makes you free, you shall be free indeed.’ Sadly, this has been understood in a cultic sense for long. How does the Son of Man set us free? By eradicating the external constrains of freedom? No, those external constraints will remain; for they are common to us and others. Instead, we are given the inner strength and resources to relate to our contexts riddled with unfreedom, freely and fruitfully. This enables us to expand the niche of our personal freedom in the given context. We are free not because of, but in spite of, our circumstances. That is to say, God is the condition of our freedom. This principle is at work in the miracles Jesus performed. Miracles become necessary because external limitations are real and powerful. Miracles become possible only when the power to break the shackles of these conditions is brought to bear on the given situation. This is what it means to have faith. The Good News is that this power is real. But it can be acquired and exercised only via personal growth in tune with God’s will and purpose for us. The God-alienated ‘self’ remains a nucleus of impossibilities for the reason that it is hamstrung by the asymmetry of power. The little, un-evolved self, is powerless in relation to the constraints that abound in the circumstances. When the same ‘self’ abides in God – like
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the sown grain of wheat abiding in the earth – it grows and expands; and, like the mustard seed of the Kingdom of God, it sends its branches ‘to the end of the earth’. Not surprisingly, therefore, ‘harvest’ is a metaphor for the context and logic of thanks-giving. What is common to thanks-giving and harvest is the ‘giving-quotient’. Harvest is what nature gives to us. The irreducible element in thanks-giving, likewise, is giving. How can anyone give thanks to God, or to anyone, if he or she doesn’t have the spirit of gratitude, the spirit of giving? If the capacity for gratitude is real, it will work in our relationship to fellow human beings, not less than in our attitude to God. There are two modes of giving. The first is giving as an act of freedom and generosity of the spirit. It has a celebratory air about it. One gives, because it is expressive of one’s inner state; and does so, without any expectations of returns. In the second category, one gives as an investment. This mode of giving is driven by covetousness. We give, not because it is natural to us to give, or we express ourselves in truth through the giving, but because we believe that by giving, we receive back what we give, multiplied several folds. It is a sort of safe and profitable investment. It is a sobering fact that the thanks we give to God is mostly of this kind. It is covetous giving. Yet we are commanded to not covet! This illustrates the un-spirituality that lurks in our religious life. Jesus condemned the hypocrisy of priests, not because he had anything in particular against them. He was concerned about the ascendancy of untruth in worship. Priests lead worship. So, they become, willynilly, the proponents and practitioners of untruth. All who aid and abet them in perpetuating this desecration of the sacred –abomination in the holy place, in the words of the book Revelation- are equally condemnable. It should be unacceptable to those who love God that, He who is truth, is worshipped via un-truth. It merits condemnation. Lord Buddha sensed this contradiction in relation to animal sacrifice. God is compassionate. How can He be, then, worshipped through animal sacrifice, which is ritualistic cruelty? How can cruelty be a legitimate medium for worshipping God who is compassionate? Jesus addressed the same contradiction, but in relation to truth. God is truth. But people worship God through untruth. How can this be? This illustrates the otherwise shocking statement with which I began. It is far better to be ungrateful to God than to insult him by mouthing insincere gratitude. The core element in gratitude is joy. Thanks-giving is the outward expression of the inner joy. But joy, unlike pleasure, pertains to human growth and the fruitfulness in life it facilitates. You make, say, an excellent speech in which your capacities are fully exercised in developing a theme of wider significance. You experience pure joyfulness. Suppose you make a clumsy effort. It makes you miserable. In this case, the inner reality that remained
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hidden till then of your under-development, became an objective reality staring at you as though it is an external force. In the first instance you feel the joy of experiencing a harmonious correlation between what you are inwardly and what you expressed yourself in the public domain as yourself. It is this incarnated truth that holds the secret of your happiness. In the case of an amateur speaker, there is a yawning gulf between the two. The more one develops and perfects one’s skills as a public speaker, the narrower does this gap become, till a stage is reached in which the inner state and its external articulation become one. This is the state of ‘perfection’ that Jesus envisaged when he said, ‘Be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect’. Paul lays bare for us the misery in the state of spiritual under-development in his Letter to the Romans. He struggles in his spiritual life, like an amateur artist in relation to public speaking. He fails to express in deeds, the good that he experiences within. There is a chasm between the inner and the outer life, which is the bane of under-development. Thanksgiving of the truthful and sincere kind is alien to such a state. One can, then, only play-act gratitude. Yet, we make the tear the air with our ‘prayer and praise’ exertions. We make praise a routine and a habit. We remain indifferent to the possibility that the way we live does not have a ghost of a chance for true thanks-giving, except the thanks-giving of covetousness. This makes our thanks-giving indistinguishable from insincere flattery. We praise God, not because such praise stems naturally from how we live the invaluable life God has given us, but because we believe that, by praising God, we can bribe God into granting us unmerited favours. We need to understand this aright. It can be hugely helpful and liberative, if we do so. This we can do, to begin with, by considering another significant religious phenomenon: the drying up of the wellsprings of revelation. There was a time when God revealed himself to the people either directly or through his chosen servants. He doesn’t seem to do so anymore; at least to the same extent and in the same fashion. Why? The false way to understand this is by instituting a conflict between revelation and reason. That is, by insisting that what is made available to humankind via revelation is inaccessible to human reason. Reason is irrelevant to God’s self-revelation. Yet, we also believe –though this is rather assumed than stated explicitly- that God is Supreme Reason. At least we do not assume that irrationality is an attribute of God. An irrational God is also an arbitrary God, who cannot be related to in a purposive and meaningful way. Historically speaking, revelation and reason are mutually complementary. Revelation was necessary at a time when human beings were not developed adequately in their rational, or thinking, capacity. In all likelihood, they would have arrived at the substance of the revealed truth about
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God in due course, if God had not, by means of revelation, shortened the human quest for understanding God. Revelation quickened human rationality by bringing humankind under the obligation to understand what was revealed with the help of reason. Human reason is a particulate residue of Divine Reason. If God were irrational, we would have been utterly incapable of reason; for we are, after all, ‘created in the image and likeness of God’. We are a mirror, held up to the person of God. That points to the awesome responsibility inherent in being human. The second spiritual truth we need to consider in this regard is the economy of God. That is to say, God does not dabble in superfluities. At any rate God does not belittle what he has invested in the unique creation of human beings. God responds miraculously to the human condition, especially the pressing needs that exist or emerge in specific contexts, only if the natural means for meeting them are non-existent. It is superfluous to feed the five thousand miraculously, if all of them are armed with their tiffin!
miraculously. Maintaining oneself in health through a healthy way of life is at least as spiritual as being healed miraculously; especially if the need for the latter arose because of living indifferently. Surely, it is improper for us to expect God to do for us, what we would not do for ourselves? This too needs to be understood spirituality, and not superstitiously and covetously, as we are wont to. What does it mean to seek the will of God? In relation to what? We know how far we have vulgarised this spiritual discipline. Should I buy this car or that, choose this job or that, marry this person or that, buy this lottery ticket or that? So, go the avenues of our seeking God’s will? We think - and say so unthinkingly - that we seek the will of God concerning us; whereas that happens rarely in Christendom. We do not seek the will of God concerning us, but only concerning what we covet. That is why I have emphasised, in this piece, that our relationship to God is coloured by covetousness. Contrary to what we assume, the merchants of the prosperity gospel are less hypocritical than their non-prosperity-gospel Christian brethren, in this regard. They have no inhibitions in showcasing Christianity as a religion of covetousness. We are subtler and indirect in this respect, as compared to them. But we are equally covetous; except that not equally willing to admit that we are so. Our covetousness is camouflaged in hypocrisy. If the desire to get, and to get in excess of what we merit, is excluded from the Christianity we practise, it is anybody’s guess as to what will be left of it. What we need to seek is God’s will concerning us, not what we crave for ourselves. This we will do only if we recognize that God has a plan for each one of us, and that the light that we are mandated to be pertains to that purpose. An important implication in the biblical account of the Creation is that everything, the whole of the created order, exists together in the Mind of God. Every particle of Creation exists in a state of organic and holistic interrelationship. There is nothing superfluous in Creation. This means that every individual life is significant and has its appointed place in the total scheme of things. Jesus’ hyperbolic statement that ‘even the hairs on your head are numbered’ in God’s scheme of things makes sense in this light. The economy of God’s creation implies that what we are to do, no one else can do. So, if we do not fulfil God’s plan for us, we create, thereby, a gap in the chain of being. The fact that we do so unwittingly, does not make it any less inexcusable.
