(St John 11: 25)
SUNNY THOMAS
Two graves mark the twilight and end of the Passion Week. The first causes the second, the first points to the second, and the first signifies the second, as though divinely scripted.
A distance of three miles separates the two graves; maybe a span of two weeks separates the burial at the two graves. Monuments of the first grave stands at Bethany on the outskirts of Jerusalem while the second, in the Holy City itself.
One cannot understand the meaning of the Passion Week without understanding the life-giving and the shortest sermon of Jesus at Bethany: ‘I am the Resurrection and the life’.
At Bethany well over two thousand years, Lazarus rose from death to life; in Jerusalem, Jesus rose from death to Eternal Life, because of which Lazarus too would rise to Eternal Life. Not just Lazarus, but all who have trusted Christ.
To recount the story in a quick flashback: Lazarus who was gravely ill died, and arrived Jesus three days late. His sisters, Martha and Mary, complained that their brother would not have died had Jesus arrived on time.
That sets the stage for Jesus’ sermon on Resurrection: ‘I am the Resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies’ – St John 11: 25.
‘‘I tell you the truth, the time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself ’’ – St John 5: 25 & 26. ‘‘Do not be amazed at this, for the time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out’’ – St John 5:28). Words that no man ever spoke, words that need the experience of faith to believe.
Compare the testimonies of Patriarch Abraham and St Thomas with St John’s:
‘That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at, and our hands have touched, this we proclaim .., writes St John in his epistle, on the person called Eternal Life, who is the Son of God. St Thomas on touching the nail prints of his crucified Lord marvels, ‘My Lord and My God!’ Abraham raised the knife in his hand to strike his son, trusting God who can bring his son Isaac back to life.
In other words, faith is trusting God in life and death. Committing to His care everything that happens, to you and to others. And accepting His Lordship over everything visible and invisible.
The theme of the Passion Week is, look beyond the grave. Set your goals for eternity, for the Kingdom life.
And here comes the King riding on a donkey, and the crowds that walked before him spread their garments on the road and cut branches of trees and spread before him as they would welcome their King. Those behind him shouted:
‘Hosanna to the Son of David,
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest!’
The Palm Sunday signifies his Kingdom to come:
‘Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence’ (Rev 20: 11). Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.. I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’’ (Rev 21: 1-4)
Jesus Christ is the King of kings and the Redeemer who has come to redeem the world from death, sorrow and pain that sin brought into the world.
On Thursday night in the Upper Room, he unfolded the mystery of the New Life to come when he told his disciples:
‘‘I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God’’ (St Luke 22: 15).
And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying:
‘This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.
In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying:
‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. (St Luke 22: 19 & 20).
This is the great mystery of your becoming part of Him who is Resurrection. This is the great mystery of your sharing the very life of God, which is eternal. This is the great mystery of the branches abiding in the vine and growing.
The next day on the cross, he reveals the seven-fold love radiating from his heart in each of his seven utterances:
His first utterance, ‘‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing’’ (St Luke 23: 34) reflects his forgiving love.
His second utterance, ‘‘Today you will be with me in Paradise’’ (St Luke 23: 43) reflects his redeeming love.
His third utterance, ‘‘Woman, behold thy son, .. Behold your mother’’ (St John 19: 26 & 27) reflects his filial love.
His fourth utterance, ‘‘My God, my God why has thou forsaken me?’’ (St Mark 15: 34) reflects his sacrificial love, for he was the sacrificial lamb who took away the sin of the world.
His fifth utterance, ‘‘I thirst,’’ (St John 19: 28) reflects his soul-seeking love for which he laboured and was thirsty.
His sixth utterance, ‘‘It is finished,’’ (St John 19: 30) reflects his agape love that God alone is capable of by completing his Father’s plan of salvation.
His seventh utterance, ‘‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit,’’ (St Luke 23: 46) reflects the eternal love that goes beyond the grave.
If ever a mortal voice needs to be recorded on that day, it was the Roman centurion’s: ‘‘Truly, truly, he was the Son of God.’’ ( St Mark 15: 39).
On Saturday, he visited the departed ones and preached the gospel of forgiveness and God’s love.
On Sunday, The Galilean women and the disciples found his tomb empty. The angel declared that he rose from the dead. Mary Magdalene, Peter and John, and all the disciples, and over five hundred people all at once, and finally Saul-turned-Paul witnessed the Desire of Ages.
The story of humanity will never be the same because of His Resurrection.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
PASSION WEEK MEDITATIONS
Theme: Unless I cleanse you, you have no part in me (St. John 13:8)
On seeing Jesus beside River Jordan, John the Baptist bore witness thus: Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. That in one sentence is the mission of Jesus Christ. The Passion Week dramatises the mission as no other week does.
On Palm Sunday, he cleansed the temple, rebuking the merchants, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’”Very powerful words indeed, more powerful than the lashing whip.
Is not the cleansing of the temple a sordid reminder of the cleansing we the temple of God need? We have become moving malls and shopping windows, displaying worldly vanities and crass materialistic values. Instead of becoming the house of prayer, we have become the den of merchandise. The words that Jesus spoke should ring in our ears and lead to repentance.
On Monday he pronounced judgment on abundant show and inner barrenness. Jesus thought there was fruit on the tree but there were only abundant leaves. Many of us have abundant leaves – born into ancient Christian families that go back to the days of St Thomas, a list of genealogy that commands awe, get elected to almost every other ecclesiastic office, knowledge of liturgy and cannons. Yet we produce no fruit. When Jesus look for fruit, will he be disappointed and say ….
