The Mar Thoma ECHO - December 2014

1 ECHO - December 2014

Table of Contents Message from the Diocesan Bishop............................ 3 Message from the Previous Diocesan Bishop ............. 5 Editorial ..................................................................... 6 The Mystery & Mastery of Communication ................ 8 Communion through Forgiveness & Reconciliation .. 12 Prisoner of Your Past? .............................................. 15 Missionary call ......................................................... 17 Becoming a Praying Parent ...................................... 19 Biblical Understanding of Communication................ 20 History ..................................................................... 22 Hermon Mar Thoma Church, West Midlands........ 22

The COMPE Executive Committee President: The Rt.Revd.Dr.Geevarghese Mar Theodosius Vice President: Revd. Dr. Thomas Philips Secretary : Mr. P.M. Mathew Treasurer: Mr. Jaffey Chacko

News & Reports ....................................................... 23 Family Conference-2014 ...................................... 23

Editorial Board of the Mar Thoma ECHO

First Communion: Hermon Mar Thoma Church, Midlands, UK........................................................ 25

Editorial Director : Dr.Zac Varghese

First Communion and Confirmation: A Historical Ecumenical event in London ................................. 26

Mr. Sherry Mathews

Cheif Editor : Revd. Jose Punamadam Mr.Oommen Abraham Mrs. Geena Ajay

Carol Services....................................................... 27 ECHO Garden ........................................................... 28

Cover Design by : Revd. Jose Punamadam

‘Demons’ ............................................................. 28 Mother Teresa – A role model to us all ................. 29 Photo Gallery ........................................................... 30

For private circulation only Disclaimer: Authors are reminded of their responsibilities in acknowledging the original source of any statements or quotations to avoid litigations regarding copy right concerns and plagiarism. The views published in this journal are those of its authors and not necessarily those of the editorial board or of the COMPE.

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Message from the Diocesan Bishop The Mar Thoma ECHO, a publication of the Council of Mar Thoma Parishes in Europe, published its first issue in August 2014.

It had the blessings of our Metropolitan when its digital version was released at a public function in St. John’s Mar Thoma Parish, Hounslow during Thirumeni’s visit. The printed version was released at the Mar Thoma Family Conference when a large gathering attended, and the copies were widely circulated. I am confident that all the Mar Thoma members and their friends have become aware of this publication.

The second issue is now prepared for publication with the theme, “Community, Communication, and the Church.” The editorial board will be expounding this topic which is very relevant in our times. I hope that all the members of the churches in UK and Europe will take time to go through the thought-provoking and enriching articles contained in the Mar Thoma ECHO. The aim of this publication is to build a link with the channels of love for building a communicating Mar Thoma Community in Europe.

We live in a time when we have an explosion in the field of communication. We have fast and multiple means of communication. The internet and other forms of social media have further precipitated new ways of thinking about reality, humanity, and community. A few decades ago, the main means of communication was the printed media. The Gospel was propagated through books and leaflets. The preachers travelled from place to place, or their speeches were recorded. Now, Gospel messages are available throughout the day. It has become very difficult to distinguish between the real and the fake. But now even little children have access to all kinds of information through the internet and other means of communication. They are widely ECHO - December 2014

abused more than being used. When we go to an airport lounge, or the waiting area of a public place, we can see that everybody is busy either texting, using their smartphone, or the iPad. Even when a person is out for sightseeing, he/she may be browsing the phone. We may be in a crowd but not face to face with the next person. Nobody has time to communicate with the person sitting next to them. We are eager to have the virtual “sight” and “touch” of a person at a distance than the person in front of us. The “virtual” is taking the place of the “real.” We have become “islands” than part of a human community.

The basic unit of any community is the family. So proper communication should happen within the family. The communication in families were held mostly during mealtime and at the time of family prayer. Now, we seldom have family time and family altar. For proper communication, we should know the language and state of mind of the other person. A new-born’s means of communication is crying. It is the means that God has created the child with to express its needs to the parents and community. Communication is to understand each other.

When proper communication fails, it leads to breakdowns in family relationships. If there is brokenness in families, it will affect the whole society. The breakdown of communication with our neighbours, the members of our prayer groups, and parishes has distanced us from all the people.

Time has come for us to rebuild our family relationships through proper communication.

This publication is coming out at a time when the whole inhabited world is celebrating Christmas.

It marks God’s means of communication by sending Jesus Christ to incarnate in human history. The Word became flesh. Jesus, identified Himself with the whole creation, enabling each to see and hear Him, feel His presence, listen to His words, participate in what He did, and follow Him. This was a real experience in real life. This incarnation of Jesus enabled the creation to turn to God. He exhorted again by communicating through His life, to love one’s neighbours. This is a turn to each other. He gave His life on the cross for the redemption of the whole creation, which St. Paul narrates as the “ministry of reconciliation.” Christology will certainly come to emphasize even more strongly than in the past that Jesus was a “man for others.”

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Soteriology will emphasize the corporate dimensions of the saving work of the Triune God in the events of the crucifixion and the resurrection. St. John calls this communication as an act of love. Jesus gave the new commandment to love as He loved. There is no better and effective communication than “love.”

Church is in the world for the ministry of communication. The Good News of the Kingdom of God, revealed in Christ Jesus, is to be communicated. The mission and ministry of the Church are means of communicating the Gospel.

St. Paul reminds that we are Christ’s ambassadors. How do we carry out this mission?

Paul's method of communicating the Gospel is expressed in the following verses: “To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law) so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak.

I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means, I might save some" (I Corinthians 9:20-22, NIV). We are the media through which the message of Christ is communicated to the world. We must do this by our daily Christian living.

I wish the publication all success and God’s blessings.

Mar Theodosius+

For the great and powerful of this world, there are only two places in which their courage fails them, of which they are afraid deep down in their souls, from which they shy away. These are the manger and the cross of Jesus Christ. No powerful person dares to approach the manger, and this even includes King Herod. For this is where thrones shake, the mighty fall, the prominent perish, because God is with the lowly. Here the rich come to nothing, because God is with the poor and hungry, but the rich and satisfied he sends away empty. Before Mary, the maid, before the manger of Christ, before God in lowliness, the powerful come to naught; they have no right, no hope; they are judged.

- From God Is In the Manger: Reflections on Advent and Christmas

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Message from the Previous Diocesan Bishop I am glad that the Mar Thoma Church community is starting an internet journal to circulate biblical messages and theological thoughts to the people at large. I wish all God’s blessing to this new venture. Let your efforts bring new hopes and aspirations in the lives of the people. I pray to God that this will bring good fruits to the Church.

The title ECHO is very apt to the electronic journal. The word denotes to the vibrations of sound. In the sound waves we have different modulations harmoniously knit together to produce voice. Voice symbolizes identity and nature of sound waves. Mar Thoma Church ECHO presents different voices of worship, prayers, witness and mission. ECHO is about the voice of a Church in diaspora.

Diaspora is a scattered population with a common origin within a geographical area. The word also refers to the movement of the people from its original homeland. Diaspora is also a term which denotes its significance biblically, theologically and socially. Mar Thoma Church can be often been named as a Diaspora Church.

Church migrated to the contexts of Europe and America used linguistic structures and cultures of diaspora to express their identity and to translate the faith practices into the situations of migration.

Church in the west is often seen as an institution organised under the norms and practices of modernity. Modernity structured the Church in Diaspora.

Globalisation, homogenisation, digitalisation and uncontrolled marginalisation have become the new phenomenon of modernity in which Church tries to situate herself.

Mar Thoma Church in the European context survived through worship, word and witness.

Church expresses herself in the selfunderstanding related with the God and world in a more missional aspect in the context of multiplicity. Mar Thoma communities in the diaspora read the Bible as a means to construct and deconstruct their identities Worship as the mystery of God experience and Bible as the text played a major role in establishing the ground of Church and nurturing the faith in the life of the people. Bible was the important tool that connected the life of the people in diaspora to the life of the people of God in the exilic times. People in the diaspora started to read the Bible from their own life-world and situated themselves in the meaning making process. It is through the interpretative praxis of the word that the Church community found the historical affirmation of faith more relevant.

Interpretation of the Word enabled the community of faith to counter the contemporary forms of exile and prepared the Church in the formation of theological prepositions about God. Witness was not so easy for the faithful ones in the European context. They witnessed Jesus Christ in the daily lives in the midst of all struggles for existence and building of their family life. Living in a culture which is totally different from their native formative culture created new situation of pressure. But they remained faithful to God and loyal to the Church. Birth of the Church in this context is the result of their witness, labour and sharing of the resources for the Kingdom of God at large.

Yours in Christ’s service,

Rt. Rev. Dr. Euyakim Mar Coorilos 22 -07 - 2014 Mar Thoma Bishop ‘s House Kottarakkara

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Editorial Community, Communication, and the Church “The diaspora is not a group of people bound together by manmade ideals. Diaspora becomes a human community when it becomes a community bound together in love, rejoicing in each other and going out in love to the whole creation.”–Mar Chrysostom

The second letter encoded in the acronym of the word ‘ECHO’ is ‘C’ for communication, which is the theme for this issue of the journal. A community is a sociological group of people sharing a common space. The word community comes from the Latin word ‘communitas’ which is comprised of three elements: ‘com’ meaning common; ‘munis’ meaning exchanges that links, and ‘tatus’ indicating intimate or local. Family is the basic unit of a community sharing all these aspects, which was the theme of this year’s Mar Thoma family conference in Europe.