God provides the means and circumstances relevant to our growth and development. Those who use them, like the ‘good and faithful servants’, develop the means to meet their needs. They have no need to be helped
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Now consider this historical-cultural phenomenon, so familiar to all of us. A sense of absurdity and aimlessness plagues the human condition in the modern age. The advent of Huxley’s ‘Brave New World’ has only made our species more vulnerable to depression and suicide. What could be the reason for it?
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We can formulate a spiritual understanding of this disturbing reality. Depression is a symptom, not the disease per se. It symptomizes human underdevelopment in relation to the plan of God for each individual as well as humankind as a whole in relation to the rest of the Creation. Individuals consign themselves to existential irrelevance through their all-consuming eagerness to secure worldly significance and security via material means. So, people have ‘everything to live with, but nothing to live for’. They exist ‘by nature’ unnaturally; whereas human beings are to exist relevantly by the Will of God. In the latter case, they succeed in fulfilling God’s plan for them and for the world at large. Our relevance has to be in relation to something beyond us, just as the relevance of a chair or a table lies in its being used by human beings. As a rule, purpose transcends the person or object concerned. The absurdity in the modern worldview and the myth of the autonomous, self-contained individual’ it fosters, lies in the insistence that the meaning of our life must be fulfilled strictly in relation to ourselves. Jesus’ parable of the rich fool is especially illuminating in this regard. He illustrates the self-destructive absurdity of living entirely to oneself, which drains one’s life of all significance. Such a life condemns individuals to living deaths. At this point we return, more pointedly, to the theme of sincere, truthful gratitude. The preceding discussion was meant to reveal the fallacy in the naïve and baseless notion that gratitude is natural and native to human beings. It is not! Jesus did not find gratitude in the many he helped. Those who benefited from his mighty deeds of compassion deserted him. His foremost disciple denied him. Judas betrayed him. We should not take our capacity for gratitude for granted. Instead, we have to earn the merit to be spiritually grateful in a sincere and truthful way; and earn it the hard way. As a rule, attaining what is simple and effortless hardly awakens gratitude. Earning the merit to be grateful is not unlike climbing the Everest. It is a long and hazardous trek to the summit. Each step taken in that direction, each level of difficulty surmounted, activates gratitude. It erupts into ecstasy when the summit is reached. There one goes mad with joy! The ‘summit’ of human achievement is fulfilling the plan God has for an individual in relation to the Whole. God is not ‘partial’ to anyone for the reason that His concerns embrace the whole of the Creation. The individual specificity we are given, the talents entrusted to us, the locales of time and space in which we are placed, and much else besides, point to a specific and irreducible purpose God has each person. This purpose will not be fulfilled automatically; that is, just by our being around as individuals. God respects our freedom of choice. So, it is up to us to fulfil or to neglect God’s plan for us. But it is not up to us to forestall or resist the consequences of that neglect.
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What is invested in us at birth is the potentiality for fulfilling our person-specific roles in the total plan of God. We have to grow progressively into the fullness of that role. This affords an important insight into Christian nurture and upbringing, for which ‘equipping the saints’ is Peter’s memorable idiom. Personal growth, understood spiritually, is growth in relation to the larger plan of God. No one grows spiritually, just by being hyperactive in selfservice. As a matter of fact, the more one does so, the more one shrinks into irrelevance and existential barrenness, which breeds misery and self-revulsion. Gratitude denotes a quality of life, a state of mind and soul, contrary to this. We can feel gratitude to God only if we are in communion with him and are not being alienated from him. To be ‘in communion with God’ is to be co-workers with God in relation to the big-picture of life. In Jesus’ view, we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. That is the big-picture. To be godly is to be actively and dynamically mindful of it. This is a blessing, as it offers to individuals an unlimited canvas for personal growth and fulfilment. It also protects them against complacency, arrogance and shallowness. In conclusion, we have to grow continually in our capacity for gratitude. It’s a contradiction to strain after the attitude of gratitude; for gratitude is nothing if not spontaneous. Forced or contrived gratitude is no gratitude. It is a tacit confession of the incapacity for gratitude. King David, whatever his other failures be, was not wanting in this capacity. That’s why he ‘danced for joy’ in the presence of God. To dance gratitude is to become gratitude to the last cell of one’s being. Such an ecstatic state of gratitude cannot be acted out. Attempts to choreograph it into something spiritually livewire aggravates hypocrisy. The repugnant reliance, in the medium of offensive untruth, on ‘speaking in tongues’, for example, as a proof of being intimate with God –as is implied in speaking to God in a language exclusive to God and the free – wagging tongue of glossolalia – marks the zenith of this cult of hypocrisy. It merely blurts ingratitude in the garb of gratitude. It is perversely untrue and hypocritical that anyone, who stagnates and languishes in shallow and escapist religiosity, can experience even a wisp of sincere gratitude to God. This is as impossible as a person who feels sincere gratitude to God keeping it as a suppressed secret. No one, said Jesus, lights a lamp and puts it under a bushel. A person of true gratitude is comparable to a lamp lit and placed on the lampstand, ‘so that it gives light to all in the house’
Gratitude is light. It is kindled by growth. Growth is truth. Truth liberates. Gratitude is the national anthem of the liberated.
