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The Last Sunday After The Epiphany

2/15/2021

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Sunday Sermon Notes 
February 14th 2021
Fr. Abi John   
Text: Mark 9; 2- 8 
Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, 3 and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one[a] on earth could bleach them. 4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. 5 Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings,[b] one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 6 He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. 7 Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved;[c] listen to him!” 8 Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus.

Reflections: 
During the whole season of Epiphany we read how Jesus manifested in the world. The divinity of Jesus was encountered by the disciple who went with him for prayer. I would like to reread the above text within the context of worship and prayer. This an attempt to examine our worship practices in a world filled with riddles.  
Led them up a high mountain: Mountaintop experiences or moments are an expression of the feeling that one is having an encounter with God. Paul Tillich uses the word ‘kairos'' to describe such experiences. In philosophical hermeneutics (Biblical interpretation), one can say it's the intersection of existence with the essence of ultimate being or vice-versa. Kairas is a realized spiritual state with God the ultimate being or ultimate concerns. Being with God is an experience of being filled with justice, peace, and love. It’s about self-realization. The mystery of self and its relational meaning could be understood in the light of God. God, being the creator and the redeemer, helps us to understand the real meaning of our life. It’s in spirit we are anointed to experience God to exemplify in action. We are called to engage our faith in action. Sunday worship could be interpreted as a mountaintop experience, a call to relate with God with truth and openness as well as finding answers within and in the community. It's basically an act for a renewed relationship. Sunday or other worship is a call to relate with God. We worship both in spirit and mind. It's a holistic act of spirituality to self-discover our existence to realize the meaning of life in a godly or divine sense. 
Appearance of Elija with Moses: God is a god of order and not chaos. The order of God is rooted in the canon of love. Love for God is possible only when we love others. This love is basically mutual and equal. It's not masquerading love but a love encircled with truth and justice. Thus in our worship we have the Old Testament readings point to the canticles of prophecies (Nabim) and law (Torah). The vision connects us to the true traditions of the prophetic voices of God and the order that serves as the directive for our life. Our worship must empower us to stand against the evil structures that manipulate the traits of life.  Worship must help us to become the tools of love to profess the new order that lays the foundation for the transformation of the dying world. 
Jesus -Transfigured: They witnessed the transfiguration of Jesus. “Trans Experience” is a symbol of connectivity between the mortal and immortal world. It's an attempt to think beyond our physical limits and visibility. Jesus stands as a manifestation of binding two paradoxical paradigms that polarized God and humans. God created everyone in God’s own image and this argument  substantiates  that every human does possess the divine nature which intersects with the forces of fallacies that sustain the lacuna between God and humans. Human tendencies separate us from our divine qualities because of the superego. Actually the divine qualities are not abstract beliefs and concepts but a praxis oriented construct to establish a sustainable and a celebrating society of God;  promising and practicing goodness for all with absolute respect and dignity for all. 
Listen to Him: The affirmation of Jesus’s divinity by God is the key in this event. God gives an order, Listen to God. Listening to God or Jesus, is always a blessing. The unlistening community of God has caused numerous damages to human harmony. The hegemonic displays of the dominant forces  drowns the Christian mission and identity  in pitfalls. The disciples were asked to listen to Jesus  to denounce the comfort zones in life when people are suffering. God will be comfortable only when every single member of this community actualizes freedom with equality and justice. It's not only  a legal and political freedom but a freedom based on the ethos of God’s reign. 

The constitution of God had two articles: 
1. Love God 
2. Love others like thyself.
 One without the other will nullify our partnership with God. Even today Jesus teaches us to build relationships in love. Let us listen to him consistently. 

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Bible Study December 16, 2020 Fr. Abi John

