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Table of Contents Editorial .................................................................. 3
The COMPE Executive Committee
Whatever your storm, do not lose hope. ................. 4
President: The Rt. Revd Dr. Isaac Mar Philoxenos Vice President: Very Revd P. T. Thomas Secretary: Mr. Noble Mathew Treasurer: Mr. Thomas Abraham
The conductor of my life. ........................................ 6 God’s glory, presence and strength. ....................... 8 Storms in Life and Hope of New Dawn. ............... 12 A New Dawn of Hope in the Storms – A Biblical perspective........................................................... 16 H.O.P.E – Hold on Pain Ends – Through Resurrection ......................................................... 19
Editorial Board of the Mar Thoma ECHO Editorial Director: Revd Binu J Varghese Chief Editor: Mr. Sherry Mathews Editor: Mrs. Geena Ajay
Zonal Office Building ............................................ 22 An Ever-Living Hope ............................................ 25 Lockdown…A dreadful word?................................. 26
Special Thanks: Dr. Zac Varghese
For private circulation only Disclaimer: The views published in this journal are those of its authors. Editors or the COMPE do not endorse the contents or views expressed and they are not liable for the contents or views in any form. Send your articles- compe.echo@gmail.com
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Editorial A new hope of dawn in the storm
The theme for the current edition of Echo is encouraging. I wonder if there was any time if we felt like we are amid many storms or at least many looming storms. UK has nearly removed all sanctions placed during the COVID crisis that hit us over the last two years. Although it seems like life is normal to pre covid times, rising infection rates in UK prove otherwise. Can we remain hopeful during this? Nearly four million have fled from Ukraine since Russia unleashed war against that nation. While there are peace talks and negotiations happening in the background, will there be a complete peace deal that can offer hope to its citizens? Can we be a helping hand to those fleeing the country and be a hope in their lives?
prepared to die along with her son. She couldn’t see a ray of hope in her life. To such a miserable situation the prophet was sent, and he had to be obedient to God’s calling. Though Elijah himself was fleeing for his life from a seemingly hopeless situation, his obedience led him to witness a great miracle of God’s amazing provision, a jar of flour and jug of oil that never ran dry. There was never abundance, but enough to sustain the three of them. May this Lent season bring us closer to our Jehovah Jireh, who provides for our needs and keeps our hearts in perfect peace as we trust in Him amidst the passing storms. There’s always hope for His people and may His abundant grace in our lives enable us to act with abundant grace to those around us. We end with this verse from Isaiah 40: 31 “but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint”.
Editorial Team
With the rising living cost in UK and abroad, how well can we manage our anxieties about tomorrow and trust in God’s provisions for us? The many articles in this edition reminds us to hold on to God’s promises in the face of many storms we face. These are truly encouraging and reflective during this Lent season. There’s a Jordan we all must cross, but our Saviour has promised us a new dawn of hope if we persevere with Him. Let me also remind you that God makes provisions for His people, so they have enough for each day. Prophet Elijah was sent to a gentile woman in the region of Sidon, a widow who was
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Whatever your storm, do not lose hope. Reuben Manchester Mar Thoma Church. It is very easy to paint a grim picture of the world with everything that goes on within it. Some recent events which make us feel like this could include the recent takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban, the war in Ukraine, climate change, rising cost of living, and of course, the disease, pandemic, that must not be named! The list is endless. However, throughout history reminds us repeatedly of how people have lived with hope and persevered through times of trials and tribulations. Thursday marked Holocaust Memorial Day to commemorate the cruelty of the Nazi regime towards the Jewish prisoners that they held in concentration camps. With my fascination with everything to do with the second world war as a child, I learned about this dark blemish on history early in my life. The movie Schindler’s list portrays a chilling account of the daily lives of the captives. There are plenty of stories which show us the pits that humanity can fall into, but to accompany them, there are as many to inspire and show us that there is always a flicker of hope; the women who authored the book ‘In Memory’s Kitchen’, who despite being kept for years at a concentration camp in the Czech Republic, persevered their Jewish heritage through their recipes and defied Hitler, allowing their legacy and traditions to continue, the business people who tried to save as many Jews by trying to employ them as their workers, the medical staff who moved prisoners to hospitals claiming they had contagious diseases. Hope is not something that is exclusive to tragedies. It is something that ordinary people can cling onto to make their lives extraordinary. It is the beating of all odds to come out victorious. One person who did exactly this is someone I consider to be the greatest Olympian of all time, a person who captures the genuine spirit of what it means to never give in to your circumstances, no
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matter how difficult the odds are. Who could this person be? Could it be: Usain Bolt? Michael Phelps? Lin Dan? While their achievements are wonderful, they do not come near what Karoly Takacs, a pistol shooter, had achieved in the 1948 Olympics. I cannot do justice to his story in this brief message. I would encourage you to enter his name on YouTube and see his story. I promise it will be worth it! The Bible says that in the end, three things remain: faith, hope and love, and while the greatest of these is love, second place isn’t bad for hope! It was hope of the promised land
that allowed the Israelites to wander in the desert for 40 years. It was hope that allowed Joseph to keep his spirits up despite being enslaved and imprisoned during his life. It is hope that keeps us going as Christians, that one day our Saviour will return and right all the wrongs of this world and take us to heaven to live with him forever. Whatever your storm, do not lose hope, as it is what keeps us going during our wonderful, but often difficult lives during our time on Earth.