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GOD’S GREAT FAITHFULNESS AMIDST WORST OF TIMES Revd Dr. Martin Alphonse, Portland Introduction God’s faithfulness manifests itself, not only in celebratory moments like this 10th Anniversary for FOCUS, but also in moments of deep hurts, wounds and devastation of life. As I write this article, the world’s attention is on the Russian war on Ukraine and its devastating effects on millions of civilians in a nation, which has the largest Christian population in all East Europe. The Russian invasion has also created global level fear and panic in people everywhere of its potential to turn into an immanent World War III. The possibility cannot be altogether denied as tensions continue to increase in the leadership circles of UNO, USA, NATO and EU. Even in such severely testing times like these which immediately follows the two-year global effects of the COVID 19 pandemic, the Christian Faith calls on us to trust in and celebrate God’s Great Faithfulness! Prophet Jeremiah himself wrote the famous line ‘great is your faithfulness’ (Lamentations 3:22-23) at the worst time in the history of Israel namely, the fall of the city of Jerusalem, the destruction of the Holy Temple to ground zero, and Israel’s mass exile for 70 years to Babylon, all of which happened as a divine act of God’s judgement on the people! Based on Jeremiah’s famous declaration, a most celebrated Christian hymn, “Great is Thy Faithfulness” was written by Thomas Obadiah Chisolm (1866-1960) amidst his difficult early adult life., with a fragile health, frequent confinement to bed and his inability to work. After coming to Christ at age 27, he found great comfort in the Scriptures, and in the fact that God was faithful to be his strength in time of illness and weakness, and to provide his needs. Lamentations 3:2223 was one of his favorite scriptures: “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness”. While away from home on a mission trip, Thomas wrote the hymn, which was published in 1923”. (https://www.independentbaptist.com/great-isthy-faithfulness1/) The Etymology of the Word Faithfulness What exactly does the word faithfulness mean? For readers unfamiliar with the term etymology, it is the study of the origin and development of words. The Oxford Dictionary defines faithfulness as, “…loyal, trustworthy; accurate; true to fact; through in performing one’s duty; conscientious”. An extended definition in the Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary puts it as, “the quality of staying with or supporting a particular person, organization or belief’. Both of these descriptions perfectly fit the two servants the Master commended in the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25: 21, 23 “well done good and faithful servant”. However, the word faithfulness in the Old Testament originated from the
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popular word ‘Amen’ which is the Greek translation of the Hebrew word Emunah which in English literally means ‘so be it’ or ‘truly or verily’. Amen was used for the first time in Numbers 5:11-22 in the context of a wife alleged with committing adultery making a ‘jealousy offering’. In this text, the priest makes her to drink a mixed liquid the result of which will determine if she is innocent or guilty as charged. After he clearly explains the severe consequences of lying, the woman is to say, v22 ‘Amen, so be it’ and drink it the liquid. When the accused woman says Amen, it means she acknowledges that God has said something, and so it will happen accordingly, accurately because God’s word is unchangeable, nonnegotiable, absolute. Period. Later on, the word Emunah or Amen found a double emphasis in the context of congregational worship in Nehemiah 8:6 when Ezra the priest stood up to read The Book. He “praised the LORD, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, ‘Amen Amen’. Then they bowed own and worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground”. Emunah describes much more than just believing a statement about God. Both the Hebrew word Emunah and the Greek Amen appear hundreds of times in the Bible in several contexts and forms, but every time they invariably affirm and imply the great Faithfulness of God. Hence, it is often translated as “faithfulness”. Implications of the Word Faithfulness The word Amen meaning ‘so be it’ has at least three immediate implications for us. One, it affirms God’s Absolute Power. It stands for God’s truth which is firmly established and it can never be changed under any circumstance what so ever. God has said it, and so it will happen. Hence, it is commonly used in Jewish, Christian and Muslim worship as a concluding word or response to prayers. That’s why, Jesus Christ often placed a double emphasis of His claims when he said, “Amen Amen I say to you’ (King James Version), or “Verily verily I say to you’ or ‘truly truly I say to you’, (other versions) to establish that what He said cannot and will not change under any circumstance. So, He emphasized, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” (Matthew 24:35; also 5:18). It was precisely because Prophet Jeremiah realized and was convinced of God’s absolute sovereignty, that amidst a heavy devastation to the Holy Temple, and the city of Jerusalem and the mass exile of Israelites to Babylon, he was fully confident that God will one day bring order out of the present chaos. In that absolute confidence he declared in Lamentations 3:22-24, “Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassion never fail. They are new every
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morning; great is thy faithfulness. I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore, I will wait for Him”. Two, it affirms the God’s Absolute Person. Faithfulness is an essential characteristics of God's ethical nature. It denotes not only His firmness, consistency and constancy of His relations with humans, especially with His covenant people, but it represents His very integrity. It is an aspect of God's absolute truth and His unchangeableness. It means, since God is faithful, reliable and firm in what He has spoken, He will take care of everything accordingly. Doubting God’s faithfulness in a given circumstance is an affront to Him. Wasn’t that the very first sin of humans, of Adam and Eve? Satan very craftily and successfully sowed seeds of doubt and persuaded them to believe in the potential dishonesty of God. Genesis 3:4-5 “You will not surely die … For God knows that …” Their disbelief in God’s integrity preceded their disobedience to His instructions. Hence, doubting God’s Great faithfulness is a most dangerous premise to step into. So, by saying Amen we affirm that we believe in Him absolutely, resonating with Paul as he emphatically declares in 1 Thessalonians 5:24, “The one who calls you is faithful and He will do it.” Three, it affirms God’s Absolute Promises. Apostle Paul used the word Amen frequently in his writings. One of his strongest usages is found in 2 Corinthians 2:18-20, “But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not "Yes" and "No." For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us-by me and Silas and Timothy was not "Yes" and "No," but in him it has always been "Yes." For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ”. The essential meaning of the word Amen being ‘so be it’, fully relying on that root meaning Paul further affirmed ‘so it will be’! Moffatt’s translation of 2 Corinthians 1: 19-20 puts it as, “The divine Yes has at last sounded in Him, for in Him (Christ) is the Yes that affirms all of the promised of God.” The global evangelist missionary Dr. E. Stanley Jones’ final book entitled “The Divine Yes” is an expansive commentary of Moffatt’s translation of 2 Corinthians 1: 19-20 focusing on the words “The divine Yes has at last sounded in him”. Jones voice recorded the contents of the book while in the hospital recovering from a stroke’. (https://www.estanleyjonesfoundation.com/2021/06/thedivine-yes/). Conclusion Yes, there is the continuing impact of the pandemic. Yes, there is a war going on and we keep on hearing rumors of immanent wars. Yes, there are devastations all around us. Amidst of it all, we are called upon to declare as did Prophet Jeremiah in Lamentations 3:22-24, “Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassion never fail. They are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness”, and we march on singing in gusto Thomas Obadiah Chisolm’s immortal hymn “Great is Thy faithfulness”!
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" Great is Thy Faithfulness.” Prof. Elias Abraham, Baltimore* The light moving through the sparkle, scattering and fracturing the dreamy sky, softly sings in me, “Great is His faithfulness.” Words, like butterflies, flap, and spread the gospel of love. The universe, the silent witness to hope's satiation, unfolds its wings. The thousand rainbows of peace and faith bloom with joy and mirth. The age old stories that cross the threshold of rhythms and beats, make my heart, soft and supple. The lunar brightness eventually eclipses; the sylvan clothes of Nature rustle in cooling breeze. The desert opens before me, it's not for the mirage that I'm there; I see a bleeding man in ragged robes, withstanding the harsh winds upon the sandy bed, and the echoing rays of an angry sun, loudly praying; his eyes are fires, his sound resembled the thunders of the East. Angels hovered around himhe was praying in complete faith, He is not an exile, not a man of evil, he is God's person, bringing joy to the Lord, with flamboyant faith, he overcomes. I fall on my knees, tears welling up in my eyes. Many slogans we listen to, such as, 'One World - One Dream', 'Together for a shared Future', and the hollowness we experience, goes beyond the times. Let's embrace our faith, and let's proclaim, 'Great is His Faithfulness', the assurance from above, showering rains of honey and dew drops of comfort in our souls. Here's the voice of truth, here are the songs of hope, for those suffering in the agony of indifference; when the mother of the destitute to the slums traveled, we knew, what her intentions were! Does God's love inspire us? Bells do ring, echoes make echoes, scattering equations within the computations. In these days of gloom and doom, and doomsayers do abound us,
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when artificial viruses kill the world, and selfishness honks in myriad ways, a soft and comforting voice dwells, the voice of the voiceless, the sweet song of the paradise; “Great is His Faithfulness.” In the boiling cauldron of sins man falls like moths and reenters as agents of destiny, and disciples of greed. Post truths colorfully attired, govern the world and the milky way. Kindness and culture like the midnight breeze pass on, without offering the comfort one wants. The crown of glory waits for no one, for none has the power to challenge, where myths and fables control the truths. God watches, and to the bewildering world, He says, 'Faith is not fickle.' And the wings of faith are now spread and visible. Far away beyond the cross, among the clouds, the Master appears and reassures. Prof. Elias Abraham, formerly of Chengannur Christian College, Faculty of English, currently serves as a member of the Editorial Board of The Messenger, a publication of the Diocese of North America and Europe of the Mar Thoma Church. He writes poetry and is a recipient of Editor's Choice Award by the National Library of Poetry, USA.