12/17/2020

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Song of Simeon (NUNC DIMITTIS) 
Salvation means deliverance. Deliverance from the bondage of Sin. Sin, in simple words missing  God in us, otherwise missing God’s will. Salvation takes, redemption, saving, help,  preservation, conservation, reclamation as its synonyms. Liberation is the political term for Salvation. Despite these above terminological articulations, Simeon’s song 
Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in  
peace, according to thy word. 
For mine eyes have seen, thy salvation, 
Which thou hast prepared before the face of 
all people; 
To be a light to lighten the Gentiles, and to  
be the glory of thy people Israel. 
(Luke 2:29–32) 
calls us to ponder his words for our spiritual emancipation. I like to exposit some of its contents and meaning for our today’s bible study. I feel that the song of Simeon, which talks about “Salvation” needs to be addressed first. One of the predominant topics that seems to revolve the Christian chat is about salvation. Are you saved or not? do you have the salvation experience? such questions speak volumes in today’s spiritual arena. Many times, people get confused and take discursive actions and practice many rites to sanctify their sinful nature and set forth to proceed their religious practice by excluding themselves from the “normal  life”. Sometimes it's very sad to note the attitude of “so called'' saved, for me it is a little abnormal  to the standards of Christ. A sort of self-righteous spirituality is ubiquitous and nullifies the leading  of the Holy spirit in us. A sort of exclusivist segregation seems to be more rapid in the  contemporary Christian world. This attitude of exclusivity is a distinct feature of an unsane  devotee. 
On the other hand, people are ignorant about Salvation and cease to activate their faith. They  feel that they can purchase it and purchase it through their membership in Church or through  some ritualistic practices. Rituals are basically an external sign of the internal commitment and  faith. Internal faith is qualified only when it is activated. 
Salvation is an intense word in the circuit of theology.
Salvation - is a self-evident term to proclaim that everyone in the world is captivated by  something or other. We are either under the control of something or control or subjugate  something else. The word servant is recorded in the Greek Bible as “δοῦλόν” - “doulon” meaning,  slave. Simeon was joyfully announcing that he was liberated from slavery. It gives us a great  meaning to say the real life of the subjects during the birth of Christ and the birth of Christ has  realized to understand that God is in perfect control. Herod was so afraid about the control of  God. He and his well-wishers were perplexed about the birth of Jesus because they worried  about their control on subjects. Their men were blind to God and unable to discern the birth of  Jesus which was a reality. The love for power made him a slave for power. But the love for God,  gives us the power to devastate any subjugating paradigms and helps us to love in faith beyond  the visible boundaries of life. No more a Slave to word but a free person in Christ. 
Peace - “NUNC Dimittis” stems from Latin meaning "Now you dismiss". The complexities of the  world keep us under several catastrophic effects because each one has their own desire to be.  One can say the contradiction of individual priorities evolve uncanny ill effects in human relations  and plays to be a deep threat for human existence. Can the priorities reach consensus? Thus, the evolution of social contract theories proposed for human existence. The dialogue between  the colonial notions and philosophies of interdependence cease not, and the saga continues  because of its contradicting world views. The association with the powerless, innocent, helpless  Child Jesus enabled him to say “I now dismiss” meaning I depart with peace. Human pomp and  glory are ephemeral but the true and real relationship with God gives us peace. It takes us to  other levels. 
Took him In His Arms: The question of our existence could be understood only with the  existence of the other. Dependence is the supreme quality of human life. The birth of Christ as  a Child is the demonstration of a dependency of God over fellow humans. God’s dependent face  in the infant Jesus has shown the path of salvation to Simeon. A small little babe’s presence and  the touch made a prolific and profound effect on the elderly Simeon. God was given in to his  hand. The body and blood of Christ was present in the hands of Simeon. It was a joyful and  painful experience for him. The Word became flesh, the promise became reality. When that  mystic realization occurred, Simeon was jubilant to sing about his preparedness to live in peace.  This new understanding helped him to see the radian hope of God even for Gentiles. 
It's a “Kairos” that meeting the “Chronos”, means the qualitative experience meeting the  quantitative experience realizes to see the abundance in GOD. The synchronization to time and  quality spells the liberative expression. It’s a realized experience in a context of uncertainty by  Simeon. Thus, he was blessed with the peace of God. 
God Bless these Words.

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Bible Study Notes  December 9 2020  Fr. Abi John