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The conductor of my life. Ligy Mary Thomas Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me………………” Acts 12:11 Harriet Tubman, also addressed as ‘Moses’ by her people had been a conductor of the Underground railroad helping African slaves to freedom in the United States of America and helped them to escape to the free states and Canada. From her childhood, Harriet had heard the story of the deliverance of Israelites from the clutches of Pharoah and how Moses had been chosen by God to deliver the people and the ways God had used him to save the Israelites. This instance from the Bible had influenced her to be save many human lives from slavery. In the Acts of the Apostles chapter 12, it mentions about the early church. It was at the verge of losing Peter, as Herod had made a full proof plan to execute him publicly to showcase his power and authority to the people. Herod had placed Peter in jail with guards on both his sides to avoid any way of escape for Peter but God’s ways are unimaginable beyond human thinking. Today, we are also at the turn of an important phase of history that is facing an uncertainty for the future, there is despair of losing friends or families due to a virus not even visible to the naked eyes. We as individuals, families and church have a greater responsibility of sharing our hope through the love of Jesus with our friends and our society through our thoughts, words and actions. While writing this article, the word of God that struck me from this chapter (Acts 12) is thinking about the perspective of the people who were facing intense turmoil of what they would be facing the next day. They were common people facing opposition from people in authority who were trying to suppress their faith in Christ. Few takeaways that I would like to share from the above Bible passage are the following: 1. Trust in our driver A song that I learned in my Sunday school in Hindi had been “ chotti chotti jeevan gaadi haath sey nahi Banti hai, …. Agar driver yesu hai tho gaadi swarg mein jaathi hai, agar driver shaitaan hai tho gaadi narak mein jaathi hai”. The lyrics meant that life is not something created by human hands, if it is driven by Jesus then it goes straight to heaven and if it’s by the devil then its destination is hell. Currently while I am writing this, sitting here across the world in New Zealand , I am thinking about the time a year ago ,when I had my doubts whether I would be able to migrate safely from the UK to New Zealand to join my family. But now after being able to reach here a month ago, I can only praise my father who had been working miraculously and making my ways easier by planning for me everything in a timely manner.
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2. Assurance of our destination Naomi took a life changing decision in her life when she had lost everyone dear to her. She chose to travel from Moab to Bethlehem ,to her native place because she had an assurance of her destination where she would be able to find peace. She knew in her heart, when she goes back to her people, she would find peace and have her own community to share her sorrows. (Ruth chapter 1). Yesterday, my friend told me about her one-year-old son who goes to day-care. She tells that every evening, when she goes to take him, the joy he has on his face when he sees her coming to take him home cannot be expressed in words. Similarly, do we live every day with a hope that our father is preparing and leading us every day to be witnesses of his love and hope of an eternal life with him? Do we listen to the soft whisper of our father who shows us how to be witnesses for him in our lives in the places and roles that he has planted us? 3. Surrender completely to the driver regarding the route to travel Control is something that we always desire for or from anything. It can be controlling of our jobs, relations and responsibilities. We can take from any aspect of our lives, for instance as a student, desire to control the subjects to study, postponing assessments, or wanting leave on the day of tests. Thus, when we face problems in our lives, we try to find solutions through all humanly ways possible but the last on the bucket list is reserved for Jesus Thus, when it comes to controlling our lives it’s seems like a very difficult thing to hand over the reins of our life to Jesus. I would like to conclude this article by sharing the life of a woman who had lost her precious relationships at a very early stage of her life for the church ministry on 23rd January,1999. Graham Staines and his two sons were burnt alive while they were sleeping in their vehicle at the outskirts of Odisha. The family had spent their lives for the spreading of the gospel among the tribal people of Odisha and working for the lepers. Years later after her husband and two sons were killed, these were the words of Gladys Staines before the commission, “It is far from my mind to punish the persons who were responsible for the death of my husband Graham and my two children. But it is my desire and hope that they will repent and be reformed.” Keeping up our hope and spirits is a very difficult thing to do and especially when you are at the verge of losing someone, that was what our early church had been facing, so they had been praying together for a miracle. Alas, their prayers had reached up as the sweet-smelling fragrance of incense up to the heavens, with God sending his angels to save Peter from the dungeon. Let this Bible passage imbibe our heart with a reassurance and allow us to think over our lives, if we are fully ready to hand over the controls of our lives to our beloved father ‘Yesu masih’. Amen.