Communication is the heartbeat of a community.

We could limit our notion of communication to its narrowest limit of getting a message from one to another. We are able to write this editorial because an idea in the brain is transmitted to the fingertips through many communication channels, junctions and receptors. Our very life itself is possible because of various signal transduction processes of cells involving many thousands of molecules. Therefore, life cannot exist without communication at ultra-micro, micro, and macro level. The Church is also a communicating community charged with the mission to witness. Communication systems are expanding explosively with cable, satellites,

computers, tablets, and smart phones. The technology already exists for a kind of total revolution in information gathering. There are so much out there, and it is difficult to be selective and analytical about it. As a result, we are in a superhighway of communication, where crashes are always a possibility. It is very important to be selective and analytical in dealing with information gathering and making use of it.

It is worth examining the interrelationships of communication, community, and the church.

These three ‘C’s are intimately connected. For it seems clear that, on the one hand, the relative ineffectiveness of the Church in making use of communication, which probably is one of the major reasons for the current disinterest in church-related activities. On the other hand, there is every reason to hope that the communication revolution, once understood, as itself as a blessing. This may elicit in us, as we read the signs of the times, an authentic spirituality, exciting, energetic, and bold.

The Sanskrit language has many words for communication such as ‘sadharnikarana, samlaapa and sambhashanam, but its root meaning is ‘to bind.’ If we consider various ways of binding such as connecting, joining, assimilating, and uniting, then we recognize how much of human existence dependent on communication. John Donne’s poem reminds us of this reality: “No man is an island.” How much of the human story is found there: shared needs, education, moral codes, justice system, farming, business, trust, traditions, and community. The word bears an even nobler meaning of offering a gift; a gift is only a real gift when it is shared. This sharing is fundamental to a Eucharistic life of taking, thanking, breaking, and giving. Church is all about a shared living within a faith community. Therefore, people who commune are a community, and fellowship is a big part of it.

Like other institutions in the contemporary world, the Church is deeply affected by the communication revolution. Each "model" of the Church brings with it a corresponding style of communicating: more authoritarian or more participative, more secretive or more open, and so on. The existing communications channels in the 6

ECHO - December 2014

Church are numerous and varied than we are usually aware of, ranging from official and pastoral letters from bishops (known as kalpanas), through other official declarations, reports, financial statements and newsletters from local parishes. There is also a communication network linking with various organisational structures of the Church as well.

However, the church is a living organism more than an organisation. Here we see St. Paul’s deeper understanding in describing the Church as the body of Christ and its interconnected relationship to the people of God. Krishnamurti, the great Indian philosopher, was a great communicator; his talks were always a joint exploration, of the speaker asking questions, searching, provoking, stimulating, and finding answers with the audience. This participatory communication was his unique technique. He said, ‘Communication can only exist when there is no division, when you can both share something together.’

Thus sharing, caring and communicating become part of our existence in this world in communion with our Lord and our God. Gossip is also a very powerful channel of communication, which is both constructive, and destructive. Gossiping the Gospel is the business of the Church.

Revd Dr. Valson Thampu’s ‘in depth’ article on ‘the Mystery and Mastery of Communication’ in this issue is well-worth studying. He wrote: “Such communication is not a matter of education or cultural attainments. It is not a question of this language or that, or of generation gaps or of interpersonal bridges. It is a matter of depth. It is depth that distinguishes the living God from idols.

Idols have just about everything, except depth.

Today we communicate as idols do to idols.

Words hit the surface and rebound. So, words resemble stones.”

Thanksgiving is not just personal, but for the whole faith community and the universal Church.

It should be a heart-felt cry as King David did in many of his Psalms that God must be honoured and praised for ever because of the gathering together of his faithful people, which is indeed the purpose of the Church. Finally, we realize that the Church is not just a superficial Sunday community of worshippers. The Church is a communicating community, charged with the mission of God (missio dei), to witness and to preach (kerygma), to communicate (koinonia), to be word and sacrament, to be medium and message of salvation (diakonia), bringing to all an updated edition of today's good news, featuring Jesus Christ as the centre of our existence, symbol of hope.

The Editorial Board

Beware those who seek to convince you that it is senseless to strive for good because it is impossible to reach perfection." - Ruskin

The Mar Thoma ECHO is a trying to build a link with the channel of love for building a communicating Mar Thoma community in Europe. An Important aspect of communication is thanksgiving to God for what He has done, and for who He is. Thanksgiving looks at our present condition and then backwards and forwards: what God has done for us in the past, what he is doing for us now, and what he will do in the future.

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The Mystery & Mastery of Communication Revd Dr.Valson Thampu* All of us communicate. To be human is to communicate. Other forms of life also, sort of, communicate. But in us, as human beings, communication has a special significance and a sublime scope.

The fact that all human beings communicate makes us a little blind to the mystery of communication. As a rule, we take whatever we have, or do, for granted. We become blind to them. Or, to use the word that the Psalmist used, we ‘forget’ them. We forget God’s blessings upon us (Ps. 103: 1-4). So, the Psalmist exhorts, “And forget not all his benefits”.

I have been in the business of communication for the last four decades, at the very least. As days go by, my sense of wonder about the mere possibility of communication only increases. Think of communicating with words! Of course, we use many things else, besides words, to communicate.

But we do talk of ‘verbal’ communication, don’t we? Words are mere symbols. And all of them are arbitrary symbols. There is no law that prescribes that the word ‘book,’ for example, should mean a rectangular object made of paper. We have come to agree that it should. So it does for those who consent to that correlation. For someone outside that association, the sound ‘word’ could mean, say, a piece of wood or a sliver of cheese. In another language, likewise, the same object –what we call ‘book’ could be known by another symbol.

Yet, the words I utter serve as the link between my mind and yours. In speaking, I produce some sound waves corresponding (by sheer convention) to these words, or symbols. They reach you and, in the mystery of things, you interpret these sound waves to mean what I mean!

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How is this possible?

Why do we say that communication is quintessentially human? Actually it is not. It is only deductively human. Communication is the attribute of God. We communicate because we are “created in the image and likeness of God”. In communicating, we partake of (or reflect) the nature of God! This alone should make us quite wary of what, and how, we communicate. We need to speak as we ought to. And what we ought to. Speaking, therefore, must include silence.

Silence, indeed, is the seed and secret of communication. How we communicate not only reveals but also shapes who we are in a very substantial way. Abuse of the power of communication corrupts our being. Hence the teaching, “If you call your brother a fool, you will stand before the judgment seat.” It is not for nothing that we say, ‘mind your tongue’! What this means, incidentally, is also that communication is a great deal more than the wagging of your tongue. So, let not your tongue run away with, or bear false witness to, who you are. Let your tongue be your servant, not vice versa. If your tongue tries to be your master, be unsparing, says Jesus. Cut it off! Likewise with your hand, your eye, your everything.

But let us return to the question, how is communication possible at all? This question is the same as, why is it so human to communicate?

Well, let us get going with this question.

If human beings were like straight lines, there would have been no communication. Two straight lines cannot ‘hold’ anything. To communicate, quite literarily, is to ‘hold’ things together. If you keep two poles side by side, or end-to-end, they cannot ‘hold’ a body. You need to not only place them side by side but also connect them with something; a piece of strong fabric, for example.

Now you no longer have just two poles, but a stretcher. But a stretcher is no longer two straight (or crooked) lines. It is a rectangle, so to speak.

You have created horizontal space (length + breadth), in addition to distance, which is only length. But a stretcher can ‘hold’ only a still body.

And communication is not a ‘still’ thing. It is a moving, wave-like, dynamic thing.

Communication is like a flowing river, not a stagnant puddle. Our words resonate. They 8

ascend and descend. They crisscross. They leap, they run, and they trot. Also, they can be, so to speak, more than what they appear to be. Words, in communication, have not only length and breadth. They also have ‘depth’. Now, depth is the hallmark of life. Death is the forfeiture of depth. A corpse has length and breadth. It has no depth.

Depth belongs to Life. It stems from God. To be created in the ‘image and likeness’ of God is to be imbued with depth, in particular the depth of Life. (Are you surprised that the words of the godly have ‘power’?) The “fullness of life” that Jesus offers needs to be understood in this light.

How can there be ‘fullness’ of life, if we choose to remain ‘shallow’? (If you want to take this thought further afield consider the Rich Young Man in St. Matthew 19: 16-24. Shallowness was the affliction of this man of material abundance.) Yet that is what most Christians choose. They think that the gleanings of ‘depth’ can be picked, somehow, from the paddy field of shallowness. It is a clever thing, isn’t it, to have the best of both worlds. But those who fall between two stools really do not look very smart.