Book Review ‘Beyond Religion: Imaging a New Reality’. By Valson Thampu, published by Pippa Ram book & Media, UK, 2021.Pp. 384. ISBN: 978,1-913738-08-02. In Beyond Religion, the author, well-known as a prolific writer, visionary educationalist, social reformer, political commentator and theologian, deals with an existential issue of growing significance for humankind in respect of religion. Not surprisingly, the insights in the book into what religions have come to be, as against what they ought to be, challenge the reader. In doing so, the author incurs – deliberately, as it seems – the risk of being misunderstood. He writes
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as a lover of true religion; but in a way that can be mistaken as hostility to religions. This truth comes to the fore, however, only when the argument of the book is understood in its totality. The book has, I understand, an uncommon genesis. The author had a long association with the late Swami Agnivesh, perhaps the most outstanding religious and social reformer India has had in the last half century. The author had several discussions with Swamiji on the nature of religion and the dynamics of religious decay in our times. In the terminal stage of his life, Swami Agnivesh requested the author to write a book ‘so as to initiate the long-overdue debate on religion’. ‘Communal religiosity will prove,’ he said, ‘the undoing of India’. Sadly, Swami Agnivesh did not live to see the book published, but he survived long enough, though in the hospital, to read and approve the first draft of the book. Not surprisingly, the book is dedicated to Swami Agnivesh. In the preface to the book, the author states: “Struggle and soul-searching through a quarter of century of interreligious involvements locally and nationally, especially those affecting the poor and the oppressed, underlie the substance of this work. Encountering realities has schooled me in the need to transcend religiosity which, by its very nature, tends to be divisive and exclusive.” Parochial religiosity leads to spiritual alienation, resulting in the perversion and frustration of all spiritual values. The author challenges readers to feel the dehumanising trends prevalent globally in religiosity today. He writes not to comfort the readers by raising a smoke-screen against reality, but to stimulate them into thinking relevantly. His concern is that religious fervour today is not informed by religious understanding, which he deems the source of the aberrations that abound today. Drawing a distinction between ‘faith’ and ‘the faith’ he argues that worship, rituals and traditions, while they have their place, are no substitute for critical thinking and continuous growth in the Spirit towards maturity and wholeness. Spiritual poverty, symptomatized by subjugation and slavery to human authority as an alternative to seeking ‘the Kingdom of God and His justice’ (Mt 6: 33), underlies the ascendancy of the priestly class in authoritarian and institutionalized religions. As a member of the establishment for long, he has the ring-side knowledge and experience to speak authoritatively about these issues confidently and objectively. And he has the courage to articulate his convictions and concerns, unmindful of consequences. This imparts a prophetic tone to the book.
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Here’s the assumption that underlies the theme of this book: “To be spiritually sane and sound one has to outgrow religions.” Spiritual growth is a movement towards fullness of life, which is an antidote to covetousness. Covetousness is identified as the ‘dividing line between religion and spirituality’. The author argues for a shift in foundation from religion to spirituality, of which social spirituality is of strategic significance in the Indian context. He explains spirituality as the outworking of the nature of God in the form of the four universal values: love, truth, justice and compassion for humanity as a whole. An integration of faith and action, belief and behaviour, is the hallmark of true spirituality and it is incarnated best as social spirituality as ‘the good news to the poor’. This book is not an easy read. For one thing, its thematic canvas is vast, and it takes time to appreciate its contours, lights and shades. Like any great painting, we begin to attain new insights, and we grow in our admiration, when we keep looking at it for a while. Secondly, the book surprises the reader, ever and anon, with the unfamiliar in the familiar. Thirdly, the author states his case in generalities, which means that specificity is compromised in favour of universality. He leaves the hermeneutic task – the application of general principles to specific contexts – to the readers. His style, besides, makes the substance seem more exotic than it is. To those who do not feel intimidated by these, and are not offended by the unorthodox, the reading of the book could prove a refreshing and rewarding experience. The book comprises fourteen chapters, beginning with the deliberately provoking question in chapter one, ‘Why shed religion?’ In chapter two, he makes a case for social spirituality. In the succeeding chapters he deals with a wide array of significant topics and religious phenomena such as ‘religion and reason’ (chapter 3) ‘setting God free’ (chapter 4), the need to shift from religion to spirituality (chapter 5), a critique of priest-craft (chapter 6), in ‘the new earth’ (chapter 7), he argues for the enunciation of a new spiritual vision relevant to life at the present time. A shift from having to being is stressed in this chapter. The vision for the post-COVID global community is blueprinted in the succeeding chapters. A key task the author sets for himself is to re-examine the idea of God in religions. He states his basic article of faith in this regard boldly. “No human idea of God, at any given point in time . . . can be complete or final. The idea of God is not static in any religion . . . Religions . . . tend to freeze one’s idea of God and how God is related to . . . It is not the essence of God that changes, but our understanding of that essence. The infinitude of God,
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mediated through the finitude of human beings, is vulnerable to distortions not only to human finitude, but also to the immaturity that stalks that finitude.” He goes on to argue that the urgent spiritual agenda should be the liberation of God from His communal, religious and racial captivity; for example, in limiting God as the ‘God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,’ and similar other religious formulae by which God is turned into exclusive racialregional-religious assets as per the infantile formula, ‘There is only one God; and that God is only mine. And my God is universal.’ In the 11th Chapter, titled ‘Corona-days and Beyond’, the author focuses on the realities unveiled by the pandemic. COVID-19 has significantly altered our patterns of worship. We have already moved from the in-person worshiping routine to a virtual mode. We are beginning to realize the dictum of the writer of ‘The Cloud of Unknowing’: “Nowhere physically is everywhere spiritually.” The author states that “post-COVID-19 religiosity needs to be free from divisive, exclusive presumptions of superiority and inferiority. . . The prime purpose of religion must be to seek perfection in the art of living. Relevance is the litmus test of perfection. In the crucible of human suffering in the wake of the pandemic, the irrelevance of religious obsessions to the human condition has been exposed. Disputing the colour and contour of afterlife, even as we remain clumsy charlatans in the art of living here and now with meaning and dignity, is banal. “It distracts us from present and pressing tasks. The religion for tomorrow needs to be discerningly and proactively this-worldly. It has to equip and challenge human beings to lead a meaningful, effective and dignified life.” The author identifies a number of factors for post-COVID-19 religious life such as: a shift from faith to reason, believers becoming thinkers as well, loving God and humanity, importance of the value of life, marginalising religious middle men and resisting the political misuse of religion. In the 12th chapter, the author raises the all-important question, ‘What shall we do?’ The author’s suggestions are stated best in his own words: “The very first thing that we need to do is to wish passionately to be free and at peace with one oneself. The second is to be willing to do whatever we can to achieve that end. The third is to acknowledge that means for our liberation and inner coherence is at our disposal. The fourth is to realize that it is futile to wait to be liberated by some agency external to us, when everything required for us to liberate ourselves is ready to hand. We must resolve to be liberated, no matter what the cost; get up from where we are, and walk!” This is the essence of the book, which urges us to take ourselves and our responsibilities seriously and to do