12/10/2020

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Luke Chapter 1

Rejoicing in the Lord: 
● When we believe in God’s promises, our hearts overflow with Joy. It bounces in Good spirit. Elizabeth was bold to  affirm that “This is what the Lord has done for me and took away the disgrace I have endured among my people.”  She never had any theophanic experience like Zachariah, but she was open to God and God took her disgrace by  showering GRACE upon her. (‘Grace’- John ("Yahweh is Gracious")- Elizabeth- God is my Oath – Zachariah – God  remembers, Mary – Sea of Bitterness, Joseph- Yahweh increases) 
● The Lord has done for me- God is always active and he participates in our struggles. He gives us special blessings  and elevates our esteem when we are denied by the world. The power of God amplifies the volume of joy in us.  He delivers us from all our adversaries. God, being the source of life, all good things flows from HIM. Denying this  very paradigm of Life will engender numerous mendacities in life. The author of Proverbs cities: “In all your ways  acknowledge him and he shall direct your paths”. Turning to God is the ultimate call for genuine spirituality. To  understand the connectivity between the reality and the mystery one need to turn him/herself to God with openness  of mind.  
● Took away the Disgrace- The human agency can never wipe our disgrace, because we all are limited. The human  designs and plans for life cease not to sprout the fallibilities and sustain the fallacies in life. Human impulses have  their own limitations because we are “just creatures” and not the Creator. The desire to occupy the place of God  is the origin of Sin. Here Zachariah was not able to visualize the “Creative Power of God”- He is very sure of Human  powers and its possibilities and built a wall of disbelief that fails to connect with God. The lack of openness to God  failed him to focus on the POSSIBILITIES OF GOD in spite of the vision and the theophanic encounter. When  we depend too much on ourselves and acclaim the “I” in us, it leads us to disgrace. Elizabeth was open and when  she conceived, she was able to see the ‘Creative power of God”. She understood the human limitations and God’s  unlimited power that crosses the natural boundaries.  
● Endured among people- Endurance is possible only when we have deep faith. In spite of multiple problems, we  move forward because we hope for a better future. A symphony will emerge in the context of cacophony. A  positive wave in a negative ocean. A light in a dark room dispels the darkness. Endurance is an optimistic act  because it accepts “the other” and embraces “the other” for good. There is no defeat in the dictionary of  endurance since it attempts for transformation of life. Cross is a significant symbol that elaborates the endurance  of Christ against the powers and principalities of this world to conquer it by love. The tension between good and  bad is inevitable, but our association and affirmation with the goodness enhances us to be a child of God.  ​

Sharing the Testimony; 
Both Mary and Elizabeth acknowledged the providence of God and His mighty Hand in their life. History belongs to God.  In every course of history, the perishable human powers accelerate its powerful demonstration to monopolize every  history. The very expression of ‘I am that I am’ is a revelation from God to state that (I was, I am and I will be) “HE exists  throughout the whole history”. We all are part in Him and God is the “ground, structure and power of being”. When God’s 
promise work in us we cannot isolate our self but we unite with the like-minded people to vibrate the impulse of divinity.  Alienation, isolation and segregation from self, others and from God display the effects of sin. Union, communion and  association exhibit the display of blessing. Here Elizabeth and Mary share their testimony to navigate themselves to  glorify of God and submit unconditionally for God’s plan.  
Greeting Each Other: 
The act of blessing and passing a greeting to another basically stems from God. It is a divine act. God is the only connecting  force with ‘the other’. As a people of God, we too worship and greet each other to magnify God. They believed in the  communion and union in the spirit which emboldens them to walk the challenges of life. 
 “Lord be with you and also with you” is a verbal greeting and blessing that we exchange to invoke the presence of God.  This greeting shifts the paradigm of hierarchical spirituality and dictates a new dimension of mutuality anchored in God’s  Grace recognizing each other as a powerful tool of God. The rudiments of blessing are nothing but the Good thoughts  which longs for life and celebration for all in Christ. Evil thinking captives such joy and celebration and sprouts the distress  and creates the ripples of disharmony in our lives. The state of misery and pain exists in such a context of human  complexities.  
How do we greet each other? How do we integrate with others as a body of Christ? In the context of challenges, we are  called to greet each other with a prophetic and bold theological vision and hope. The arithmetic numbers may be less,  even though we are alone, being with God we become mighty. Might is not according to the standard of this world’s  parameters, but with scales of Jesus quality in us by surrendering to the plan of God, to negate the distorted with the tools of love and sacrifice.  
“Mary greeted”- “Bitterness greeted”- God’s bitterness itself is a joy. Because whatever that comes from the God give us  Joy. It’s not only a verbal greeting but a holistic feeling of goodness, made the child to leap in Elizabeth’s womb. From  womb to tomb the power of God can reach and bring transformation. This greeting connected a old, a young and a babe  as a subjects of blessing; which highlights the quality of God blessing flow to all. Specially women and children, who are  the vulnerable in any given society.  
“Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord”  
Elizabeth celebrates the faith of Mary. Faith is an important faculty to accelerate the life in its fullness. Mary believed but  Zachariah did not believe. Elizabeth was so keen in highlighting Mary and her affirmation. She unconditionally accepts  Mary as the “Mother of the Lord”. She displays the quality of Humility and submitting to the Gods motive for salvation.  Recognizing the call of Mary, and blesses her wholeheartedly. Do we recognize the call of others? Do we listen to the voice  of the other to discern God’s Plan? A competitive spirituality and a superlative attitude corrupt the mission of God.  Ministry is a diverse package which caters to the people of God in recognizing the purpose and plan of God for each one  for everyone.  