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God’s glory, presence and strength. Dr. Cherian Samuel, McLean, Virginia* Introduction. This essay explores the criticality of Hope for facing Storms—an integral aspect of the human experience—from a Christian perspective. The discussion is anchored in the promise and reality of Jesus Christ as the Immanuel—God with Us (Matthew 1:23), Word becoming Flesh (John 1:14)—in the life of a believer. Since God is Sovereign and Faithful, with all things working together for the good of those who love Him, the essay concludes that there is always a new dawn of Hope in the Storm. The essay is divided into three sections. The first section outlines the Biblical foundations for Hope in the Storm, drawing on the examples of the Children of Israel crossing the Jordan river into the Promised Land (Joshua: 3-4), and the life of Apostle Paul (various NT books). The second section examines the Hope in the Storm issue in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, and concludes the essay. I Foundations. From a biblical perspective, there are three reasons for facing the storms—also termed trials—of life with hope and confidence. The first reason for Hope is the Sovereignty of God, that He is supreme, that no one can thwart His purposes (Psalm 93:1; 95:3). That All things work together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). The second reason for Hope is the Faithfulness of God—wherein God remains true to His promises (2 Timothy 2:13), we taste and see that the LORD is good (Psalm 34:8) and learn to trust Him—continuing through the generations (Psalm 119: 90) and renewed continuously (Lamentations 3:22-23). The third reason for Hope is God’s promise to go before us (Deuteronomy 31:8), to go with us (Deuteronomy 31:6; 31:8, Joshua 1:5; 1:9, Isaiah 41:10), that He will never leave us or forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6; 31:8, Joshua 1:5; 1:9, Hebrews 13:5). The biblical examples discussed below provide powerful illustrations of the different reasons for the Hope in the Storm. Jordan River Crossing. As the Children of Israel travelled from over 400 years of Egyptian slavery to the Promised Land, Canaan, they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years—under Moses’s leadership—as a punishment for disobeying the LORD’s commands (Numbers 14, Deuteronomy 1:19-46). Even Moses was denied entry into the Promised Land, though allowed to view it before his death (Deuteronomy 32:48–52). The next generation of Israelites—led by Joshua, Moses’s successor—had to cross the Jordan river—at flood stage (Joshua 3:15)—to enter Canaan. At God’s command, Joshua instructed the priests bearing the Ark of the Covenant to stand in the waters, leading to the immediate stoppage of the river flow, and the Israelites crossed over on dry ground (Joshua 3:15–17). The miraculous Jordan river crossing affirmed God’s presence with the Children of Israel and His promise to remove their enemies from the land. After the Jordan river crossing, God instructed Joshua to create two memorials: twelve stones from the Jordan were placed on dry ground, and twelve stones from the banks of the river were placed in the middle of the river, marking for future generations the display of God’s power on behalf of Israel (Joshua 4:1–9). The twelve stones taken from the Jordan were set up at Gilgal (Joshua 4:19–20), where they camped,
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reminding the people of God’s power in drying up the river—as He did to the Red Sea (Joshua 4:21–24)— and reminding them that they should fear the Lord. In the case of both the Jordan river crossing and the Gilgal memorial, the display of God’s glory, presence, and strength—critical for Israelites in the future possession of the Promised Land—was loud and clear. In addition, the Jordan river crossing was a demonstration of God’s abundant faithfulness in the lives of His chosen people, from the time of freedom from Egyptian slavery to the parting of the Red Sea, and the supernatural provision and care during the forty years of wandering in the wilderness. Apostle Paul. God used Apostle Paul, more than any of the Jesus’s twelve disciples, 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—and establish churches around the Mediterranean region during the first century that laid the foundation for Christianity in the Roman empire. Paul also authored thirteen epistles in the New Testament—with some epistles preceding the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John—that established important linkages between the Old Testament and the New Testament books of the Bible. The transformation from Saul of Tarsus—a zealous persecutor of Christians—to Apostle Paul—a passionate follower of Christ—has been foundational and compelling (Acts 9: 1-22). Having experienced first-hand the power of the Gospel to transform his own life, Apostle Paul wanted others rescued from slavery to sin and experience God’s grace, accomplishing extraordinary things for the Kingdom of God. Paul’s apostolic ministry was marked by hardships and suffering, and he died as a martyr in Rome during the late CE 60s. As detailed in the second epistle to the Corinthian Church, Paul received forty lashes minus one from the Jews five times. He was beaten with rods three times, pelted once with stones, and shipwrecked three times, spending a night and a day in the open sea. Paul had faced danger in the city, in the country, and at sea. Paul also faced danger from rivers, from bandits, from fellow Jews, from Gentiles, and from false believers. Paul had labored and toiled—often without sleep—been cold and naked, and experienced hunger and thirst, often without food (2 Corinthians 11:24–27). Paul was also afflicted by a “thorn in the flesh”, terming it as “a messenger of Satan”, that had a purpose of “torment” (2 Corinthians 12:1-10). Though many explanations have been offered regarding the thorn— some physical, spiritual, or emotional affliction—no satisfactory answers have been found, and it remained a source of pain in Paul’s life. As noted by the Apostle, God’s purpose in allowing the thorn was to keep him humble, from becoming being conceited regarding his indescribable experience of heaven. In response, Paul pleaded with the Lord three times to remove the thorn, though his prayers were not answered. Instead, God gave the Apostle overwhelming grace and compensating strength, promising that His grace was sufficient, His power made perfect in weakness. Therefore, Paul chose to delight in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions and difficulties so that Christ’s power may rest on him, concluding that, “For when I am weak, then I am strong”.