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it now; because it is in the here and now, we live and move. What Goethe said rings true in this context: “If only each man would sweep the area in front of his own door step, the whole city will be clean.” Self-awareness and self-cleansing are the necessary prelude to our spiritual journey. To deepen as well as to put in perspective reflections on these and other important themes, the author relies on or quotes thinkers, writers and philosophers. Their contributions are acknowledged through extensive footnotes (pages 287 to 384 of the book). A careful study of this section is equally important to digest the dense and provocative thoughts of the author. When I read the book, I realised the truth of the sentiments and appreciations expressed by Dr. Sunil Chandy (former Director, CMC, Vellore), Dr. Ram Puniyani (prolific author and political commentator) and Prof. Prabhu Guptara (academic, poet and publisher) at the release of this book. It is not a book just to be read, but to be chewed and digested. In some chapters the ideas and arguments are repetitive; perhaps because strategic repetitions are deemed a mnemonic aid by the author. The book is a timely and significant contribution for promoting good sense about religiosity. It is a must-study material for quickening our spiritual awareness and sharpening our thought processes, ridding it of the baggage of unspiritual notions and prejudices. It is a call to ‘religious repentance’ in the sense that a need exists today for us to repent of our religiosity. Human beings are placed on the earth by ‘God, our loving Father’ on purpose. Every human being is a mystery, deserving of love and reverence. Within the ‘I-Thou’ attitude the ‘I’ is incomplete without the ‘Thou’. The ‘other’ is not a stranger, but a neighbour, God’s gift, to be cherished and cared for. We are created and blessed by the God of love who is our home even on the earth. Spirituality is the outworking of this indwelling in the God of love. No religiosity or religio-political advocacy that militates against this foundational truth should be acceptable, irrespective of the religion practised. To be human is to belong together as children of God. Beyond Religion is an agonised plea to share with all others the light of the divine love that transcends labels and limits. I have no hesitation whatsoever in recommending this book to readers of diverse interests. I am sure that those who read it seekingly will invite others to this book. This book can be ordered using the link: https://pipparannbooks.com/product/beyond-religionimaging-a-new-humanity/ Dr. Zac Varghese, London
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The Origins of FOCUS Journal The idea of starting an online magazine came to our mind by Lord’s divine intervention, when Dr. Zac Varghese suggested about organizing an international conference in a city in the U. S. A., like those held at Santhigiri, Alwaye, from 1999 to 2003. We thought about this idea prayerfully, and realized that most people who attended the previous conferences are now retired, aged, some are confined to homes, and few entered eternal rest. We thought about the struggle and effort to bring these people together, just for a seminar for one or two days and staying in hotels. Therefore, we thought about alternative strategies to reaching out to them by starting an online publication and send it to all people by e-mail and also at the same time upload to public web sites without expenses to be incurred. We registered FOCUS as a non-profit corporation in Texas and thus thus FOCUS online journal came into existence in April 2013. Initially, we struggled hard to find authors to write good quality, engaging, articles based on important contextual themes. Now, after 10 years, we are here, with about 200,000 online readers/subscribers of social media groups and about 6,000 plus e-mail subscribers. When Dr. Cherian Samuel, suggested the theme ‘Great is Thy Faithfulness”, there was no second thought, since it is the most apt theme to celebrate the 10th anniversary of FOCUS. The cover pages of all previous FOCUS issues are given on page 39 of this issue and you may witness the growth of FOCUS as an international journal, just by glancing through these pages. Faith without deeds is in vain. Our mission and FOCUS is to enlighten this truth equip the Diaspora Christian communities from India living around the world instead by being a mere worshipping community. To conclude let me quote what David Platt wrote in his book, “Taking Back Your Faith from American Dream Radical”: “We were settling for a Christianity that revolves around catering to ourselves when the central message of Christianity is actually about abandoning ourselves.” When we do not live in Christ or for the gospel and not leaping in our faith, we are settling around catering ourselves, while the central message of Christianity is actually about leaping in faith and abandoning ourselves. May the Lord, enable each one of us to live in Christ and for the gospel by becoming a letter from Christ to the Diaspora and community and to the world. Geat is thy faithfulness to FOCUS all these years, enabling us to continue the faith journey for the glory of the Lord. Lal Varghese, Esq. Dallas, For the FOCUS Editorial Board FOCUS, April 2022, Vol. 10,Part 2
Dr. T. John Samuel at 90: Celebrating a Canadian Mar Thoma Pioneer Dr. Cherian Samuel, McLean, U. S. A. Dr. Thenganamannil John Samuel turned 90 on March 18, 2022, marking a lifetime of significant accomplishments as a pioneering Mar Thoma immigrant to Canada in the early 1960s. This profile is a tribute to his achievements and contributions, part of a broader FOCUS initiative to recognize and celebrate the Indian Christian Diaspora. As FOCUS celebrates its first decade of publication, God’s faithfulness remains central to its vision and mission, manifested as well in the abundant lives of Mar Thoma pioneers. Dr. Samuel’s 2013 Autobiography, “Many Avatars; One Life: Challenges, Achievements and the Future”, and his 2021 book, “Canada to Mint Multimillionaires in Real Estate: More Immigrants Needed”, provide important insights and useful life lessons. Particularly for the Diaspora. Dr. Samuel arrived in Canada as a Commonwealth scholar in September 1961, earning a PhD in Economics in 1965 from the University of Toronto. Between 1969 and 1996, Dr. Samuel worked for the Canadian Government in various capacities, retiring as a high-ranking official. Subsequently, Dr. Samuel founded a successful real estate business and became a trusted consultant to Canadian Government agencies on race relations and the United Nations organizations on population control. Dr. Samuel also served as an Adjunct Research Professor at Carleton University, Ottawa, for 26 years, and as a Visiting Professor in Mexico and India. Dr. Samuel has published extensively on immigration, demography, race relations and employment equity. In particular, Dr. Samuel’s 1994 publication, “Separatism in Quebec is Dead: Demography is Destiny”, received extensive national publicity on the eve of the second Quebec referendum in 1995. Dr. Samuel currently lives in Ottawa, with his wife, Aleyamma Samuel—married for over 60 years—three sons and their families. John Samuel grew up in Kerala, as the third of the nine children born to Kaanam Varkey Upadeshi and Mariamma Varkey. Kaanam Varkey (1900-1974) was a pioneering Mar Thoma missionary evangelist, who worked closely with Abraham Mar Thoma (1880-1947), for establishing
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mission fields in Tharayilkadavu—near Kayamkulam—and Mukkola, in Ponnani Taluk in Malabar. Varkey Upadeshi was a giant of an evangelist in the Mar Thoma Church— on par with Sadhu Kochukunju Upadeshi and Mammen Upadeshi—leading revival meetings and conventions across Kerala. Varkey Upadeshi was an inspiration and role model for his family—with the motto, “God will lead us”—through his unshakeable faith in God, his courage, determination, and above all, his ability to dream big and work hard to achieve the dream. John Samuel was a brilliant student—who understood the importance of hard work from a young age—earning a first class, first rank, and three gold medals as a M.A. student in Economics at the University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, in 1957. For the next four years or so, John Samuel taught in various colleges in India: Union Christian College, Aluva, Kerala; Hislop College, Nagpur, Maharashtra; Mar Thoma College, Thiruvalla, Kerala; Government Victoria College, Palakkad, Kerala. In 1961, John Samuel was awarded the Commonwealth Scholarship for Canada—along with 15 others, from a pool of 3000 applicants—a generous scholarship which paid for tuition, clothing, medical care and a marriage allowance, which helped his wife join him as a graduate student, following their marriage in December 1960. John Samuel’s 1965 doctoral dissertation at the University of Toronto was on India’s Population Control, —a key development challenge for India after its independence in 1947—an issue he had pondered for long. He returned to India for a year after completing his PhD—teaching at the same Victoria college in Palakkad, Kerala—but went to Canada in January 1967 on an immigrant visa, with his wife and his Canadian-born son. Upon returning to Toronto, Dr. Samuel got his first job in Canada—as a Senior Economist for the Government of Ontario’s Finance Department, preparing population projections—while his wife found a job at the library. Beginning in 1969, Dr. Samuel progressed steadily in his career with the Canadian Government, attaining leadership positions, dealing with matters of immigration policy, race relations and multiculturalism, and employment equity. After leaving the Government, Dr. Samuel’s consulting firm was involved in a landmark study for the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) regarding the mismatch issue for visible minority groups—non-white people in color/race: Black, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, South Asian-East Indian,