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Bible Study Notes  18 November 2020  Fr. Abi John

11/19/2020

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Luke 9:18-22 
18 Now it happened that as he was praying  alone, the disciples were with him. And he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I  am?” 19 And they answered, “John the Baptist.  But others say, Elijah, and others, that one of  the prophets of old has risen.” 20 Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, “The Christ of God.” 21 And he strictly charged and commanded them to tell this to no one 22 saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”

​Praying Alone: (Eternal truth) 
Jesus was praying alone. Prayer engages a deep self- talk with the divine. Prayer enables us to  imagine and act out the will of God. Jesus was grounded in the will of God, and He was actively  involved in a context. The context posed many challenges to the common people and Jesus our  Saviour addressed the issues of common people specially the suffering masses. Time with God,  helps us to have clarity over the many issues that haunt the human celebration. Today's text  invites us to have our personal time with God and to discern God’s will for us to be his perfect  tool. In one way we can say that through prayer we can understand an appropriate opinion of God  which intersects both the subjective and objective phenomenon in life. Prayer helps us to  understand GOD’s opinion of us and others. Knowing God’s will is nothing but knowing the truth  in the eternal sense. 
Public Opinion. (Objective understanding) 
“Who do the Crowds say that I am?” seems to be an essential question of Jesus to his own  disciples. He wanted them to be analytical as well as informed about the public opinion. Jesus  wanted his disciples to be aware of the perspectives around them, however they were so profound  in them. Their comments were self-explanatory that people were limited only with the past history  of events and the struggle to understand the living truth (Jesus). They were occupied by their  residues (it’s quite natural). Their legacy about the past leadership blinded them to see the Son  of God who was with them. In any given society, public opinion plays an important role because  it influences the wheels of daily life. We need to be aware of the objective understanding of the  truth. People get confused because of various influences. 
Proclamation of truth: (Subjective understanding) 
“But who do you say that I am?”. Jesus wanted to know about the understanding of his own  disciples. Peter, I feel as a representation of the whole team, acknowledged Jesus as Christ 
meaning that the path of Jesus was the true salvific way. Jesus embraced the negative powers  with a positive call to repent. He wanted everyone to live a life with God, i.e., life in truth, justice,  liberty, equality, love and joy. So, acknowledging Jesus doesn’t mean, doing it just by words but  through deeds of liberation. Accepting Jesus as Christ envisages one to commit to a new way of  life...to face life with all openness and courage. Deep faith in God necessitates us to move forward  to proclaim the truth in the context of numerous perils and deludes the partial opinions of truth.  We need to know the truth, otherwise we cannot unfold the manifold blessings of God to those  who suffer.  
Questions to Ponder? 
1. We are considered to be “the body of Christ” - Church. What do people in general (public opinion) say about the church today? I wish we could commence reflecting it from our own  families. 
2. What is our subjective understanding of Christ? 
3. In what ways can we communicate Christ or the path of Christ in today’s world?

Have a blessed reflection! Amen

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Bible Study Notes - 11 November 2020 - Fr. Abi John