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In his very final epistle—2 Timothy—written in CE 67 from a prison in Rome, Apostle Paul exhorts his spiritual son, Timothy, to preach the Word, to be always ready to correct, to rebuke and encourage with patience and diligence (2 Timothy 4: 1-6). Paul ends his epistle poignantly, knowing that he will never be released from prison and die soon, “Vs.6, For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near Vs 7, I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith Vs 8, Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. “(2 Timothy 4:6-8). Apostle Paul had surrendered his life to Christ, trusting fully in the Sovereignty of God. Paul had fully tasted the goodness of the LORD during his ministry, albeit with the thorn constant in his flesh, and therefore experienced the Faithfulness of God in sustaining him. Paul also experienced God’s presence with him through the warps and woofs of his toils for the LORD, leading him to declare boldly, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). II COVID-19 Pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has been an unprecedented global catastrophe with wide-ranging and far-reaching effects. As of today (February 25, 2022), there have been 430,257,564 confirmed cases of COVID-19 globally, including 5,922,049 deaths, as per the World Health Organization (WHO). The regional breakdown of the pandemic is: Europe (176,268,037); Americas (146,449,865); SouthEast Asia (55,509,874); Western Pacific (22,662,357); Eastern Mediterranean (21,054,840); Africa (8,311,827). The worst pandemic-affected countries are: United States (78,050,838); India (42,894,345); Brazil (28,484,890); France (21,879,794); United Kingdom (18,773,168); Russia (16,052,028); Germany (14,399,012); Turkey (13,840,998); Italy (12,651,251); Spain (10,949,997); Argentina (8,878,486); Iran (7,011,932). The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted lives across all countries and communities, negatively affecting global economic growth in 2020, beyond anything experienced in nearly a century. The pandemic reduced global economic growth to -3.2 percent 2020, albeit recovering to 5.9 percent in 2021, and 4.4 percent estimated for 2022, as per the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The emergence of new COVID-19 variants could prolong the pandemic and lead to more economic disruptions, with continued supply chain bottlenecks, energy price volatility, and rising inflation. However, in the midst of this global COVID-19 Storm, there are emerging signs of a New Dawn of Hope. In the United States (US) for instance—the worst pandemic-affected country—new COVID-19 infections have fallen by 90% from a pandemic-high in a little over a month, with an average new cases rate of 84,000 per day currently, down from a pandemic-high of more than 800,000 daily cases in mid-January. The evidence points to a global turnaround from COVID-19 which emerged unexpectedly two years ago, albeit treating the virus as a persistent but manageable risk in the future. The COVID-19 pandemic has been disruptive from a Christian perspective as well, with the shutting of Church assemblies due to the virus and the switch to virtual worship. The cessation of community
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gatherings during the pandemic has struck at the core of the meaning of the original Greek word for Church, “ekklesia”, as a gathering of people united by common identity and purpose. Nevertheless, the COVID-19 pandemic has also provided significant opportunities for learning from experience, like the lessons offered in Pastor Andy Stanley’s sermon series, Better For It: “Pain without gain is a shame” or “Never let a good crisis go to waste”. The emerging New Dawn of Hope in the COVID-19 Storm is also a validation of the foundational reasons outlined at the beginning of this essay in terms of God’s Sovereignty, God’s Faithfulness and God’s Immanuel principle. As believers, we are more than conquerors through Him who has loved us (Romans 8:37), not sparing His own Son, but giving Him up for us (Romans 8:32). The New Dawn of Hope in the Storm, typified by the abating pandemic, has shown that we can trust in our God to bring good out of even evil (Genesis 50:20), to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think (Ephesians 3:20). Conclusions. Given the essential attributes of God as Sovereign and Faithful, together with the promise and reality of God as Immanuel, there is always a New Dawn of Hope in the Storm. *Dr. Cherian Samuel is an economist who after having had a distinguished career with the World Bank Group retired in February 2021. He is a member of Immanuel Mar Thoma Church, Virginia (USA).