Now think of St. John 12: 24. The grain of wheat must fall down and die. This death is quite different from the death that our body suffers. It is death to two-dimensional life. The outcome of this death is that the grain of wheat is shifted from the two-dimensional to the threedimensional life. On being sown, the grain of wheat is relocated in a new horizon of possibilities: that of depth. Spirituality is all about depth. The Spirit is the domain of the Depth of Life. That is why, in the Judaeo-Christian ECHO - December 2014

tradition, we cannot communicate, in the true sense of the word (or concept) without the Spirit.

We can make noise and create noise pollution.

But we cannot communicate.

Why do you think Jesus rebuked the evil spirit that pretended to bear witness to him (St. Mark 1: 21-28)? Jesus was admonishing communication as it should not be, or demonic communication.

(For there is such a thing!) He was denouncing communication as mere noise. Or, in the words of St. Paul, communication as “sounding brass and tinkling cymbal” (1 Cor. 13: 1, 2). So we can speak without communicating. Well, that is what we do most of the time! God alone knows what we mean when we say, “Good morning,” or what others understand when we utter those words. Or, what we mean when we pray and praise God, preach and propagate, utter expressions of gratitude, appreciation, assurance and so on…. A great deal of our ‘communication’ is no communication at all. It is sounding brass and tinkling cymbal. God is insulted by this. Hence the terse instruction from Jesus, “Let your ‘yes’ be ‘yes’ and your ‘no’, ‘no’”. “Do not,” he said, “use too many words when you pray”. Do not think, that is, that your “sounding brass and tinkling cymbal” makes a sweet-sounding spiritual orchestra!

Jesus is the Word. In him we experience the mystery and mastery of communication. “If only you’ll say a word,” a Roman Centurion, once said to Jesus, “my servant will be healed”. Well, the Centurion would have sensed something!

Whether he understood what he was saying well enough, I am in no position to avow. Very likely, he knew the import of his words deep below the level of sound. The dead body of Lazarus heard that voice. At that voice demons flee. The voice of the Word cleanses lepers, opens the eyes of the blind and the ears of the deaf. The Word communicates and, in so doing, gives us an experiential, or incarnate, idea of what it means to communicate.

One thing is sure. The power of communication stems from the depth. Well, I have heard musicians say pretty much the same thing. Bring up your voice, they’d say, from deep within. If you don’t, all your technical perfection will hit the ceiling in no time. Without the resources of the depth, there is only ‘this far’ that you can go.

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If so, the next question: what is the bridle path to that depth? Why do we remain, or how do we become, shallow? St. John has an answer that we better take seriously.

have happened to him,” “I’m so sorry, this has befallen you,” and so on.) Who, except one who has spiritual eyes, can ‘see’ this truth, as Jesus did (St. Mark 2: 5)? Who else, but the Word, could have said, “Take up your bed and walk”?

Now, the mark of a paralytic is ‘dependence’.

Sadly, that is what our materially empowered ‘secular’ life or worldview has reduced us to. We are at risk of becoming (if we have not reached there already) existential paralytics. We are so dependent! On entertainment, on sex, on alcohol, on drugs, on sleeping pills, on this accessory or that amenity of life… Let the newspaper not arrive, the cable/DTH network not function, the power fail or the taps run dry… even for a day…

The Word, John says, ‘became flesh’ (St. John 1: 14). The simplest understanding of this rather poetic and evocative expression is that the Word embraced the world of experience. Not any kind of experience; but experience that expresses its essence. The biblical (Hebraic) worldview, unlike the Hellenic, is dynamic. The Greeks perfected the art of abstract thinking as nobody else could. The Hebrew genius found an experiential, not exclusively contemplative, expression. The Jews contemplated -or sought, if you like- through experience. Experience, as life teaches us, is the unfolding access to the depth. It is the bridge being built under our feet. Even as we walk. Only if we walk. It is the landscape that reveals more of itself as we walk. The Psalmist, for instance, links experience with the light of the Word (cf. Psalm 119: 105). The Word is the lantern to one’s feet, the light to one’s path. A lantern is less than a lantern in the hands of one who has no intention to walk. The light of the Word is relevant only to those who wish to walk in the way of faith, or to experience it. Truth to tell, our very being is instinct with this thirst for experiential depth.

How can we meet the thirst for the depth of life, except through experiences? Can a paralytic, who lives horizontally (and has no experience of depth) assuage his existential thirst by living stretched out on that bed forever? Shouldn’t he ‘take up his bed and walk’? Saying “take up your bed and walk” is true communication in its context. (And not uttering sentimental nonsense like “Oh, what a pity”, “Poor man, this should not ECHO - December 2014

And now consider John the Baptist. Why did he live free from all these? Was there any connection between the fierce simplicity of his lifestyle and the fiery power of his words? Remember, he was the ‘voice crying in the wilderness’. We are at danger of becoming the ‘voice of the wilderness’.

And that makes all the difference. The voice of the wilderness cannot communicate. As I write this, I hear the heart-breaking cry of the ‘lady typist’ in T. S. Eliot’s poem, the “Waste Land”.

“Why don’t you speak to me,” she pleads with her husband, “Speak to me, speak”. Her man does not speak. He had nothing to say. As a denizen of the wasteland, he could have had nothing to say. Yet nothing is more desperately needed than communication.

Also, nothing is more despairingly impossible than communication.

Mistake not, for God’s sake, the sound and fury raging out there in the public space as communication! Communication makes the difference between the Waste Land and the Promised Land. The Waste Land is the Promised Land sans communication; for communication is what transforms union into communion. But then, what is union that falls short of communion? Jesus, in the context of the wedding of Cana of Galilee, turned water (union) into wine (communion). Stale marriages –don’t tell me you don’t know this- bristle with the violence of silence. Marriages as ‘one-flesh’ mysteries (Gen. 2: 24, Ephesians 5: 32) are awash in the wine of communication.

Such communication is not a matter of education or cultural attainments. It is not a question of this 10

language or that, or of generation gaps or of interpersonal bridges. It is a matter of depth. It is depth that distinguishes the living God from idols.

Idols have just about everything, except depth.

pointed out, denotes the presence of the divine.

Mystery is not man’s portfolio. Life is mysterious only because it is God’s invention. It is from life, and from life as profound experience enfolded in the will of God, that words derive the power of mystery. The mastery of communication can happen, hence, only by surrendering ourselves to the mystery of Life, even Life in all its fullness (St. John 10: 10b) __________________ * Revd Dr. Valson Thampu is the Principal of St. Stephen’s College, New Delhi. He is a visionary, prolific writer, and engaging speaker. He spoke several times at Maramon convention and the family conferences in Europe and America.

Today we communicate as idols do to idols.

Words hit the surface and rebound. So, words resemble stones. “Will anyone, if his son asks for bread,” queried Jesus, “give him stone?” Well, of course. That is what we do most of the time! What is bread, once it has lost its depth? How is it any better than a stone? Stones can yield only stones.

So we have a pelting of words –some mild, some wild- that we are unlettered enough to call communication.

The mystery of communication is encoded in the grammar of life. We cannot become better communicators by trying to enlarge our vocabulary, bolster our language base, brush up our idioms or turns of speech, replenish our information bank or refine our sentiments. We have to become human and not remain living corpses (or, ‘whited sepulchers’ of life). We must re-learn the lost art of loving to the point of dying.

We must return to life. We must –and now you must let me use the word that Jesus used, for there is none better- ‘repent’. We must go back home, as the prodigal son did, from the ‘far country’. Return from the way of death to the way of life (St. Matthew 7: 13, 14). Communication is the privilege of the living. It is into life that God calls us. Return to life and communication will take care of itself.

"Be a lantern for yourself and a refuge.

Draw close to the light within yourself and seek no other shelter."

Ancient Buddihst wisdom

There is, believe me, no other way.

In the end, mystery is not in communication.

Mystery inheres in life. Mystery, as Kierkegaard 11 ECHO - December 2014

Communion through Forgiveness & Reconciliation Swami Sachidananda Bharathi People all over the world today are desperately searching for peace and happiness. Some try to find peace and happiness through pursuits of wealth and pleasures. Some others try to find them through pursuits of security and power. Yet some others try to find peace and happiness through religions and their codes, creeds and cults. However, most of them get disillusioned in the end because none of these can provide lasting peace and happiness to us.

True and lasting peace and happiness are the fruits of an abiding communion of love with God, with oneself, and with one’s fellow human beings.

Such an abiding communion is impossible without forgiveness and reconciliation.

Forgiving, enduring and self-sacrificing love, as it was embodied and demonstrated to humanity by Lord Jesus Christ, is the basis of true and lasting peace and happiness. Such divine love embodied and demonstrated by Lord Jesus Christ can be identified as ‘Christian love’. This ‘Christian love’ that includes love for one’s ‘enemies’ is also the basis of the ‘kingdom of God’ initiated by Lord Jesus Christ.

Infact, forgiveness and reconciliation are like the two sides of ‘Christian love’. They are inseparable and integrally related.

Lack of forgiveness and reconciliation is the root cause of most of the conflicts within and among

individuals, families, communities, nations and religions in this world.