11/11/2020

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Text: Luke 9:10-17 
10 On their return the apostles told Jesus all they had done. He took them with him and withdrew privately to a city called Bethsaida. 11 When the crowds found out about it, they followed him; and he welcomed them, and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed to be cured. 12 The day was drawing to a close, and the twelve came to him and said, “Send the crowd away, so that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside, to lodge and get provisions; for we are here in a deserted place.” 13 But he said to them, “You give them something to eat.” They said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish—unless we are to go and buy food for all these people.” 14 For there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, “Make them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” 15 They did so and made them all sit down. 16 And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. 17 And all ate and were filled. What was left over was gathered up, twelve baskets of broken pieces. 
Reflections:  
The gulf between the abundance and scarcity in life constantly vacillates in human life. Matter  becomes an important phenomenon in life because it has its influence on our spirituality. The  creator God created the world with abundance and the monopoly of abundance by a few is an  unending problem and a deep spiritual question. The new community in Jesus always shares  and rejoices its abundance to negate the paucity in life. Today’s text registers one of the  miracles that Jesus performed when he identified people are starving.  
Food, shelter and dress are the basic needs for the human community. Today, the ubiquity of  poverty is a sign of shame on the human race and challenges every community to heed to the  cry of the hungry. We can’t imagine the world’s “super power” like the USA, too struggling with  poverty issues. The spiritual lenses demand us to be more sensitive towards this issue of  poverty and hunger because we believe in the beloved community of Jesus, and we belong to  it. 
One of the statistics notes that in America, “as Congress remains deadlocked on a new  coronavirus economic stimulus package, two new studies show at least 6 million more people  in the US are in poverty due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. A study from Columbia  University published that the number of Americans in poverty grew by 8 million since May  2020”.1 Globally, the situation is alarming and calls us to participate in the mission of  eradicating poverty locally and globally.  
Jesus invited the disciples to take care of the needy. The reign of God makes everyone accessible to the essential needs and affirms life for all. It calls the insensitive minds to share  their abundance with the needy. It's a moral and a spiritual demand. We learn this paradigm of  sharing from Jesus himself. He denied his glory and identified with humanity to show us the  real path for the abundance of all. In our consumerist world, the competitive spirit has spoiled  the very essence of life in the world. We can see that there were nearly 5,000 men (the count  of women and children are missing. So, it might be approximately 15,000 to 20,000). He wanted  to feed those who were hungry.  
“You give them something to eat.” - When disciples explained the difficulties to feed such a  huge crowd, Jesus wanted them to take responsibility in resolving the issue of hunger by the  act of sharing. Many times, we forget to use our resources and lack faith in the other due to  suspicious tendencies and shallow ideologies. Faith in Christ turns every situation to realize  the miracle. Here, the disciples indignantly looked for resources and found “five loaves and two  fishes”. Jesus turned the limited resource into abundance. Sociologically, this text dictates  another insight beyond the mystic directives of the narrative. We need to understand that when  the little boy shared his food with Jesus then everyone who was present in the crowd shared  their resources with Jesus which concluded in seeing the abundance for all ceasing the  scarcity. 
The act of sharing: This text calls us to share our abundance with the needy. Many times, we  lack opportunity to share. But the living body of Christ even invites us today to share our  resources to witness God’s wonderful miracles. The medical mission, the Barnie Parker  Sharing Shed, Women Helping Women, the Thrift Shop, and Labor of Love are some of our  missions that invite us to share our love for others. We could participate in our call by our  prayers and generous giving to transform the predicaments in our society.  
Let us continue to engage in the act of sharing, even though it is less; let us reflect Christ by  sharing ourselves to extend the abundance of Christ to all.  
May God Bless these words! Amen.  
1https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/oct/15/coronavirus-pandemic-plunges-millions-of-americans-into poverty

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Bible Study Notes, Fr Abi John, 4 October 2020

11/5/2020

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Text: Luke 9:7-9 
7 Now Herod the ruler heard about all that had taken place, and he was  perplexed, because it was said by some  that John had been raised from the dead, 8 by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the ancient prophets had arisen. 9 Herod said, “John I beheaded; but who is this about whom I hear such things?” And he tried to see him. 