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Storms in Life and Hope of New Dawn. Dr. Plammottil V. Cherian, Chicago* “I
say to God: Do not declare me guilty, but tell me what charges you have against me. Does it please you to oppress me, to spurn the work of your hands, while you smile on the plans of the wicked?” (Job 10:23). The verse quoted above is a plea by Job, an upright and righteous man. Storms in life are common, often in the lives of many faithful who have saintly and righteous behaviour and attitude in life. Yet, often they have trial severe to the point when we doubt God’s intention, and whether he has unjustly treated us, whereas God seems to have lessened hand for the wicked. Such is the question, Job, whom God declared a blameless upright man who fears God and shuns evil, felt over four thousand ago (Job 10.8). For the many troubles he suffered one after the other, three of his trusted friends—Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar came to sympathize with him. They had some good logical points and comforting words, but in the final they accused job of self-righteousness and sin. In reply to one of them Job began to wallow in self-pity. When faced with baffling affliction, our pains lure us towards feeling sorry for ourselves, and begin to question God. Despite his conviction that he had been upright before God, in frustration Job jumped to the wrong conclusion that God pleased to oppress him while God was smiling at the wicked. He even thought that God was out to get him (Job 10:13-14). His friends came with good intentions of comforting him in his trials, but unfortunately like many of us, they could offer only little, if at all any. This is very common in human life with many of us. Psalmist Asaph had the same question, why the wicked flourish when the feet of the righteous often slip. “But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked” (Psalm 73:2-3). Yet, he says, he did not understand why trials are part of his life, until he went to the Temple. Many a time I have wondered why it appears that the wicked prospers and have an easy life, particularly knowing the political distress caused in nations by tyrannical rulers—genocide of innocent people, hunger and malnutrition, and working longer hours to pull through the day. Going to the temple or the church, one begins to understand the way God deals with righteous and unrighteous people. When in the church, God speaks to us thorough the message, through a hymn, or God directly speaks to us. I have experienced this in my life. The present pandemic of COVID-19 has devastated many people, and many have asked questions like Job and Asaph. Hundreds of thousands of people all across the nation died of COVID and many of us have lost dear ones to whom we could not say proper farewell, and wondered God has forsaken us and why this scourge is lingering in our nations for so long? It is a legitimate question. COVID has become a way of life—we have to face it and live with it. We need to understand why God is silent sometimes or do not answer us when we need his presence. My simple answer is that, all nations at present have pushed
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God to the sideline, and nations are operating under the canon of political correctness, dishonesty, and hypocrisy. But in his love for all people and the nations, though this scourge has devastated many, God shows his love towards us by warnings, and if not heeded through pestilence, earthquake and natural disasters. Obedience to God is requires of all individuals and nations, but all have the freedom of choice. God’s amazing grace and love towards each one is in such a way that some trials are needed to develop our character and faith in the perfect way God expects. Some of the graces God expects from each individual will never be developed without trials in life. Where do we find hope in the midst of storm? According to Christian theology, Hope is to trust in, wait for, look for, or desire or expect someone to get us out of the difficulty, the trouble or the peril we are in. Hope of deliverance comes only from God. When Elijah ran for his life from Ahab and Jezebel, even thought of ending his life, God fed him with bread brought to him by the ravens, and the water in the brook (1 Kings 17:2-16). Hope is trust in the Lord and nothing else. As Jeremih proclaimed that God is the hope of Israel, Christ is our hope (1 Timothy 1:1), through whom we pray to the Father. For us, the Holy Spirit is also a source of hope, for his power causes hope to abound (Romans 15:13). Finally, hope is a gift from God through grace (2 Thessalonians 2:16). Many people have experienced God’s presence in the midst of trials in different ways. God’s presence sometimes comes to us like a glow-worm, showing a small brightness in the midst of surrounding darkness. Hope in God is like a star. Stars do not light in the sunshine of a day when all the stars are still in the far distant skies billions of miles away. But just as the stars bring their radiance in the darkest nights, God’s presence comes to us in the deep darkness of our adversity. Job found that his afflictions were the black velvet in which God wrapped his finest jewels of character, grace and utmost trust by which he was confident to say, “I know my redeemer lives” (Job 19:25). At the heart of book of Job comes his ringing affirmation of confidence and conviction. In Job, we have a righteous man whom Satan targets for destruction. Every saintly person would be targeted by Satan, and sometimes God allows the trials and testing to only to refine our character, and strengthen our faith deep. Shallow faith is no faith, and that is why Jesus scolded his disciples, “you of little faith” when they were once in a gale storm.