‘The kingdom of God is within you’ taught Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord also taught that the ‘kingdom of God’ is among us. The term ‘kingdom of God’ here implies a world of love, unity, peace and joy beyond time and space limitations. It comes from a living and loving relationship with God, our ever compassionate and forgiving Parent, through an abiding communion with the living Spirit of Christ. The living Spirit of Christ is the ‘Holy Spirit’ given to us by God in, with and through Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified and risen Christ. This Holy Spirit is our eternal companion and guide. The Holy Spirit is also the abiding source of true and lasting peace and happiness.

A Spirituality of Forgiveness & Reconciliation Religions, Scriptures and spiritual masters of the world are like different ‘Channels’ of a spirituality of communion and peace. One can tune on to any of these spiritual ‘Channels’ to experience the Divine Grace that is available to all who surrender themselves willingly and consciously to Divine Providence, following the example of Lord Jesus Christ. He surrendered himself totally and unconditionally to the will of God whom he called ‘Heavenly Father’. Spiritual masters teach us how to tune on to these spiritual Channels of Divine Grace. The living Spirit of Christ will guide and strengthen all who seek for his help in this process.

The ‘Buddha Channel’ will help us to receive the divine spirit of compassion towards all living beings. The ‘Prophet Channel’ will give us the divine spirit of submission to will of God in all things and at all times. The ‘Guru Nanak Channel’ will give us the divine spirit of discipleship. The ‘Sri Ramakrishna Channel’ will give us the divine spirit of interreligious harmony. The ‘Narayana Guru Channel’ will give us the divine spirit of human solidarity. The ‘Gandhi Channel’ will give us the divine spirit of non-violence, ……and so on.

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But it is the ‘Christ Channel’ that gives us the divine spirit of forgiveness and reconciliation. Our sins and trespasses are forgiven, our failures and weaknesses are overlooked, and we are reconciled

with God and fellow beings through the ChristSpirit. (Rom 5:1-11; 2 Cor 5:11-21; Eph 2: 14-17 ).

Without first receiving this Christ-Spirit of forgiveness and reconciliation, we will not be able to receive and experience truly the other divine spirits of compassion, submission, discipleship, interreligious harmony, human solidarity, nonviolence etc… Hence, we can say that the ChristSpirit is the ‘first born’ and is the source of all divine spirits emanating from the ‘God-Station’. It is also the source and seed of divine life.

Peace within the individual is the basis of peace in the world. The UNESCO Constitution emphasizes that ‘as wars begin in the minds of men, it is the minds of men that defenses for peace must be constructed’. Only when there is peace within the individual can there be peace in the family and in the society.

Without forgiveness and reconciliation there can be no inner peace.

‘Repentance’ is a precondition for forgiveness and reconciliation.

Peace in our life, and also the world, is impossible unless the ‘inner wounds’ are healed and we are reconciled with ourselves and others. Forgiveness is the basis of reconciliation and healing, without which there can be no true and lasting peace.

Sometimes we find it difficult to forgive others.

The inner wounds they have inflicted in our lives can be very deep. The damage they have done to us and to our reputation can be very serious. In such cases we need the grace of God even to forgive these our ‘enemies’ who have hurt and wounded us to such an extent that even thinking about them can make us very angry and troubled.

These are the occasions when we need to seek God’s forgiveness first so that we can forgive our ‘enemies’. It is here one can experience the greatest gift of God to humanity – Lord Jesus

Christ. In, with and through him we can find healing and reconciliation irrespective of our religious, cultural, linguistic, gender and ethnic affiliations and backgrounds.

‘Repentance’ is a precondition for forgiveness.

Without repentance, there can be no forgiveness.

Unless we really feel sorry for our mistakes and trespasses and seek pardon from those whom we have offended, there will be no true forgiveness. It is here that we will find our ego, selfishness and pride can present the biggest obstacles and stumbling blocks in our quest for peace. We often justify our actions and words, we tend to be selfrighteous. This will not help. We need to ‘let go’ of our ego, selfishness and pride if we are to rise higher in our quest for peace and happiness.

A spirituality that forms the foundation of communion and peace is essentially a spirituality of repentance, forgiveness and reconciliation.

Without repentance there can be no forgiveness, and without forgiveness there will be no reconciliation. Healing and reconciliation are prerequisites for communion and peace. Most of us are wounded beings, and hence we tend to create a wounded world around us. Through repentance, forgiveness and reconciliation we will be healed and made whole and healthy. Men and women who have suffered much and experienced the agony and pain of woundedness can be very effective instruments of God for healing and reconciliation in the world after they themselves have gone through a deep healing experience.

Inner Peace Meditation A simple and easy to follow meditation technique for forgiveness, reconciliation and inner peace termed is developed and promoted by us through the ‘School of Forgiveness and Reconciliation’ (SoFaR). SoFaR was started in November 2006 in our Dharma Bharathi Ashram at Mulanthuruthy near Ernakulam with the ‘seed capital’ provided by, a London-based member of the Mar Thoma Church. He also serves as a ‘patron’ of SoFaR which is now being shifted from Dharma Bharathi Ashram to our newly started ‘Navasrushti Ashram’ at Shantivanam near Nagpur.

The Inner Peace Meditation makes use of the Christ-Spirit of forgiveness and reconciliation.

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Hence, it is also termed ‘Peace of Christ Meditation’. There is no religious conversion required to practice it. Anyone anywhere can practice it and experience the forgiveness, reconciliation and inner peace that Lord Jesus Christ offers to humanity. This meditation will also enable us to experience ‘the peace that is beyond human understanding’ that Lord Jesus Christ offers to those who are united to him (Jn 16.33). It is the peace that liberates us from all fears, tensions and worries (Jn 14:27).

We have been teaching the ‘Peace of Christ Meditation’ to people from all religious backgrounds. It is found to be very effective.

There are many people from different religious backgrounds who can bear witness to the efficacy of this meditation from their own experiences.

Some of my friends in the Mar Thoma Church have taken up this meditation and have developed it further to make it a more effective means of communion and peace.

An ecumenical communion of love under the name ‘Disciples of Christ for Peace’ (DCP) is also founded and registered to promote the Peace of Christ Meditation and a spirituality of forgiveness & reconciliation based on the living Spirit of Christ. SoFaR provides the necessary training to those men and women who desire to join this ecumenical communion of love.

living Spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit of God, enables us to be integral parts of this ‘Tree of Life’.

When we are part of this ‘Tree of Life’, our names get written in the ‘Book of Life’, the book of eternal life with God. ================================== Swami Sachidananda Bharathi is a former atheist and Indian Air Force Squadron Leader who turned disciple of Lord Jesus Christ after an encounter with death in an air accident in 1982.

He was born and brought up in a conservative Syrian Catholic family background in central Kerala.

In 2003 he initiated the ‘Bharathi’ Chaturashrama Sanyasa Parampara and took the name Swami Sachidananda Bharathi. He is also the Founder and Acharya-guru of ‘Disciples of Christ for Peace’ (DCP), School of Forgiveness and Reconciliation’ (SoFaR), ‘Dharma Bharathi Mission’ (DBM), ‘Dharma Rajya Vedi’ (DRV) and a number of other organizations and institutions. Swamiji now lives in ‘Navasrushti Ashram’, Shantivanam, near Nagpur.

Conclusion Christian love is ever forgiving, enduring and selfsacrificing. Where there is such divine love, there will always be forgiveness and reconciliation.

Abiding communion, peace and happiness are fruits of forgiveness and reconciliation. When there is true Christian love within and among individuals and families, there will emerge peaceful communities and nations in the world.

Thus, ‘begin with oneself and begin within oneself’ is the best and most effective method to find lasting peace and happiness in the world.

When there is Christian love within us and among us, there will be the ‘kingdom of God’ on earth.

In the ‘Tree of Life’, Christian love is like its root.

Forgiveness is like its trunk. Reconciliation is like its branches. Communion is like its leaves. Peace and happiness are like its flowers and fruits. The 14 ECHO - December 2014

Prisoner of Your Past?

Revd. Merin Mathew Acts 9: 20-27 For several days he was with the disciples in Damascus, 20 and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” All who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem among those who invoked this name?

And has he not come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?” Saul became increasingly more powerful and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Messiah. After some time had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him, but their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night so that they might kill him; but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket.

When he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples; and they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him, brought him to the apostles, and described for them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken boldly in the name of Jesus.

Message: In one of my practical assignments from seminary, I met a man in one of the churches which I will leave unnamed. This man was a fullfledged businessman with deals in real estate and construction. He also had a drinking problem. All this accumulated in a big way and with a huge thud this man’s life came crashing down one fine day. He was arrested by the police for a fraud case in land deals. Once out on bail he had to get grip with his drinking problem. But little by little he started to pick up his life. His huge void in his life was filled by knowing Christ intimately through reading the bible and composing songs. He started prison ministries. He became very active in church which he called his ‘second innings’. He said “I always believe that church is not a museum of righteous people but a hospital for

broken and shattered people like me. But all I saw in the church was that people talking about my past and references like ‘Jail Mathai or Kallukudiyan Mathai’ were a community joke. So the place that should have supported me and been a solace for me, held me captive of my past. It is disgusting.” Let me quote Philip Yancey here to give us perspective. In his classic book “What’s So Amazing About Grace” Yancey says men like these ran towards Jesus, not away from him. The worse a person felt about herself/himself, the more likely they saw Jesus as their refuge. Has the church lost the gift? Evidently the down and out, who flocked to Jesus when he lived on earth, no longer feel welcome among his followers. What

has happened?”