Reflections 
Herod was the embodiment of the imperialist forces during the time of Jesus. We need  to see Herod as an ideology and not as a person. Beyond the individual headship, we  can map this as an ideology that is quite opposite to the rule of the people. During  Jesus' time, four monarchs ruled the region, and the people were divided. The vassal  kings became the puppets of the empire and lost their call to rule the people with truth  and justice; they harassed people for taxes and ruled the subjects in an inhuman way.  They failed to obey God or love people. 
We all believe in democracy because we conduct ourselves with moral imperatives  and legal obligations which brings everyone under one law. Law becomes the center  of any decent community because it gives clarity for us to move forward. Every  democratic country is ruled by the law of the nations and not by whims and fancies of  any individual. The social and political contract in a democratic state has a checks and  balances system. 
During Jesus' time, the legislature, executive and judiciary were all founded by a  monarch. Jesus' movement was a democratic movement based on a people-centric  society, grounded in the ultimate standards of the divine where everyone is equal and  free. In Chapter 8, we were able to see two important miracles at the end of the  chapter. The text elucidates two miracles of Jesus; a woman who was suffering from  hemorrhages for twelve years was healed, and a dead girl was restored back to life.  The basic motif of both the miracles does not highlight the miraculous power of Jesus,  but rather the redemptive activity of Christ against the powers of death which sub  judicates the people, the vulnerables at risk. 
The very purpose of Jesus coming is to restore the humanity in its wholeness. He  offers abundance for all in God. When Herod heard about the acts of God under his 
jurisdiction, he was perplexed because the acts of God shatter the very foundation of  individualistic ideologies and perverted operations in human dynamics. 
The day to day operations in God’s realm are grounded in one philosophy called love  for the other. We can love others only when we love ourselves as the created beings  of God with the true image of God. Discovering our image in God and the image of  God in us is the call of this text because Herod was wandering in his mind to see  Jesus. Jesus reflected the God of life in all his words and deeds without any  compromise. A compassionate and justful gesture was real in him, and he evaded  from all ostentatious activities. He was genuine to God and the people and unfolded  the true path for life. 
The quest of Herod seems to be genuine, but the guilt never directed him to restore  life but rather to operate his power for his selfish desires. This complexity failed him to  understand God. 
God in Christ was engaging in restoring life for all under the one reign, the rule of  Christ which unites all, liberates all and offers a new life centered in them Love of  Christ, helping one another to cope up with the challenges of life. May God help us to  identify the image of God in us to imitate Jesus in our living context to glorify the name  of God. 
God Bless these Words. Amen


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Bible Study Notes Fr Abi John October 14, 2020

10/15/2020

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Matthew 9:14-17

14 Then John’s disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?” 15 Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast. 16 “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. 17 Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”

Reflections:
​There will always be resistance to change. But change is an unchangeable phenomenon in life. Jesus was a change maker and he had his tension and challenges with the beliefs which were static and out fashioned. Resistance to change is resistance to God himself because such agents they don’t feel God is in control of life. They narrow the world in their perspective and fail to realize that God’s plans and purpose has a meaning in the current context.

“Fasting” to the poor and hungry is baloney. When some are struggling for food and basic livelihood, how can we demand them too fast? The meaning of fasting in Isaiah 58:6-7 is nothing but sharing with the poor and needy and establishing justice.

6 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?

7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter--
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood....

Many feel spirituality is a self-satisfying experience. But, it’s a self-emptying experience and an experience to share the fragmented experience of the broken masses. The symbolic acts gained prominence more than the inner meaning of such acts.

Fasting is rooted in denying oneself and is rooted in the personal inspection of self which  is predominantly estranged from God’s will. Oneness of mind, to listen to the voice of God will make one to live in Godly life. In this text Jesus was challenged because the proponents of antiquity in the name of tradition charged the disciples for being natural and pragmatic.

One of the failures of the traditionalist is that their hearts glorify religious particles more than God and other humans. So pathetic! Religiosity is centered in life. Life is centered in the commonality of life for all. Jesus understood the meaning of fasting and started to unmask the reality and protested against the meaningless spirituality. His ministry is centered around the poor, the needy, the oppressed, the exploited and the vulnerable in society.

The outward projections and the inward constructs fail to conjugate because of the gulf between the belief and action. Jesus equipped his disciples and at the end his disciples became martyrs to glorify God. Jesus being a new Moses, his science of hermeneutics paved a new way and a transformed path. Doing theology for Christ is always people based and especially the negated and neglected. Restoration of human dignity for all is one of the basic traits of salvation. Let us continue to engage in restoring life to lifelessness. Amen.

I would like to conclude my study with this prayer found in Episcopal Relief and Development
website:

O Creator of all living things:
We are all hungry in a world full of abundance.
The possibilities of food for bodies and souls overflow in this beautiful world.
We ask for the grace to see the abundance of our world and
enough awareness to acknowledge our sins of greed and fear.
Give us openness of soul and courageous, willing hearts
to be with our sisters and brothers who are hungry and in pain.
We ask for your intercession on behalf of every person hungry
for earthly food and hungry for the taste of the Spirit of God.
We give thanks that we can be part of that intercession.
This world is blessed with enough food of the earth for every person to eat and be satisfied.
We all can feed on the bread of Christ, through the Holy Spirit,
as God makes a home in our hearts.
We come together in awe and wonder at the Creator who loves us so much
that we are invited and urged to be co-creators with God
in the care of our brothers and sisters.
In the name of the tender Mother-Father of all people who
hears every cry, Amen.