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When we pass through troubles, caught up in the storms of life, eternal God is the refuge, and he will appear with his majestic glory to calm the storm and carry us in his arms. On the right is story of the Footprints we all have heard. When troubles overwhelm us and we cannot bear it any longer, Lord carries us in his arms when we thought that he abandoned us when we needed him most. Pictures courtesy of Creative Commons under license CC-BY-SA. Pictures montaged by Dr. P. V. Cherian Lord’s disciples, had an experience of caught up in a gale storm in the Sea of Galilee. After preaching in Galilee, for several days on the western side of the Sea in Galilee to Jewish people mostly poor fishermen, He said to the disciples “let us cross over to the other side” (Mark 4:35-41). The other side was the territory of Jordan, under the Roman rule as Jerusalem and Galilee were. Jesus invited his disciples to move from the familiar shores of Capernaum, Korazin and Bethsaida, the evangelical triangle of his ministry to the unfamiliar shores of the Gerasenes to preach the Good News of the kingdom of God to the Gentiles, in the Arab world. The geophysical set up of Galilee is that as the hot air rises and cool air falls, high winds can create gale storms and waves that rise to thirty feet. As they were in the middle of the Sea, Jesus was asleep and he stills the storm, but asking them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” (Verse 40). The experienced fishermen were terrified as hurricane force winds hit and the boat was about to be capsized. With Christ at the helm of our ship, our life, our nation, he will steer the ship to the shore of safety—to do his work indigenously and on the other side. If the disciples had jumped out and decided to swim to the familiar shore (after all, they were Galileans who constantly fished there) they would not have reached safety.
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We are confronted in life with problems unexpectedly—suffer financial loss, death of dear ones, constant health problems, loss of job, are all situations like what Job experienced, one after the other. Then it is easy for us to doubt the presence of God, and some have even given up faith. Like Job, we must have the utmost conviction that our redeemer lives, and that we shall see him face to face. Hope is the proper response to the promises of God to the believers. Hope leads us to joy, help us gain courage and endurance. Sometimes some of our prayers or hope many not be answered the way we want. Paul prayed three time, to remove a personal affliction from him, “a thorn in his flesh,” but God’s reply was, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Although some of our trials may not be removed, the fact that God displays his power through our weakness should give us courage and hope. Trials may remain, but we gain the grace from God to develop character, humility and the ability to serve others. When our faith becomes as great as the Himalayas and as pure as the snows on their peeks, we shall be able to say like Job, “I know my Redeemer lives.” Until we reach that height, we must believe in God’s assurance, “When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you” (Isaiah 43:2).That is the assurance of hope in the storms of life Let us keep Christ at the helm as we pass through the turbulent waters we face in life. May the Holy Spirit help us to strengthen our faith. Amen!
* Dr. Plammoottil V. Cherian, MDiv., Ph. D., Retired professor of Biological and Medical Sciences, and former Associate Secretary of the Diocese of North America and Europe. A member of the Chicago Mar Thoma Church, USA
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A New Dawn of Hope in the Storms – A Biblical perspective Lal Varghese, Attorney at Law, Dallas* There are many instances in the Bible, where God providing protection for His people from various kinds of storms in their lives. We can look to the scripture for encouraging words during storms of our lives. Times of grief and despair, especially during the COVID pandemic period, can be represented by storms as moments to push us into despair and depression. The Bible provides wisdom and guidance to swim through the storms of our lives and follow the path of God through difficult times with hope and trust in the abundant love of God. When the winds raged and the waves threatened, the disciples woke Jesus with fear in their hearts. Jesus arose, stood on the storm-tossed boat and spoke three simple words, “Quiet! Be still!” The winds ceased and the storm ended faster than it came (Mark 4: 39). At that moment, the terrified disciples were more frightened by the man in their presence with the power to subdue nature than they were of drowning under the heavy waves. Remember, most of them were fishermen with lots of experience of storms in the sea of Galilee. God, displayed His divine power, just with three words. For the disciples, Jesus stopped the storm and it led to a question on His identity: “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (Mark 4:41). The symbolism behind the story of Jesus calming the storm should bring great encouragement and hope for anyone facing storms in their lives. After preaching to large crowds near the Sea of Galilee, Jesus and his disciples got into a boat and left to the ‘other side’ to find some solitude and rest. As they crossed the sea, a storm so great frightened the apostles and they thought they were facing death. Jesus was lying down and sleeping because he might have been tired. The disciples woke him, saying, "Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?" And he said to them, "Why are you afraid, do you still have no faith?" Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. And the men marveled, saying, "What sort of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him?" (Matthew 8: 23-27)
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In the book of Matthew, Jesus came to the disciples and said “. . . I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28: 20.) After Jesus had risen, he appeared to the disciples and told them to meet Him in Galilee. There He appeared to them, where the disciples worshipped Him. But some doubted. But Jesus said to them, that He will always be there, and He will always be there until the very end of the age. He even walked with two people to Emmaus and identified himself before departing them (Luke 24; 13-35). No matter what difficulties and troubles we may be going through in our lives, we have the promise of God that He will always be there for us. In God’s promises, we are able to find hope and life. We are able to feel peace and comfort in Him. As Paul writes in his letter to the church at Philippi, while he was imprisoned, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippines 4: 6-7) Jesus’ walking on the water and calming the storm is the evidence of His power over the nature, not only can He walk upon the tumultuous water but it must obey to his commands. But more than that it shows us that God sees what we are going through, whether it is pain or suffering or pandemic-related depression or health issues. He knows our fears and pains and that we can never be out of His care.