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Southeast Asian, non-white West Asian, North African or Arab, non-white Latin American, person of mixed origin, others—between representation in public service and overall population. The study found that racism is alive and well in public services in Canada, with the barriers for visible minorities not stemming from policy per se, but rooted in practice on account of negative attitudes. Dr. Samuel and family have also been deeply engaged in community affairs at different levels: Indo-Canadians, Keralites/Malayalees, and Marthomites. In 1967, Dr. Samuel led the efforts to launch the India Times, the very first national paper for Indo-Canadians from Toronto, which moved to Ottawa in 1969 with Dr. Samuel and family, with his wife becoming the publisher. Dr. Samuel served as the Editor and ran the paper for 13 years, when the interests were sold to the India Abroad publication from New York. Dr. Samuel also led efforts to establish an Indian Immigrants Aid Society to assist recent immigrants. During 1972-73, Dr. Samuel served as the President of the India-Canada Association. In the early sixties, Dr. Samuel and family were the only Malayalees in Toronto, before they formed the Malayalee Association of Toronto in 1962. Likewise, there were only a handful of Marthomites in North America in 1961, when Dr. Samuel and family arrived in Toronto. In 1963, Rt. Revd Thomas Mar Athanasius, a Mar Thoma bishop at the time, visited them in Toronto and stayed with them. In 1972, Juhanon Mar Thoma sent Revd Abraham Lincoln as a theological student to Wycliffe College, Toronto—with the local Marthomites providing financial support for the education, which was essential for the visa—who also served as a priest for the very first Mar Thoma Church in Canada. Dr. Samuel and family were also involved in organizing worships whenever Bishops or priests visited, when they moved to Ottawa. In 2000, Dr. Samuel and family made a donation of Rs. 100,000 to the Mar Thoma Church to establish an endowment fund for providing educational assistance to the children of evangelists like their parents. We conclude by joining the 90th birthday felicitations for Dr. John Samuel with family and friends, thanking God for His faithfulness through the generations (Psalm 119: 80). The manifold blessings enjoyed by Dr. Samuel and their extended families of seven brothers and two sisters are surely the reward for Kaanam Varkey Upadeshi’s selfless and zealous toils for the LORD (1 Corinthians 15: 58). May the Lord Almighty grant many more blessed years for Dr. John Samuel and make him a blessing to others. May Dr. John Samuel’s life and ministry as a Mar Thoma pioneer to Canada inspire current and future generations.
For FOCUS Editorial Board
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Archbishop Desmond Tutu (1931-2021) Bishop Desmond Mpilo Tutu was a South African Anglican Archbishop bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbishop of Cape Town from 1986 to 1996, in both cases being the first black African to hold the position. Theologically, he sought to fuse ideas from black theology with African theology. In 1960, he was ordained as an Anglican priest and in 1962 moved to the United Kingdom to study theology at King's College London. In 1966 he returned to southern Africa, teaching at the Federal Theological Seminary and then the University of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland. In 1972, he became the Theological Education Fund's director for Africa, a position based in London but necessitating regular tours of the African continent. Back in southern Africa in 1975, he served first as dean of St Mary's Cathedral in Johannesburg and then as Bishop of Lesotho; from 1978 to 1985 he was general-secretary of the South African Council of Churches. He emerged as one of the most prominent opponents of South Africa's apartheid system of racial segregation and white minority rule. Although warning the National Party government that anger at apartheid would lead to racial violence, as an activist he stressed non-violent protest and foreign economic pressure to bring about universal suffrage. In 1985, Tutu became Bishop of Johannesburg and in 1986 the Archbishop of Cape Town, the most senior position in southern Africa's Anglican hierarchy. In this position, he emphasized a consensus-building model of leadership and oversaw the introduction of female priests. Also in 1986, he became president of the All Africa Conference of Churches, resulting in further tours of the continent. After President F. W. de Klerk released the anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela from prison in 1990 and the pair led negotiations to end apartheid and introduce multi-racial democracy, Tutu assisted as a mediator between rival black factions. After the 1994 general election resulted in a coalition government headed by Mandela, the latter selected Tutu to chair the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate past human rights abuses committed by both pro and anti-apartheid groups. Following apartheid's fall, Tutu campaigned for gay rights and spoke out on a wide range of subjects, among them criticizing Israel’s treatment of Palestinians which he described as apartheid, his opposition to the Iraq War, and his criticism of South African presidents Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma. As Tutu rose to prominence in the 1970s, different socioeconomic groups and political classes held a wide range of views about him, from critical to admiring. He was popular among South Africa's black majority and was internationally praised for his work involving anti-apartheid activism, for which he won the Nobel Peace Prize and other international awards. He also compiled several books of his speeches and sermons The following statement from the Archbishop describes the supreme nature of his spiritual life: “I pray each day, I live with Jesus, I walk with Jesus, I want to be like Jesus, I want to learn from Jesus. Jesus and me are always together.” What an amazing life! May his soul rest in peace and rise in glory.
Lal Varghese, Esq., Dallas For FOCUS Editorial Board
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FOCUS Movement and FOCUS Journal: God’s Abounding Faithfulness Dr. Cherian Samuel, McLean, U. S. A. Introduction. This essayi offers an ex-post assessmentii of the FOCUS (“For Our Christian Understanding and Solidarity”) Movement—the independent lay initiative that emerged in the Mar Thoma Churchiii in the late 1990s and the early 2000s—and its evolution into the FOCUS Journal in the 2010s. With the FOCUS Journal entering its 10th volume of publication this year, the essay is also a celebration of God’s abiding and abounding faithfulness to FOCUS and its founders, who chose to walk by faith in their efforts. The assessment offered in this essay is an Objective-Based Assessmentiv from a methodological standpoint, an approach that assesses actual outcomes in relation to original objectives. The essay is divided into two sections. The first section outlines the genesis and progress of the FOCUS Movement and its evolution into the FOCUS Journal. The second section offers an assessment of the FOCUS Movement and the Journal and concludes the essay. I FOCUS Movement Origins. During the last one hundred years or so, the Mar Thoma Church has experienced tremendous growth and progress, with a significant and emerging global Diaspora, albeit rooted in evangelistic teachings, missionary fervor, and lay-centered democratic structures. The motto of “every Marthomite as a missionary and an ambassador of the Church of Christ” has led Marthomites to establish Christian fellowships, congregations, parishes, and Dioceses in their local communities. In Diaspora settings, the Church became a key link for connecting with their homelands and communities. The Mar Thoma Church has also become a bridge Church, preserving the best features of the Eastern traditional forms of worship and the reformation principles of Western Churches, with strong ecumenical relationships with other Churches. Over the years, there has been a marked decline in the involvement of the laity in the ministry and life of the Mar Thoma Church. As the Church became global, recognizing the impacts of cultural and socio-economic situations faced by Diaspora Marthomites became critical also for the pastoral care and mission activities of the Church. The formation of the FOCUS lay movement is best understood in this context, as a mechanism for navigating the complexities of Diaspora communities from a faith perspective, albeit avoiding the insularity and ghetto mentality while attempting to preserve religious and cultural heritage. Therefore, the FOCUS movement was an effort by the Mar Thoma Diaspora for building solidarity as a faith community within the Church, guided by the motto, “for the generosity to give and the humility to receive.”. The Purpose and Mission of the FOCUS