That is the question we need to ask. What has happened? In the portion that we just read shows the situation of the Post- Conversion scenario of Saul. Once he started to proclaim Jesus boldly as the ‘Son of God’ the expected reply came from near quarters like this “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem among those who invoked this name? And has he not come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?” (Acts 9: 21) As we know that this very Saul was witness to the martyrdom of Stephen. His zealous attitude had made him a name that sent shivers down the spine. So people definitely had their doubts and held him captive to his past. They were not convinced that a man with such notorious background could change that easily. At Nazareth where Jesus made bold declarations he too got a similar treatment. Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and 15

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Judas? And are not all his sisters with us?

Where then did this man get all this?” And they took offense at him. (Matthew 13: 5557a) Psychologists say that knowing a vulnerable past of a person makes him or her very manageable.

This past becomes the yardstick to show the person their place. The label of the past will choke them no matter how hard they will try to be liberated from it. When we read verse 26 we find that this man came down from Damascus, the point of his transformation, to Jerusalem, to join the disciples. The disciples too doubted him and were afraid of him. They kept from him, a safe one hand distance. They were like Nathaniel who asked “Can anything good come out of Nazareth? (John 1: 46) In my interactions in one of the Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, one of the participants shared this insight “I have had a sober life for last 8 years. But I am still vulnerable for a relapse into addiction. The greatest trouble or frustration that I have is how people look at us. They keep condemning us.

Sometimes I feel it is better to be an alcoholic. At least you are suffering for what you do. By abstaining and trying very hard to lead a normal life, people still hold us captive for not what we are, but what we used to be."

Let me end this meditation with a real life story of Henry Covington. I read about him in the marvelous book called ‘Have a Little Faith’ by Mitch Albom. Henry had a very terrible childhood with violent neighbourhood, guns, street fights and broken family to deal with. He slept every day fearing rats. Slowly but surely his steps led him to murky life realities. He started to be a drug dealer.

Made quick money. He felt guilty, quit it, married his girlfriend. But when he saw his brother earn big bucks he entered again into the world of crime. He went to jail, had bouts of severe addiction related problems. But time and again he encountered Christ that was his rock and comfort.

Finally he gave his life to Jesus and turned into a pastor. With his terrible background, there was not much hope. But he started to target those who had a terrible past like him. He wanted a church for those where these so called scum bags would feel at home. He therefore started a ministry called “I am my Brother’s keeper”. He

distributed food for the homeless and gave them clothes to wear and when all other pastors shamed the people on streets for their drug addiction, Henry Covington like the ‘Wounded Healer’ would share his struggles to people like Cass and Joe who had similar problems. He opened up his church for the homeless. His congregation was people from the streets. And this is how he preached to them. “Brothers we are all captives of our past. They just look at our past.

Even we too get stuck there. Therefore we miss seeing the miracle God has done. What he can do.

There are people who know my past. There are people who tell me ‘We know you, you can only cheat people’. I say to them ‘You knew me. You know that person back then. But you are not seeing the person God is making me, who I am trying to become.’ My dear brothers, God is bigger than your past. You are not your past. God is making a way in the desert, and streams by the wayside.”

In Saul’s case there was Barnabas who dared to look beyond the past of Saul and was ready to embrace the new creation that God was unfolding.

Let us take a moment to thank people who stood by us in our period of crisis. When people wrote us off, there were Barnabases in our lives who were able to see the people we were struggling to become. I have many such Barnabases to thank.

They had every right to judge me and hold me captive to my past, but out of grace and divine love they were ready to give me a chance to become a person that God intended. I am a product of such small graces in life. I am sure it is in midst of deep pain of loneliness that Paul realized the love of Jesus and he declared “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” 2 Corinthians 5: 17. My dear friends the new creation is just waiting to happen. Embrace it.

*Vicar at Bethel Mar Thoma Church, Kolar Road, Bhopal

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Missionary call in the Mar Thoma Church’s ‘Holy Qurbana Liturgy’- Part 1 Revd Dr. Joseph Daniel, Kumbanadu The role of the Holy Qurbana Liturgy is fundamental in the understanding of the Mar Thoma Church’s mission and witnessing. The central understanding in the Holy Qurbana liturgy of the Mar Thoma Church is that, a communication of the mystery of Trinity and the church’s commitment to the redemption of Christ to the creation is materialising in the celebration and participation of the Holy Qurbana Liturgy 1 in the church. Mission is in fact the church’s response to the work of God. The celebration of the Holy Qurbana service invites the faithful to respond positively to the work of God through their witness and service.

When the Mar Thoma Church adopted the evangelical mission emphasis of the Church Missionary Society (CMS) in its mission praxis level, together with its liturgical emphasis during the 19th century, and of late, there has been a growing concern among a small section of people to the extent of mission emphasis being placed through the church’s Holy Qurbana Liturgy. Therefore it is important to see the inherent missionary paradigm within the church’s Holy Qurbana Liturgy to make the liturgical and missiological paradigm of the church more relevant in its mission and witness. In order to convey the church’s theology of mission, it is essential to delve into the liturgical paradigm of the church, which provides the experiential knowledge about the mystery of the Christian faith, through signs

1

Hereafter referred as “liturgy.”

and symbols to the faithful as well as invites them for Christian witnessing in the world.

Holy Qurbana Liturgy’ and the Trinitarian Theology of Mission The Mar Thoma Church’s mission paradigm is grounded in its liturgy 2 and the missionary paradigm of the Church Missionary Society (CMS). The liturgy of the church upholds the Trinitarian theology of mission and the missionary paradigm of the Church Missionary Society (CMS) focuses the evangelical mission paradigm of the western Christianity. The Mar Thoma Church’s integration of the missionary paradigm was twofold: integration of the oriental liturgical and evangelical faith of the CMS as well as the integration of the church and mission; this was to create a church with a missionary zeal. 3 The Mar Thoma Church’s vision has been a mix of the “evangelical faith and experiences within the framework of corporate life and liturgical devotion of an Eastern Church”. 4 Therefore, the Mar Thoma Evangelistic Association (MTEA), the missionary wing of the Mar Thoma Church had to assert its independence to western missionary societies and churches in thought and action.5 The MT Church’s oriental liturgical basis led the church to devote time for integrating first the church’s sacramental life and missionary consciousness in its teachings and in its missionary praxis level. Since the scope of this study is limited to the liturgical emphasis of the missionary paradigm of the church, this study will be focussing only on the missionary dimension in the liturgy of the church.

2

The Mar Thoma Church uses the anaphora of St. James liturgy of the west Syrian liturgical tradition.

3 Joseph Daniel, Historic Praxis of Ecumenism in the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church, Unpublished Ph. D Dissertation, University of Bern, 2014, 66.

4 Malabar Mar Thoma Syrian Evangelistic Association was a registered organization under the Indian Companies Act VI, under the Travancore Regulation I, of .1882, in 1904. C.P. Mathew, M.M. Thomas, Indian Christians of Saint Thomas, op.cit., 98.

5 The main outcome of the evangelical awakening of the eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries was the rise of modern missionary movements in Europe. Most of such missionary organizations including the CMS were voluntary societies independent of the church. These institutions considered themselves as separate institutions concerned with Christian missions in overseas.

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The liturgy of the Mar Thoma Church (revised St. James liturgy) emphasizes the fact that God in His own self, a life of communion with the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. It also affirms that God’s incarnation in Jesus Christ, sending forth of the Holy Spirit into the world, and the foundation of the Church - forms the faith of the Church. The mission of God, in this Trinitarian revelation, aimed to draw the whole creation into communion with the very life of God. The Holy Qurbana Liturgy emphasizes the apostolic facet of the church vividly in its prayers. The liturgy invites the faithful to engage in the fullness of Christ’s life and drawing the faithful into Trinitarian mystery of salvation. Thus the missionary dimension could be seen from the framework of the Trinity and from the frame work of the salvation of the creation in the liturgy. The salvation of the creation is decreed by God and revealed in Jesus Christ, who is the centre of God’s mission to the creation. The mission of God in the creation actualizes by the work of the Holy Spirit.

pure and spotless, who offered Himself to the Father for the redemption of the whole world, make us fit to offer to You as a living sacrifice, pleasing to You and following Your sacrifice for us.”6 This prayer affirms the missionary nature of the church. It begins with the sending of Jesus Christ, and continues by the work of the Holy Spirit, through the work of apostles, prophets, martyrs, the confessors, saints and through all the children of the church, who have been signed with the seal of baptism. 7 This reiterates the missionary character of the church and the responsibility of the every baptised is reaffirmed.

The Trinitarian relationship presents the

The Trinitarian dimension of the liturgy, is thus practical and showing how the faithful community of the church is to be in relation with God and to their fellow beings. This twofold dimensions of human relation to God and the relation among the faithful are emphasised in the liturgy. Thus the vertical relation of the faithful to God and the horizontal relation of the faithful to fellow beings are reaffirmed in the liturgy.

norm for all relationships within the life of the faithful in the church. The relationship pattern of Father, Son and Holy Spirit in the Holy Trinity is in a ‘perechoresis’ (mutual indwelling) manner.