Spiritual storms refine our faith and help us to grow; it helps us to trust God more and more for strength and fulfilment of our needs and helping others around us. Jesus calming the storm, through his physical presence in the eye of the storm was an occasion to teach His disciples who He was. Jesus can use our own current spiritual turbulences for the same purpose. Trials teach us great lessons of faith and make us powerful tools in the hands of God. It takes faith to keep on rowing and moving with hope, when you can’t see the shore on the other side. It takes Faith to keep going, to keep on rowing when you are tired and in despair. It takes faith to keep on rowing when you want to give up. To keep on rowing when the storm is raging all around you and your life is falling apart. It takes faith to keep on rowing toward His promise, when doing so brings you further into the storm. It takes faith to trust what He’s told you, and ignore what you see. You won’t die in the middle of the storm during the night, because He has promised to meet you on the other side.
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Jesus, is always waiting for us on the other side of the sea, but we need to have the hope to meet him on the other side. Often, we lose this hope, and are afraid, like the disciples, thinking that they are going to drown and Jesus does not care about them. Jesus called them ‘people of little faith or no faith’. We also, at times, or at least when storms ravage our lives, loose hope in Christ and become like the disciples, who lost all faith in Jesus, who was with them in the boat. How often do we look at the circumstances around us, and lose sight of the promise that He’s already on the other side, He’s already seen the end of our story? The story of Jesus calming the storm is a perfect example of our need to keep our focus on Him despite the storm we are going through. As soon as we take our focus of the one walking on the water and place it on the storm and put it on the circumstances we sink. The disciples focused on the storm and water and not on Jesus, during their trial. The story of Jesus calming the storm for the disciples is great, but how does He calm our storms? Sometimes God steps into our boats as He did in this story, and sometimes He allows us to go through the storm because it was created by our own actions – but never does He leave us in the storm. Jesus can bring supernatural peace in the midst of even the strongest storms but to do that we must surrender to God, admit our need for Him, and then dig in deep to hang on to God. We have to keep our eyes on Jesus so that we can withstand the storms and the story of Jesus calming the storm is the perfect reminder of this. God is for us and we are so loved, we are His children. We are forgiven by His death on the cross for our sins and He will carry us, He will give us rest, He will sustain us, He will wipe our tears, He will help us and He will forever love us and He will never leave us alone because He promised that He will always be with us till the end of the very end and beyond the known time and space. *Lal Varghese, Esq is the legal advisor to the Diocese and he was the associate editor of the Messenger and a prolific writer. He ais also the editor of the ecumenical Journal, FOCUS. He has recently published a book titled ‘Continuing the Faith Journey’ which contains various article that he published on biblical themes during the last 30 years.
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H.O.P.E – Hold on Pain Ends – Through Resurrection Ms Diya Mary Dijo St John’s Mar Thoma Church, UK Hope This world is full of hardship and right now is a time of pain and sadness. God’s beautiful creation has been bent by the sins and rebellion of humankind. H.O.P.E is an acronym for Hold on Pain Ends. Hope is a small word that has so much meaning and it pushes us to achieve our goal. The dictionary says that hope means to have a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen. As Christians, our lives should be filled with hope for the new life through resurrection.
God knows we need hope in our lives and the Bible is filled with examples of hope. Psalm 25:4-5 tells us “Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Saviour, and my hope is in you all day long”. It teaches us to listen to His word and to learn from Him and that we must hope in Him. In daily life, people can hope for so many things, such as good weather, a good job or they can hope that they aren’t late. However, in Christian life real hope is different. For us real hope is the confident expectation of what God has promised and its strength is in His faithfulness.
Resurrection What does resurrection mean for us? The resurrection of Christ is our hope. The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ is a basic statement of our Christian faith. 1 Peter 1:3 says “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,”. It tells us that every child born into this world will eventually die but when we are born again, we are born into a life that will not end with death. We will still go through physical death but our new life in Christ will continue. We will experience a spiritual rebirth into a living hope (John 11:25 -26). However, even though we will all die, not all of us will experience the second death; this is because Jesus Christ died for all those who believed in him and to those who trusted their lives to him.
Easter is about moving from the darkness of death to the light of hope. Jeremiah 29:11 says
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“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope”. Jesus provided his people a source of hope, strength and encouragement. And we hope that he will come again to wipe our tears away. Jesus experienced so much pain when he was crucified; he went through a pain much worse than the suffering the pandemic has brought on us. Resurrection was God’s divine plan for our redemption because of the resurrection we have been made accepted through faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus gave His life as an exchange for our sins. We must see the resurrection of Jesus Christ as God’s declaration that Jesus both human and divine, all at the same time had defeated the power of death. We too must defeat evil and overcome the power of death.
Lent recalls the events leading to the crucifixion of Christ. It reminds us of the suffering that Jesus faced in the wilderness. For 40 days he fasted and fought the temptations. He was face to face with a great evil however he did not give up. Like that, we must face our troubles during this pandemic; we must hope that it will all be over soon.