Action: Please let us engage in a way of love to feed the poor and needy. The Barnie Parker Sharing Shed is an opportunity to make our action a realized one.

​God Bless You! Amen.
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Bible Study Notes 30th September 2020 Fr. Abi John

10/1/2020

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 atthew 9:9-13

9
“As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him. 10And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples. 11When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12But when he heard this, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.”

Reflections:
“I have come to call not the righteous but sinners” is a powerful mission statement of Jesus describing the purpose of doing God’s mission of the Church which is called to be the living body of Christ. The Agenda of Jesus’s mission is to offer life to the lifeless and to those who are in helpless situations. The gulf between the dominant and the powerless and the struggle is an ongoing issue in the world. “Mission of God” is not a club activity of the dominant; rather, it is a call to restore the image of God in all with passion and transformation connotations. Jesus constantly worked in restoring the lost human consciousness in every individual to substantiate the purpose and meaning of creation. Accepting Jesus as Lord has a diverse understanding because of offering a new paradigm of life to all.

Who are tax collectors during Jesus' time?
During the time of Jesus, the people of Israel were under the imperial and colonial rule of Rome. The religious leaders had their local autonomy in matters relating to the life of the people. The temple was at their control, and the temple was not just a spiritual institution. It was the center of the people’s holistic life. The subjects of the society were under two authorities; politically, under Rome and religiously under Sanhedrin, Rome gave autonomy to the religious leaders to mitigate the revolts because the religious beliefs were so sensitive and complex. In such a context, Rome appointed people to collect the taxes for their government and such collectors were called publicans or apostates.

They were considered as proxies of Rome and gained hatred from the public. They imposed unredeemable taxes and had their loyalty to the Roman Imperials. They gained more profit by unjustifiable taxes. They were seen as traitors and thieves of people and considered as defiled elements because of their association with the enemy, the Romans.

The hostility over tax collectors tagged them as “Sinners”. Here the tax collector was none other than Mathew, and the record from Mathew 9:9 substantiates the argument. Normally, Jews will have two names, and many theologians suggest the name as Levi Mathew, who became the disciple of Jesus.

Tax Booth
I see these booths as the places that symbolically represent oppression and exploitation. The people were under great oppression because the Roman government operated in a very systematic way at various levels to maintain their supremacy over the poor. Jews always believed in the Rule of God-Theocracy. In reality, their dreams were shattered by the foreign powers because of their military inefficiency and their ideological schisms. Rome was a superpower, and these centers represented their authority over people, their work and earnings. People were drained by the taxes which made their lives more miserable. The taxes were collected in harsh methods. The people paid money to Temple to maintain their religious commitments and paid compulsory taxes for their income.

Taxes were imposed on custom goods. Even tolls were collected for the usage of roads and bridges of that time. So, the people who indulged in such tax collections were socially abandoned by people, politically treated as traitors and religiously labelled as sinners. Mathew was sitting in that booth to collect the taxes. But Jesus liberated him from his box and made him an agency of salvation; I mean an agent to liberate people from worldly clutches that haunt life every day. We have to find such boxes and breach the forces that negate the freedom for us and others.

“Follow Me”
Jesus said to Matthew, “Follow me.” And he followed him without any question. The unconditional obedience of Mathew describes his agony over his work as well as his dissatisfaction over the colonial set-up. His attitude highlights the aspiration to repent and begin a new life in God by following Christ. His immediate response explicates his search for a better way of life. Following Jesus, is an opposite turn from the job he was assigned. Jesus' movement offered abundance of life and catered to the exploited and the oppressed. It connected people socially and enabled them to realise the reign of God.

The politics of power was defused by the power of love for one another. Matthew believed in the words of Jesus which enabled him to envision the future. Apparently, the transition of Mathew to Jesus indicates a mystic and divine experience which cannot be comprehended in total, but it can be felt at a spiritual domain. Following Jesus is not simple; it requires one to turn from the world and prepares him/her to be an agency of Christ to offer life to the people in the world. It demands us to offer life to the lifeless not to overfeed the self-righteous or the privileged. Mathew left his lucrative employment, positions, and his authority for Jesus because he affirmed the truth and chose the way of Christ, which calls our attention not to deepen our parochial attachments but to reach the reality of life and to enhance every human to have equal access over life. The disparities in life distribute horrific situations and cause civic unrest. The movement of Jesus is the movement of Love engendering all of us for peaceful co-existence and sustainable living.