The Trinitarian basis, of the liturgy affirms that, the church’s mission is an extension of God’s mission, which is revealed in Christ’s mission by the power of the Holy Spirit. In the Holy Qurbana, the transmission of the life of communion that exists in the Trinity, experiences within the church. This enables the church to continue God’s mission in the world. For instance; in the last prayer of the preparatory prayer of the liturgy, we are given to understand the missionary task of the worshipping community. The prayer says:- “O Lamb of God,

The encounter of the faithful with Christ at the Holy Qurbana summons every partaker of the communion to testimony and witness Trinitarian mission revealed through Christ in the market place. It is a challenge for the church to become a living and life giving sign of the saving act of Jesus Christ, supporting love of the father and the sanctifying company of the Holy Spirit in the church for the creation.

6

The Mar Thoma Church Order of Worship for Holy Qurbana and Other Sacraments and Rites, 46.

7 Ibid., 59.

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Becoming a Praying Parent Mrs. Bibi Oommen, Marthoma Congregation Germany

Parenting can be the most fulfilling, yet most exhausting of all jobs. We try to do the best we can raising our children. We try to provide them with the best of every material thing they require- food, clothing, shelter, education… With equal priority, we must try to provide them with the best opportunities for healthy emotional and spiritual growth. At every stage, our children need and with greatly benefit from our prayers. Prayers for our children are often focused on worldly realms- for good health, good grades, good talents, good job, good spouse etc. as per this world’s standards. With equal priority, we must pray for them to grow as good disciples of our Lord and beloved sons and daughters of our Father- which is indeed the purpose of our existence and theirs.

May the Holy Spirit guide us into being the parent and intercessor He wants us to be.

Prayer Dear God, Thank you for the gift of our children to raise.

Thank you for the joy they bring into our lives, making it more meaningful and worth living.

Teach us to pray for our children and to help them to become all You want them to become.

Use them as instruments of worship.

Enable them to grow to know you, living each moment of the day truly aware of your love.

Let them live in submission to Your Holy will.

May Your Holy Spirit enlighten their hearts and minds to understand and live Your Word in their daily lives.

Open their eyes to see Your goodness, Your presence in all things, Open their ears to hear your voice of wisdom, May their lips proclaim Your Word, May their hands reach out to those in need, And may their feet follow you in simplicity, humility and fidelity.

Amen.

One of the main things our children will take with them when they leave our realm of influence, is their faith. If we can be sure that they have strong faith in God and His Word, and the love of God in their hearts, then we can be assured that in our absence their faith will be strong enough to prevent them from straying into wrong paths, but instead strengthening them to face everyday challenges in goodness and truth.

One of the greatest influences in our children’s lives will be their friends. We must be prompted to keep them in our prayers too.

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Biblical Understanding of Communication Rev. Jose Punamadam We now live in a global village. Ours is an era of communication and computers. In this era of Information Technology revolution, communication plays a very important role in all spheres of human activity. Communication is essential for the development of the individual and for the formation of faith and ideologies.

Communication is a reality of the world of living beings; it is a sign of life. The need for communication is a basic one for development.

According to one communication scholar, Dr. Keval J Kumar: in the beginning was ‘Aum’ or the ‘word’ the first sound ever made or heard. In the Indian tradition the word is sabdha Brahman, and the divine word is communication.

Communication is very closely related to the life and mission of the Church. As a social being, human beings cannot exist without communicating with one another.

Communication is the real stuff of life. According to C.R.W. David, all forms of life on earth have their own systems of communication by which they preserve, promote, propagate and perpetuate their species and culture. The stupendous achievements of man in science and technology would have been impossible without the most essential tool, communication. It is a social necessity. It is a natural and social demand and requirement for existence.

Communication originates from the Latin word ‘communis’ which means common. It simply means sharing, imparting, fellowship, giving and taking. In other words, it is a process of interaction. Communication is the process that links discontinuous parts of living world to one another. The word communication indicates interaction by means of signs and symbols. Every sign and symbol invites thoughts. So sign and symbol is a medium for effective communication.

The symbols can be gestural, pictorial, verbal or any other form which operates in our mind to share something. In this respect communication is sharing, which takes place through signs and symbols. Communication is the art of transmitting ideas and attitude from one person to another. Communication thus means to have something in common to share. Communication is the dissemination of information from one place to other. The physical expression of communication is speech and the written word. The particular word communication is absent in the Bible. But on the other hand, whole Bible is an account of God’s communication with His created world. Bible is a clear document and communication of God’s love, judgment and mercy to His people. Therefore, communication is an integral part of the Bible. The sacred scripture is the divine communication expressed in human language. Biblical concepts, such as logos -the word, prophecy, incarnation, revelation, church, the gospel and koinonia are expressions of communication. In our day to day life situation, communication means making common or sharing something by two or more persons or group of persons. Communication literally means ‘to make common’. It is sharing of information and ideas in common.

In the Old Testament, we can see the characteristics of God’s communication. The sign or the indication or the phrase ‘word of Yahweh’ is the most significant and predominant expression for divine communication. In the Old Testament, God reveals himself through words, deeds and through His own special and unique ways. The prophets and the law signify the everlasting presence of God’s divine communication. The Exodus event and the covenant symbolise God’s revelation in the history of mankind. The content 20 ECHO - December 2014

of God’s communication lies in the revelation of God himself. From the biblical understanding God’s divine communication proceeds from the divine initiative. The book of Genesis or the book of beginnings opens by telling that God made the earth and everything in it; in the beginning God created the Heavens and the earth. The earth was without order and form. In the midst of darkness, God uttered the first word; which is considered as the divine communication. Let there be light; and there was light. (Gen 1:3) This is the first communication of our creator God, which dispels darkness. In the Old Testament we find that Yahweh, the Lord God reveals himself in and through the actions and mission of the prophets.

that God Himself commits the dialogue to write on two tablets of stone. (Ex3: 6) Accordingly, the word of God is God’s words and not man’s (2 Peter 1: 19-21). At the same time, it is a man’s response to God’s initiation. God is the author of the Bible, which means that the sacred scripture contains the realities revealed by Him. All books of the Bible are written through human agency and in this medium of communication, both God and human beings are in partnership. It is a medium in which God communicates with the humanity. Bible is a written word of God, or it is a word of God in writing. We often read: ‘Thus says the Lord’, which is an expression of God’s selfcommunication in the history.

God transmitted His message through the prophets. The transmission of message is called communication. The words of the prophets were preserved first orally and then in a written mode.

This oral and written communication was the source of change, and it was the inspiration for liberation. In the Old Testament; Yahweh has revealed Himself through signs and symbols. The hand of God was manifested in the scripture.

God’s voice was heard in this scripture and He made known his ways to the prophets especially to Moses and to the people of Israel. In this respect, the Bible, the written word of God, is a medium for God’s communication. Bible or the scripture is the manifestation of God’s selfcommunication. It has the power to speak to all of us in a way we can understand.

The Bible is commonly referred as the word of God. It is always wrapped with the statements: ‘this is the word of God and thus says the Lord.’

The expression ‘thus says the Lord’ is God’s communication through the life and testimony of the Prophets. Bible is a clear document of God’s intervention in different stages of human development. God’s intervention is an inter and intra-personal communication.

In the Bible, revelation is a historical ascertainable fact. In the history of the Bible, God is infinitely superior to the thoughts and speech and vision of human beings. The Old Testament understanding of God’s revelation is through dreams, omens, divination and other sign and symbols like cloud, thunder, rain and fire(Lev19: 26, Deut18: 10,1Sam 15: 23). These signs and symbols are considered as channels of God’s revelation. Through these channels or media God revealed Himself to His people. Communication through these signs and symbols are considered as divine revelation.

The Bible is a written document of God’s communication. The Bible itself testifies that it is the word of God. In the book of Exodus, we find ECHO - December 2014

By speaking through the pages of the Bible, God reveals His nature and His character. God speaks directly to some privileged and elected individuals and through them to His people and to all nations. In the Bible, God speaks to the prophets, who have the mission to communicate His word throughout the history. God speaks through visions and dreams (Num 12:6). From the first page of the Bible, we can understand that God is a God of communication or God is a communicating God. His means and ways of communication with nature and other human beings are many and different. He speaks and acts in the history in different ways. When we look into the New Testament, Jesus Christ is the medium and message of God’s communication.

The gospel says that in the beginning was the word and the word were with God, and the word was God. He was in the beginning with God. In Him was life; and the life was the light of men (1 Jn 1:4). The essence of incarnation is to convey God’s love towards humanity. It is a sign language of God’s Love. Incarnation is the manifestation of God’s love in action. Having manifested Himself in creation and in History, God has finally 21

communicated, His love and concern through his only son, the eternal and ever living word. In the incarnation, Jesus Christ is the son of God, who reveals the father. Incarnation is a divine communication event which took place in a defined and familiar human environment, history, and culture.

History

CONCLUSION

In 1996, St John’s Mar Thoma Church, Hounslow reached out to their members in the Midlands area to organise an outreach service catering to all those Mar Thomaites outside London extending to the north of UK. The outreach service was conducted in various areas like Bolton, Leeds, Hull, Manchester and Birmingham.