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Movement, along with planned activities at inception, is shown in the Appendix below. Seminars. The FOCUS movement began in 1998 at the Mar Thoma Sinai Diocesan Centre at Merrick, New York, under the auspices of Alexander Mar Thoma and other Bishops. Between 1999 and 2003, three FOCUS seminars were organized at the Santhigiri Ashram, Kerala, featuring Mar Thoma Bishops, clergy and other leaders. The first FOCUS seminar was held in 1999, on the theme, “Preserving the Timeless While Adapting to the Times.” The second FOCUS seminar was held in 2001, on the theme, “From corridors of power to expanses of divine grace”. The third FOCUS seminar was held in 2003, on the theme, "Will the Diaspora community ever become a local community?". All the Seminars featured the global Mar Thoma Diaspora from different countries, as well as Mar Thoma Bishops, clergy and Christian leaders. The third FOCUS seminar attracted 35 registered delegates, 30 local guests, and 20 other leaders including Mar Thoma Church Bishops and clergyv, and explored the territorial and spiritual dimensions of the Diasporic existence. The discussions deliberated issues related to identity, mission, and integration with the local community, with a focus on developing a unified concept of the Diaspora and formulating processes for becoming a local community. In this context, the discussion underscored the fact of the Mar Thoma Diaspora as a voluntary movement, unlike other exiled communities with difficult experiences from ethnic, political, religious and other conflicts. The key challenge is making diasporic adjustments for transformation, based on open communities and robust dialogues, with powerful possibilities for finding creative solutions in alien settings. In particular, the predicament of the second-generation Diaspora was identified as the central missional concern of the FOCUS movement itself, which therefore must partner with the Mar Thoma Church to provide spiritual and emotional resources to second generation. The Mar Thoma Diaspora should also be trusted to provide objectivity and vision—based on crosscultural experiences—regarding the spiritual matters of the Church, over and above the financial resources provided. The discussion also highlighted the diminishing roles of the laity in diaspora parishes, which had moved from a “Church of the people” to “'Church for the people”, with the Mar Thoma Church itself becoming a clergy-centered Church. Therefore, alternative forms of worship and greater lay participation in spiritual disciplines are essential for diaspora parishes. Overall, the independent
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nature of the FOCUS movement was deemed useful for generating ideas for the Church and supporting pastoral duties. The consensus was that FOCUS remained valuable as an independent lay Movement in the Church, with a broader perspective and participation. The next FOCUS seminar was scheduled for August 2005, on the theme, “Renewal of the Church"; regional FOCUS seminars were planned as wellvi. Going forward, the FOCUS movement was expected to concentrate on the following topics: (i) A wider and more active participation of people, to make FOCUS as inclusive as possible; (ii) A clear definition of the vision and mission of the FOCUS movement, with a regular newsletter for members; (iii) Enable members to internalize and incarnate FOCUS in own contexts, for fostering missional unity among members; (iv) Reinforce the research and communication aspects of the FOCUS movement, underpinned by a commitment to meet the unique needs of the Diaspora; (v) A book chronicling and celebrating the sagas of current Diaspora pioneers; (vi) Objective feedback from the Diaspora experience to the Mother Church in Kerala. FOCUS Journal (FOCUS FIRST ISSUE COVER PHOTO– APRIL 2013) Origins. Notwithstanding the momentum garnered by the FOCUS movement through the three Seminars, it came to an unexpected halt, with no follow-up seminars in 2005 and beyond, as originally planned. The FOCUS movement was unable to fit into the organizational and administrative structures of the Mar Thoma Church. There were also negative voices and influences that thwarted the FOCUS movement, which came about solely due to the sacrificial toils of certain Diaspora Marthomites. However, there remained an enduring interest in broadening the scope of the FOCUS movement beyond the Mar Thoma Church. Therefore, a partnership was formed with an ecumenical organization—Theological Research and Communication Institute (TRACI), Delhi— led by Revd Valson Thampu, for supporting the “Christian Mind” Series publication, intended for the entire Indian Christian Diaspora. There was also a serious effort made to nurture the ideas of solidarity and understanding through networking relationships, analytical work and theological research, which was disseminated through a newsletter and other ecumenical publications.
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Unfortunately, the TRACI partnership did not succeed, and the “Christian Mind” Series publication ceased. However, the ecumenical publication initiative was revived and restored through the founding of the FOCUS Journal in April 2013—a quarterly digital publicationvii— aspiring to promote solidarity among the Indian Christian Diaspora and meet their spiritual needs. Thanks to the abounding and abiding faithfulness of the Lord Almighty, and the dedication and grit of many Mar Thoma pioneers; the FOCUS Journal has progressed well, completing the first decade of publication this year, with more than 200,000 online subscribers and nearly 6,000 e-mail subscribers. This April 2022 FOCUS Journal issue—with the theme, “Great is Thy Faithfulness”—provides a good illustration of its ecumenical scope, featuring contributors from different Christian denominations and geographies. Over the years, the FOCUS Journal has provided relevant and meaningful meditations and reflections on important themes like: Worship, Mystery and Symbols (April 2015); Religion-less Christianity (October 2017); Faith, History and Religiosity (October 2019); A Post-COVID-19 Landscape of Faith (October 2020); Be the Gospel of Christ (April 2021); Sustainability of nature and the Mission of the Church (January 2022). II Assessment. If the FOCUS Movement were to be assessed according to the Objective-based Evaluation approach, based on a strict comparison of ex-ante expectations and ex-post realizations, it would seem that many of the objectives were not achieved. In this regard, an important caveat to note is that, the ex-post assessment has been based primarily on documented evidence and limited discussions with the leaders of the FOCUS movement, with many already enjoying eternal rest. Therefore, this assessment may be regarded as the beginning of a broader and deeper analysis, that could be based on more detailed discussions with FOCUS leaders and the Indian Christian Diaspora. Given the unexpected and untimely ceasing of the FOCUS movement after 2003, an ex-post assessment of its Purpose and Mission as well as its planned activities— outlined in the Appendix below—is challengingviii. This is particularly true for the following objectives, which were predicated on FOCUS movement’s continuity, and therefore could not be achieved: (D) Establishing and supporting structural and logistical facilities in Kerala for visits, research, cultural and spiritual exchanges; (E) Sponsoring and supporting long-term co-operative programs such as sister communities and mission fields, for benefiting the younger generations of the Diaspora and the homeland; (F) Developing appropriate forums for regular discussions with the policy-making bodies of the mother church for shaping Church policies related to the
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Diaspora; (G) Developing appropriate training facilities for lay ministry and developing adult and youth lay leadership. On the other hand, the following objectives may be assessed as partially achieved, though not attributable to the FOCUS movement as such, but to other initiatives by the Church and the laity: (A) Spreading the word of God and living out the Mar Thoma faith in host communities, pursuing integration; (B) Appreciating and respecting the Mar Thoma identity, cultural heritage and values; transferring values to future generations in their evolving contexts; contributing to host communities; (C) Maintaining strong bonds with the homeland; promoting seminars, educational and cultural tours to the homeland for creating awareness of the Mar Thoma identity among the younger Diaspora; (H) Developing networking opportunities across the global Mar Thoma Diaspora, through family conferences and other forums; (I) Helping in building a lay-centered Church, complementing the pastoral ministry of the clergy. Likewise, the assessment of the projected activities of the FOCUS Movement, treating them as the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)ix for its Purpose and Mission, is challenging. Given the post-200e cessation of the FOCUS movement, the following KPIs could not be achieved: (A) Organization of seminars in different regions of the world; (C) Diaspora Centre at Santhigiri in Kerala; (D) Establishing a Diaspora Foundation; (G) Facilitating liturgical renewal. However, the following KPIs may be assessed as partially achieved, though not attributable to the FOCUS movement as such, but to other initiatives by the Church and the laity: (F) Developing youth and lay leadership; (H) Facilitating pastoral ministry; (I) Organizing outreach programs. On the other hand, the following two KPIs may be assessed as Achieved: (B) Diaspora Sunday Celebration; (E) Publication initiatives. Conclusions. The ex-post assessment undertaken in this essay suggests that the FOCUS Movement was relevant and useful at the time, in the late 1990s and early 2000s as the Global Mar Thoma Diaspora sought solutions for navigating the complexities and challenges of host society integration, while yearning and aspiring to stay true to the Mar Thoma identity, with the predicament becoming more existential for the younger generation Diaspora. While the FOCUS movement ceased unexpectedly and timely after 2003, the embers continued to flicker in various shades, with the dry bones coming to life (Ezekiel 37:1-10) again, with the launching of the FOCUS Journal in 2013, a full decade later.