I would like to share with you the story of Job and how it gives us hope. Job had everything he could ever want. He was a good man and always stayed faithful to the lord. One day, Satan asked God whether he could tempt Job by taking away his things. Satan wanted to prove that Job was only worshipping God because he had wealth. But even after his livestock and kids were taken from him, he was still faithful to the Lord and did not sin. Even when he had a skin disease and his wife and friends told him to curse the Lord, he did not betray the Lord. He believed the Lord had the right to take away the things that He gave him. And in the end, Lord blessed Job with more wealth than he had in the beginning. Just like that we must believe God does everything for a reason.
Hope through Resurrection In Christ, hope is secured. Hope keeps us going in hard times and fuels us. Our biggest challenge is to never lose hope. Hope is why we have cures for illnesses. Covid-19 vaccines have been introduced to us, which give us hope for the end of this pandemic. It gives us a reason to celebrate new life. Isaiah 41:10 tells us that we should not be afraid; that our God will strengthen us and hold us up with his right hand.
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During Easter, many grown-ups and children enjoy eating Easter eggs. Easter eggs symbolise a hope for new life. Easter eggs are said to represent Jesus' emergence from the tomb and resurrection
Similarly, as faithful people of God, we all hope in God as he sent his only son for our salvation through His crucifixion and resurrection. Isaiah 40:31 says “but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint”. It tells us that if have patience, the Lord will make us stronger than before. We can live in hope for today because now our salvation has been accomplished through Jesus Christ. So, let us all hold on because if we hope for the best, the pain will end.
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Zonal Office Building On 3rd May 2021 a verbal agreement was reached between the Council and the seller to purchase the building which was to be built on the land at the rear of 149A Ashgrove Road, Ashford TW15 1NY
Foundation Stone Blessing
The foundation stone was blessed on 10th May 2021 by Rt Rev Dr Isaac Mar Philoxenos and assisted by Very Rev P T Thomas and Rev Binu J Varghese.
Contract Negotiation The registration of the land in the name of the seller was delayed due to the overload at HM Land Registry. Once the registration of the land was completed the contract negotiation was completed and signed on 2nd February 2022.
Building Works The works at the site commenced on 7th February 2022 and on 11th February the groundwork excavation for the foundation was completed on 11th February 2022.
Foundation Stone A service for the laying of the foundation stone was done 11th February 2022. The service was led by Very Rev P T Thomas and assisted by Rev Binu J Varghese.
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Foundation Concrete The foundation concrete was poured on 11th February 2022.
Damp Proof Course The damp proof course and layer of 5 Engineer bricks was completed on 10 th March 2022.
Ground Floor
The brick works for the ground floor has been completed on 28th
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Most recent pictures
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An Ever-Living Hope [Translation of a beautiful Malayalm song (Orumazhayum) of Revd Sajan P. Mathew by Dr. Zac Varghese– with Achen’s Permission] No rain has ever gone on falling, No wind has ever gone on blowing, No night has ever gone on without a dawning, No pain has ever has gone on without an ending. Mist, rain, and the midday sun are the gifts of God, You are my co-traveller on the stony, thorny path, If I were to fall down, you carry me on your shoulders, When sailing on a stormy sea, you are there to navigate me. For my perfection, you are my dwelling, No rain has ever gone on falling, No wind has ever gone on blowing, No night has ever gone on without a dawning,
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Lockdown…A dreadful word? Reena Abraham Leicester LOCKDOWN was never a word, till the recent past. But it became a taboo, like a spell that was cast. Media spread news, instilling fear, And people panicked, shopping at top gear.
LOCKDOWN, was never a word we spoke of, Bringing the deadly virus with a dreadful cough. Fear and anxiety spread to every corner The virus roamed like a raging hunter.
LOCKDOWN and pandemic became the new headliners They also became our greatest teachers. Teaching us either to be passive, instilling fear and disaster Or to be active and be a brave fighter.
LOCKDOWN, it taught us to be proactive, Renewing our relationship and learning to give. Teaching us new skills and self-discipline, Equipping us to go forward bravely with a grin.
LOCKDOWN, it taught us the importance of friends and family. Energising us by reading God’s Holy scripture daily. Did it make our home a place of prayer?
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Reminding us, that God is in control everywhere? ‘LOCKDOWN’- in the Bible, we read so many Caused as a result of oppressive tyranny. Joseph in prison, Daniel in the lion’s den John, Paul and Silas in Roman prison cell.
In the midst of LOCKDOWN and isolation They never lost their focus or vision. They walked the path of righteousness Fulfilling His word in faithfulness.
We have the bible, a source of hope, comfort and peace Constantly reminding us to fall on our knees. Keeping our eyes on our Caring, Good Shepherd Trusting, abiding and living by His Holy word.
So let the word’ LOCKDOWN’ not bring dread Let it be a stepping stone to tread Let’s walk by faith and hope and love, And remember, we are never forsaken by our Father above.
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