From this study, we can understand that God’s communication is an ever-continuing and ever evolving process in the Bible, and it is a fundamental need for all human beings. The prophets and their words indicate the everlasting presence of God’s divine communication. The Prophets themselves, declared as the messengers of God and they are understood as the medium for communication.

From the Biblical understanding, God’s divine communication proceeds from the Divine initiation. At the same time, the communication of the Bible is founded on historical revelation of God.. God reveals directly to the prophets, priests and to the people of God. After the study of biblical communication, we realise that, the Bible is a written document of God’s communication and it is also a historical document of man’s response to God’s initiatives from the beginning of time and beyond.

Incarnation is the manifestation of God’s love in action. It is in the incarnation event we have the God-given grace of realising ‘the word was God’ (Jn.1: 1).

Hermon Mar Thoma Church, West Midlands Mrs. Elizabeth Thomas

In 1999, the Midlands region celebrated their first Christmas carol service with both St John and St James Churches along with different area prayer groups. Due to its success, this became an annual event. The Midlands region Christians joined in to form a choir which tried to compete with the established London choirs.

It was during this time in 2002, that an influx of Diasporas came into UK. With the growing number of highly skilled Migrant workers pouring in from India as teachers, nurses and others, there was a need to support and nurture the traditions and cultures that they are accustomed to. As a result, the Indian Church groups encouraged the formation of relevant prayer groups, congregation and parishes where the members are able to continue to get the necessary spiritual strength and support to live in this country without falling prey to the perceived issues prevailing in this foreign land. The Midland Prayer group was formed in 2004 and then became a congregation in 2006 under St Johns Church, Hounslow.

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Many Mar Thoma Bishops, visiting clergies, Church of England Bishops (Bishop of Birmingham & Bishop of Aston), local politicians, and Indian Consulate members attended the services showing their support and recognising the Mar Thoma community in the Midlands.

The Mar Thoma Church approved the formation of the Hermon Mar Thoma Church in the West Midlands that comprises of approximately 60 families in and around the Midland in April 2007.

The boundaries are Nottingham, Derby, Burton on Trent, Coventry, Leicester, Warwickshire, Redditch, Dudley, Walsall, Wolverhampton, Stafford, Telford and Birmingham. There was worship twice a month at the St James Hill Church (the second and fourth Saturdays), with Sunday school, & choir practise followed by a fellowship at the Church hall.

From the start, Hermon Mar Thoma Church shared pastoral care with Tabor Mar Thoma Church, Manchester & Carmel Mar Thoma Liverpool Churches. Later, since 2009, St Peter’s Mar Thoma Church, London and Hermon Mar Thoma Church, Midlands share the pastoral services.

The Hermon Mar Thoma church got its charity registration in 2010.

As time went by, families moved around; some left the country to try pastures new. Now in 2014, there are 50 registered members spread across five area prayer groups. The various organisations of the church now are up and running playing an active part in the growth of the Parish. At present worship service is at Christ Church, Ward End, Birmingham.

There are approximately 30 Sunday school children with a team of dedicated and trained teachers. The youth wing is very active organising activities and taking part in the main worship.

Sevikasangam plays an important role in creating a platform for fellowship. Choir has now been established leading the services and prayers.

Thus we are growing with aspirations that one day we will be able to have an individual Vicar and a Church building to call our own.

News & Reports Family Conference-2014 A Synopsis of the Mar Thoma Family Confernce-2014 Dr. D. Ninan* The 32nd Mar Thoma family conference of the UK and Europe was held during 29th to 31st August at Yarnfield Park Training and Conference Centre. It was, by the grace of God, a great success. God’s guidance was felt by all during the yearlong preparation for the conference. A group of members of Tabore Mar Thoma Church, Manchester, with different personalities and points of views came together in prayer and set the agenda for the smooth running of the conference, which was indeed a great challenge for a fairly young and growing parish.

The venue has been a surprise revelation to all–a huge complex comprising of a large conference hall, numerous meeting rooms, and thoroughly modern living accommodation.

All the participants were impressed and appreciated various facilities available to them. The logistic committee did a fantastic job under the leadership of Mr. Abraham George, the vice president of the Tabore MTC. The inaugural programme was meticulously anchored by Miss Abraham Christy and Miss Rajie Rajan.

Revd Alexander Tharakan presented the theme of the conference– ‘Christian family life in a migrated context.’ His Grace Rt. Revd Dr. Geevarghese Mar Theodosius delivered an eloquent, solemn inaugural address. His Grace then expanded the conference theme in some considerable detail, drawing on the width of knowledge and experience of churching the Mar Thoma Diaspora.

The chief guests, His Grace Dr. Yuhanon Mar Meletius, Syrian Orthodox Metropolitan of the Diocese of Trichur, Kerala and His Excellency Mr. Ranjan Mathai, High Commissioner of India, in the UK enlightened the audience with their emphasis on upholding our traditional Christian family values and at the same time staying loyal to 23

ECHO - December 2014

the nationhood and ethos of our adopted country.

Theodosius Thirumeni then released the souvenir of the conference, handing out copies to the chief guests.

non-verbal communication; show patience; express love; share and care; give compliments; show tolerance; supportiveness and know each other’s needs.

After the evening worship, Revd Jaisen Thomas, from the United States did the theme exposition.

His humour, eloquence and Power point presentation delighted the audience. Tabore MTC choir presented few melodious hymns to the delight and warm appreciation of the delegates, setting the stage for a very harmonious inter parish singing competition in which six parish choirs participated. This was a fitting finale to the opening day’s proceedings. The smooth running and meticulous organisation of the first day’s events were in no small measure to the sheer dedication and hard work of Revd Sam John, our previous vicar, Revd Alexander Tharakan, Mr. T.O. Rajan (Parish secretary), and the conveners (Mr. Agi George and Mr. Jiju Simon) and our choir and youth leader, Mr. Subin Mathew.

Answers to the second question:

The second day started with Yoga classes under the personal supervision of Mr. Jiju Simon. After the morning worship Revd Jose Punamadom took the Bible study. This was followed by the second part of the theme exposition by Revd Jaisen Thomas. The key words of achen’s dissertationrecognition, reorientation, and restoration- would still be reverberating in Yarnfield conference hall.

Delegates then broke out into different groups for discussion of two topics: 1) How can you work for positive change in your relationship with your spouse? 2) In what way can you initiate and encourage further openness and communication with your children?

Representatives from each grouped presented a summary of their discussions at the general assembly. A brief summary of the main points discussed by various group is given below: Answers to the first question: Open communication; mutual respect; sharing decision making process; time and space for communication; choosing words carefully; settime for prayers; anger management; sharing responsibility; avoiding criticisms as far as possible; coming closer to God; making time for each other; never assume something or anything; ECHO - December 2014

Maintaining intimacy and openness with children; understanding children’s views; involving and engaging children; do not be tempted to compare one’s children with other’s children; listening to children; parents’ prayerful life should inspire children and maintain and healthy emotional attachment.

Revd Jaisen Thomas in summing up talked about the importance of couples going beyond the general questions they usually ask each other. He felt that they should share the personal experiences of the day. Engaging in an activity together would improve the relationship; so does changing or reversing the role as parents and partners. He also touched on ‘Tiger parenting’ (see, Amy Chua's (2011) book, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother) as one of the biggest challenges of the migrated community.

In the afternoon, Revd Canon Jules Gomes led the theme exposition. He began by saying, ‘The Bible begins with migration.’ He narrated the history of the migration of the Israelites and also described the fascinating role of art in the presentation of the history of cultural and religious migration .He quoted Jeremiah: ‘pray for the city where you live.

Turn exile into an opportunity.’ He advised the Mar Thoma Diaspora to do the same.

The later-half of the afternoon was set apart for out-door activities, sports and photo session.

Following evening worship, it was time for testimonial led by Revd Dr. Thomas Philips.

These testimonials narrated their faith journeys under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and glorified our living and loving God. After dinner, it was time for some fund-raising activities through auctioneering. Revd Jose Punamadom kindly contributed one of his beautiful paintings, which fetched a substantial amount of money through the generosity of the participants. This was followed by the finale of the singing competition, which was won by the Tabore MTC. 24

On Sunday, the final day of the conference began with yoga classes. Holy Communion followed, conducted by Theodosius Thirumeni.

Revd Thomas Philips conducted a Bible study and this was followed by a final theme exposition by Revd Jiasen Thomas.

First Communion: Hermon Mar Thoma Church, Midlands, UK

After lunch, the conference got geared up for the closing ceremony which included a felicitation session, handover the conference organising responsibility to St. Johns MTC, Hounslow for next year’s family conference. Theodosius Thirumeni highlighted the key points of the conference theme. The final presentation by children and the youth, conveying the conference message captured the hearts and mind of everyone. A new publication, ‘The Mar Thoma ECHO’ in both e-format and print version was released by Theodosius Thirumeni for the fellowship and the spiritual awakening of the Mar Thoma Diaspora community in Europe. A vote of thanks was followed by prayer and benediction by Theodosius Thirumeni. Thus the conference came to a close.