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While many of the objectives of the FOCUS Movement could not be achieved, given its unexpected and untimely cessation, evidence suggests that the ideas and concepts that emerged from the intimate and intense deliberations of the three FOCUS seminars have led to unexpected and indirect outcomes, though they cannot be attributed to FOCUS per se. As the FOCUS Journal celebrates its first decade of publication, God’s abounding and abiding faithfulness—renewed and resolved constantly—has been amazing, truly beyond expectations and comprehension. May the Lord Almighty strengthen and sustain FOCUS as an instrument of His choice, as a true and tested Voice for the Indian Christian Diaspora, during this post-truth phase of human history. For His glory. And our good. Appendix: Purpose and Mission of the FOCUS Movement: A. To spread the word of God and live up to the notion that “each Marthomite is an evangelist and an ambassador of the Church of Christ” by living out our faith through active participation in the total life of the communities around us. To explore the providential plan in the pattern of migration and to develop opportunities for integrating with host communities. B. To appreciate and respect Mar Thoma identity, cultural heritage and values; to explain these to future generations in the midst of evolving cultural, social and economic circumstances of the local communities in which we live and work. Every effort should be made to provide distinct and specific contributions to host communities in developing a society that is peaceful, that is orderly and just. Most importantly, to answer the question Chrysostom Thirumeni posed, “Will the Diaspora community ever become the local community?”. C. To maintain a strong bond with homeland, to promote and facilitate grass-root efforts such as seminars, educational and cultural tours to homeland to raise an awareness and the significance of Mar Thoma identity among younger Diaspora generations. D. To establish and support structural and logistical facilities in Kerala for visits, research and to initiate opportunities for cultural and spiritual exposure and exchanges. E. To sponsor and support long-term co-operative programs such as ‘sister communities, mission fields, to establish these programs for the benefits of the younger generation of both Diaspora communities and that of the mother church. F. To develop appropriate forums for continuous dialogue with the policy-making bodies of the mother church to help and shape church’s policies to address the needs Diaspora communities.
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G. To develop appropriate training facilities for lay ministry and the development of adult and youth lay leadership. H. To develop communication facilities for networking with various Diaspora communities across the world; to develop opportunities for exchanging ideas and visits for members between various communities including Diaspora family conferences. I. To help in building a lay-centered Church and facilitate in every way the pastoral ministry of the clergy. We need an effective lay ministry and lay leadership side by side with our ordained ministry for developing long-term plans for the benefit of our communities. Laity is the intimate part of the community representing the Church: they are the points where the Christian message is incarnated in today’s societies; their ministry is the mission of the Church. The Church is a community of communities, a family of families. The Church is to be a sign of God’s kingdom in the world. The authenticity of that sign depends on all people, laity, priests and bishops. Unless we truly live as the people of God, we will not be much of a sign to ourselves or to the world. In our world, shattered by hatred and disunity, it is vitally important to present the Church as the sacrament of unity for the world. Our communication should lead us into communion, which should be made visible in the community. Mission Statement of FOCUS Movement The mission of the FOCUS movement of the Mar Thoma Church is to enlighten the Diaspora communities of the Mar Thoma Church to remain faithful to the heritage, identity and mission of the Church along with its traditions through effective lay leadership and by establishing a strong relationship with the mother Church, and at the same time developing a meaningful dialogue and integration with host communities. Projected Activities of the FOCUS Movement A. Organisation of seminars in different regions of the world B. Diaspora Sunday Celebration C. Diaspora Centre at Santhigiri in Kerala D. Establishing a Diaspora Foundation E. Publication initiatives F. Developing youth and lay leadership G. Facilitating liturgical renewal H. Facilitating pastoral ministry I. Organising outreach programmes ___________________________________ i The essay draws on information related to the FOCUS
Movement and the FOCUS Journal that has been published in the various issues of the Mar Thoma Messenger, the quarterly
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publication of the North America and Europe Mar Thoma Diocese. Information was also provided by the Mar Thoma pioneer focus leaders. ii Ex-post assessment is an evaluation of a project/program/activity after it has been completed. See Independent Evaluation Group (2020) for more details. iii Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church or the Mar Thoma Church is part of the Kerala Syrian Christian Churches, which currently use the East Syriac and West Syriac liturgical rites of Syriac Christianity. The Kerala Syrian Christian Churches trace their origins to Apostle Thomas, traditionally believed to have arrived on the Malabar Coast in 52 CE to preach the “Gospel” message—the good news regarding the reconciliation between Holy God and sinful humanity through the shed blood of Jesus on the cross—following Jesus’s Great Commission to His disciples. More details may be found at the Mar Thoma Church website. iv Objective-based evaluation (OBE) is a class of evaluation methods that considers the extent to which objectives are achieved—with a focus on measuring outcomes against original objectives—guided by a theory of change that maps inputs and activities to outcomes. See Chapter 4 (“Objectives-Based Evaluation for Accountability and Learning”) of the 2019 book (“Economic Evaluation of Sustainable Development”) by Vinod Thomas and Namrata Chindarkar for a more detailed discussion. v The Bishops and Clergy at the 2003 FOCUS seminar included: Most Revd Dr. Philipose Mar Chrysostom Metropolitan, Rt. Revd Dr. Joseph Mar Irenaeus Suffragan Metropolitan, Rt. Revd Dr. Geevarghese Mar Theodosius, Rt. Revd Dr. Euyakim Mar Coorilos and Rt. Revd Dr. Isaac Mar Philoxenos, Revd Valson Thampu, Revd Dr. M. J. Joseph, Revd Dr. M. V. Abraham, Revd K.G. Joseph. Lay leaders included: Professor Sukumar Azhikode, Dr. T. M. Thomas, Dr. George Zachariah, Dr. Zac Varghese, Mrs. Elzi Zac-Varghese, Mr. Mathew Kallumpram, Dr. Roy Joseph, Dr. Sam Chacko, Dr. Abraham Thomas, Mr. George John and Mr. Abraham Mattackal. vi The international committee—comprising of Dr. Sam Chacko (USA), Dr. Roy Joseph (Singapore), Dr. Zac Varghese (UK)— was tasked to continue its work and co-opt four young people into the committee. vii The founding Editors of FOCUS were: Mr. Lal Varghese, Esq (Dallas, USA); Revd Dr. M.J. Joseph (Kottayam, India); Dr. Titus Mathew (Calgary, Canada); Dr. Jesudas Athyal (Thiruvalla, India); Revd Dr. Valson Thampu (Thiruvananthapuram, India); and Dr. Zac Varghese (London, UK). The current FOCUS Editors are: Lal Varghese, Esq. (Dallas, USA); Revd Dr. M.J. Joseph (Kottayam, India); Revd Dr. Abraham Philip (Kottayam, India); Dr. Zac Varghese (London, UK); and Dr. Cherian Samuel (McLean, USA). viii In principle, the ex-post assessment could be based on a fourpoint rating scale: (i) Fully Achieved/Excellent—Performance exceeded expectations; (ii) Achieved/Satisfactory— Performance met expectations; (iii) Partially Achieved/Partly Unsatisfactory—Performance met expectations partially; (iv) Not Achieved/Unsatisfactory—Performance did not meet expectations. ix KPIs are the key indicators of progress toward an intended result, providing a focus for operational improvement and a basis for decision making.
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