Jesus - “Friend of Sinners and Tax Collectors?”
Jesus extends his relationship to all and especially to transform the people who are socially rejected, politically muted, and spiritually de-codified. Jesus’ ethics includes everyone and attends to the odds of the society with a moral appeal and not by force. 

Religion should be a moral obligation or it becomes another institution to display power to dictate. But the religion of the Pharisees was so judgmental. The “Jesus Movement” was optimistic and open. The religion of Jesus displays its roots in Love for others like oneself which expresses the Love of God in total. Jesus indicates that “only the sick need the physician”; the mission of the church should always focus for the needy not the greedy. (The Learning Pod in partnership with the Lions Club at St. James’ and the Barnie Parker Sharing Shed at St. John’s are some of our novel expressions of doing missions at this COVID 19 crisis. I would continue to urge you to contribute to such noble acts.)
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Bible Study Notes 23rd September 2020 Fr. Abi John

9/24/2020

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Text: Matthew 9:1-8

Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. 2 Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.” 3 At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming!” 4 Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? 5 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 6 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” 7 Then the man got up and went home. 8 When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to man.

Friends today I like to highlight some thoughts from the text using the following phrases for our bible study.

“Paralyzed Man” - The divinity and humanity of Jesus is inseparable. His compassion was enacted in different forms to heal the society. Healing the paralyzed man is one such act of compassion and tells us a motif behind it. More than the magical display of Jesus the moral theme in this pericope spins the odds out of human life. I invite you to imagine this physically changed man as a society is crippled with many negatives. We cannot deny the presence of derogatory division and discrimination in society which has paralyzed the normal life what God as complemented to the life in general. The abuse of resources and the lack of proximity to the resources is the ill effect of the polluted and the insane mind of the dominant society and mindsets. However here, the and voices and the works of Jesus emphasize the importance of resolving it as a call of God. While celebrating the miraculous power of Jesus one should also remember that these acts are performed to communicate the truth, to restore the dignified and blessed life in every individual and society.

Here we can see two kinds of people, the people who brought this man to Jesus and the other the teachers of the law. While elaborating it we can define them as:

1. Who wants to resolve the issue. Genuine people always think about others. They are passionate towards the suffering and the suffering communities. They display a quality stewardship to the needy and the disabled. They like to serve, because the love of God compels them to do so. They attempt even the human impossibilities with the faculty of faith. Some men brought this physically challenged man to Jesus because this man’s problem was not addressed properly for a long time. They were courageous to address the problem and attempted to resolve it by bringing it to Jesus. 

2. Who worried about their “own authority” instead of resolutions. The second group of people were so concerned about themselves and their role in resolving instead of man’s healing. They were so cheap in putting themselves in an impossible act of healing. Instead of introspecting their call they started to question the young Jesus and his words. Their intentions were crippled by their own understanding, because they were alienated from hope and God. The new teaching of Jesus and his offering of new life dissipated them from their own understandings about life and humans. The proposals for change irritated them because they lacked vision with God for life. They strongly believed in God who santiones hierarchy and supremacy. They failed to understand the inclusive power of God who offers new life in Christ to all. They were very narrow and were mundane in their thinking and entertained evil instead of Good.

Authority of Jesus

The text clearly says how Jesus offered a holistic healing to this man. The authority of God helps people to understand themselves and help them to resolve their own issues. Every human being has the capacity of God to celebrate life in its fullness. The vicious human agency and its uncanny dominant nature spins the harmony board into misery and fails to display the design of God. Jesus was keen displaying his authority in healing the wounded by his words and deeds. He offered a new life. He said “Get up, take your mat and go home” is a powerful phrase because it has a deep theological motif. His words of absolution gave hope to the hopeless man and empowered him to handle his own problems. ‘Mat’- is a sign of a long-term problem and Jesus asked him to take up his own problem and walk with it with the power of God. When God is with us, we can handle any situation with faith.

God Bless These Words, Amen!
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September 16th, 2020

9/16/2020

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