Giboy George, Secretary

* One of the conveners of the conference and the senior member of the Tabore MTC.

The Mumbai Diocesan Episcopa Rt. Rev. Dr Thomas Mar Theethos blessed Hermon MTC, Birmingham with his visit on 25th October 2014.

Thirumeni led the Holy Communion service at Christ Church, Birmingham in which Revd Mathew P, Vicar of St James MTC, Central London and our Vicar Rev’d Vinoj Varghese assisted Thirumeni for the service.

Thirumeni gave an inspirational sermon during the Holy Communion service in which His Lordship emphasised the importance of partaking in the Holy Communion service. Thirumeni mentioned that if we as individuals, take the body and blood of Christ, it will not only affect us but all those around us as well. In addition he said the phrase, ‘you are what you eat,’ which in turn relates to how if we eat the body and blood of Christ, we become more Christ-like: perhaps not physically but spiritually. He also explained that as we are taking the Holy Communion through our mouth, we need to keep our mouth and body clean by saying good words and being kind to one another.

Eleven children of Hermon Parish and two children from Harrow Sinai Parish received their first Holy Communion and thereby entered into the full fellowship of the Marthoma Church.

Thirumeni also enjoyed the fellowship meal arranged after the service. About 200 members participated in the Holy Qurbana. As a Parish, we were honoured and blessed by His Lordship.

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First Communion and Confirmation: A Historical Ecumenical event in London The members of the St. Georges Anglican Parish in north Harrow and Sinai MTC, north London came together on Sunday 26th October, 2014, to give glory to God through a joint Holy Communion service using Mar Thoma liturgy.

This was a very significant historical event in the intercommunion relationship with the Church of England, which started in 1936 and solidified through various stages over the last 78 years. This service is a milestone event because three children from the Anglican parish of St. Georges came forward for the confirmation and the first communion with 16 children of the Mar Thoma Church. The vicar of the St. George’s parish, Father Stephen Keeble, and the vicar of the Sinai Mar Thoma Church, Revd Dr. Thomas Philips, should be congratulated and thanked for their prophetic vision and leadership.

Rt. Revd Dr. Thomas Mar Theethos of the Mumbai Mar Thoma Diocese confirmed the children, gave them their first communion, and blessed them. This happened because of the ecumenical understanding of our Metropolitan, Diocesan bishop, Rt. Revd. Geevarghese Mar Theodosius, Bishop of London, area bishop of Willesden, church wardens and the executive committee of two parishes. It was a God-given opportunity to welcome Bishop Theethos to North London to mark such a milestone in the faith journey of the young people of both parishes taking Communion for the first time, to be confirmed and to celebrate our sharing of the Gospel across denominational, national and cultural boundaries. Over 400 people participated in the service, choirs of both parishes contributed to the beauty and serenity of the service under the leadership of the organist, Mr. Huw Jones. We look forward for more such fellowship and worship services through the grace of God.

Our fear of death is a measure of our understanding of life. Less you fear death, the more you possess freedom, tranquillity and understanding of the greatness of your spirit and the joy of life. The understanding of eternity is part of the nature of the human soul."

- Leo Tolstoy

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Carol Services Sinai MTC, North London

St. Peter's MTC, East London

Date & Time

Date & Time

07/12/2014 from 5.00 pm

21/12/2014 from 3.00 pm

Address:

Address:

St. George's Church

St. Luke's Church

Headstone, Pinner View,

Baxter Road. Illford

Harrow- HA1 4RJ

Essex- IG1 2HN

All Saints MTC, Peterborough

Carmel MTC, Liverpool

St Thomas MTC, Bristol

Date & Time

Date & Time

Date & Time

20/12/2014 from 5.00 pm

06/12/2014 from 5.00 pm

20/12/2014 from 5.00 pm

Address:

Address:

Address:

St. Jude's Church,

All Saint’s Church,

St Anne's Church,

Atherstone Avenue,

Irvine Street.

Eastville, Bristol - BS5 6JN

Netherton, Peterborough

Liverpool- L78TT

St John’s MTC, Hounslow

St James MTC, London

Date & Time

Date & Time 14/12/2014 from 4: 00 pm

13/12/2014 from 3: 00 pm

Address:

Address: 80/96 Cambridge Road,

St Katherine Cree

Hounslow,

86 Leadenhall Street

Middlesex - TW4 7BH,

London - EC3A 3DH

Hermon MTC, Midlands Date & Time 20/12/2014 from 3:00 pm Address: Christ Church, Burney Lane, Ward End, Birmingham - B8 2AS

Tabore MTC, Manchester

Nazareth MTC, Dublin

Date & Time

Date & Time

21/12/2014 from 3: 00 pm Address:

20/12/2014 from 5: 00 pm Address:

The Holy Innocent Church

St Maelruain's Church

Wilbraham Road

Main Street,

Manchester- M14 6JZ

Tallaght, Dublin 24

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ECHO Garden ‘Demons’ Vivek Zachariah Hounslow

Samuel,

St.

Johns

MTC,

control. However, they regularly attack and attempt to trouble and influence man’s behaviour, even God's people. Christians must guard themselves not only against the sin of the flesh, but also their influence. These evil spirits can influence and intensify the works of the flesh. This must be recognized and stood against before one can die to the flesh and walk in the Spirit.

The subject of “demons” are rarely discussed as a serious topic so here is an opportunity to explore this further.

Demons are often referred to as "fallen angels," or "Satan's angels."

Satan was the very highest angel, but made the mistake of rebelling against God and was cast out of heaven, (Is. 14:12-15). The evil angels who followed Satan were also cast out.

These evil beings represent the very depths of evil, including hatred, bitterness and perversions.

Though often an expression of sinful flesh, they can also express their presence in the lives of people. Their purpose is to torment and harass people, leading them away from God and His truth. The Bible gives the following example:

However, we as Christian’s need not fear Satan or his fallen angels. We are told "...the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world" (1 John 4:4). We need to believe and allow this promise to guide our walk with Jesus and be a living testimony for Jesus.

"...This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him any more, not even with a chain. For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet.

No one was strong enough to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones" (Mark 5:2-5).

Just as there are archangels in God's kingdom with higher powers, there are ‘principalities and powers’ that rule over Satan's angels. There is constant conflict, and battles between Satan's ‘principalities and powers’ and God's loyal angels.

We are told that our prayers offer a restraint against their evil activity by summoning the intervening presence of God (Dan 10:12-13).

Possession is not the same as being influenced or attacked by Demons. To be "possessed," means to be indwelled by, and under their complete 28 ECHO - December 2014

Mother Teresa – A role model to us all Dia Miriam Samuel, St. John’s Church MTC, Hounslow In the Oxford dictionary the meaning of the words role model is, a person looked up to by others.

The purpose of this short article is to show you the deeper meaning of Mother Teresa as a role model to all of us.

I can be a role model to the younger children.

That’s when I thought about Mother Teresa. Out of all the famous people in the world she was the only person that came to my mind as someone that I enjoy looking up to.

The main thing that challenged me was that she heard a message from God and she obeyed.

People threw rocks at her but she still listened to God. A big lesson from this is that in all situations we should make the right choices. If we don’t what happened to Adam and Eve will happen to us!

Mother Teresa has won many distinguished prizes such as the Nobel Peace Prize, Padma Shri, Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding, Pope John XXII Peace Prize, Albert Schweitzer International Prize, Golden Honour of the Nation and many more shows that even the smallest things you do in this world could have the biggest impact on the future.

Many of us know that she is a remembered as a Christian saint, who has changed many people’s lives by setting up different organisations.

However, more importantly there is a deeper meaning to her life and the things we can learn from her.

Agnes Gonxhe Bojaxhiu (Mother Teresa) was born in Albania in 1910 and left her family at the age of 17. She first travelled to Ireland and then 6 weeks later to India to be a teacher. For 19 years she taught at a convent school. Then, one day she had a message from God ordering her to leave the convent and to give her life to the poor. She planned to create a home for the dying in a Hindu temple but that didn’t work out due to the fact that they threw stones at her. Soon after, she performed an ancient Hindu rite, which was sprinkling water from the River Ganges on the lips of a dying man. Ever since then, thousands of people have been cared for at her centre in Calcutta.

The main reason why she is a role model is we can relate her to Jesus. God changed people’s lives around, he helped people and so did Mother Teresa. The fact that we can compare her to Jesus shows that we can all aspire to be like her and that is why she is a role model to us all.

"Just as one candle lights another and can light thousands of others, so one heart illuminates another heart and can illuminate thousands of others." - Leo Tolstoy

When I was in primary school, I had to write a letter, wanting to be school representative. The teachers gave us points and one of them was how 29 ECHO - December 2014

Photo Gallery

First Communion at London

First Communion at Hermon Mar Thoma Church

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ECHO Printed copy release by Metropolitan

ECHO online copy release by Diocesan Bishop & ECHO team

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Parish retreat of the Hermon MTC, Midlands.

Love, joy, peace, presents and carols are essentials for a wonderful Christmas. We hope that you find them at this Christmas. May the New Year open many great opportunities for all of you. – The Editorial Board

32 ECHO - December 2014