On Tuesday he cleansed the disciples’ little faith. The disciples marvelled that the tree Jesus cursed withered overnight. He uses this occasion to demonstrate the greatest lesson of prayer: “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt … say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done. And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”
This is the most misunderstood of verses; and also the most criticized by atheists and agnostics. Remember, faith is not the exuberance of emotion, but the certainty of things unseen (the Reality). It is the certainty of the spiritual Reality, which is God Himself, and the spiritual realm and the spiritual laws. Like Newton’s Laws of Motion, the spiritual realm has its laws, which people of all religions are aware of. You need experience of God and the spiritual realm to gain the confidence and certainty that the Bible speaks of. You need first-hand experience of God, His mind and His will, and be constantly God’s companion through prayer. Then your will and God’s will converge, and you pray for the very things God desires.
One day, the famous writer P. G. Wodehouse, when he was a boy, walked into the church as the Priest was reading this verse. He wanted to get rid of his stammering for which he was laughed at. That night he prayed with all the faith he could muster that his stammering should disappear. The next morning when he got up, he was so thrilled that his stammering had disappeared. But when he started talking, he began to stammer. What disappeared instantly was his faith and he became an atheist. But much later in his life, he admitted that he would never have been a famous writer and amassed a fortune but for his stammering. Your physical handicap, your illness or your momentary financial difficulties could be a source through which God could send you showers of blessing.
On Tuesday, he lashed out at hypocrisy offering the Pharisees an opportunity to be cleansed. St Matthew (23: 13-39 ) records the 8-fold woes on hypocrisy:
“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.
You devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers.
You travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.
Blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.’
You pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith.
You cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence.
You are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.
You build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’
Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’”
His public ministry begins with Beatitudes or the 8-fold blessings, and ends in the solemn warning or the 8-fold woes upon hypocrites. That is the character of the Kingdom of God – blessings upon the pure in heart, the humble, the merciful, the forgiving, and the true seekers of God and judgment upon the proud, conceited hypocrite.
On Wednesday, he prepared for the Great Cleansing to follow on Thursday and Friday. All great human and divine endeavours need preparation in silence, stillness and solitude. As man and God, Jesus needed the same.
On Thursday, he instituted the Holy Communion, the sacrament of empowerment, rooted in purging and cleansing. In the Sermon on the Mount, he taught his disciples the fundamentals of the Kingdom of God; in his farewell discourse, he taught them the mystery of the kingdom. He illustrated the mystery first by cleansing them with water and word and then taking them through the experience of Union with God. Simple yet profound is the mystery: the disciples abiding in Jesus, and Jesus abiding in the Father, and the Father in Jesus and in them. It is a Spiritual Union words have no power to express. A mystery can only be experienced, not expressed; and the Holy Eucharist remains at the heart of dynamic Christian living.
When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him. Then He said to them, “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”
Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.
On Friday, he cleansed the human race by his precious Blood, offering them salvation. The immortal 7 sayings on the Cross reveal the unique person that Jesus Christ is:
Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”
God is agape, the transforming, transcending trans-territorial love that reaches out to everyone who cares to receive it. `The bird will sing even for the hunter who shoots her down,’ wrote a poet. That is an iota of God’s love. God loves all his creation, even those who crucify him! It is in search of them that he came into this world. If this love does not touch you and forgive those who offend you, this Good Friday has no meaning for you.
And Jesus said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
On the Cross and in excruciating pain, he found time to save a life from going into hell. Pain has not dimmed his humanity or his divinity. God’s goodness knows no boundaries.
Now there stood by the Cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!” 27 Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home.
Renouncing is not abdicating responsibility. He was always on his Father’s business but at her hour of need, he was there, helpless he may seem to the world but helpful to those who have eyes to see.
, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
Thus begins the 22nd Psalm written by David centuries ego as inspired by the Holy Spirit. The psalm begins in despair and ends in triumph, prophetically describing the agony on the Cross and celebrating Redemption accomplished by His Precious Blood.
After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I thirst!” Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth.
Everything that Jesus did was on the Divine Calendar. The following two verses reinforces the revelation.
So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.
He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’”
Seeing everything that happened – the darkness at noon, the earthquake and the supernatural witnessing – the Roman Centurion exclaimed: Truly, he was the Son of God!
On Saturday, he cleansed the grave, proclaiming the Good News to the departed.
On Sunday, he brought Immortality to the human race, offering them the New Life.
Let this Passion Week and Easter be a transforming experience in witnessing Jesus Christ by your life, word and deed.
On seeing Jesus beside River Jordan, John the Baptist bore witness thus: Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. That in one sentence is the mission of Jesus Christ. The Passion Week dramatises the mission as no other week does.
On Palm Sunday, he cleansed the temple, rebuking the merchants, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’”Very powerful words indeed, more powerful than the lashing whip.
Is not the cleansing of the temple a sordid reminder of the cleansing we the temple of God need? We have become moving malls and shopping windows, displaying worldly vanities and crass materialistic values. Instead of becoming the house of prayer, we have become the den of merchandise. The words that Jesus spoke should ring in our ears and lead to repentance.
On Monday he pronounced judgment on abundant show and inner barrenness. Jesus thought there was fruit on the tree but there were only abundant leaves. Many of us have abundant leaves – born into ancient Christian families that go back to the days of St Thomas, a list of genealogy that commands awe, get elected to almost every other ecclesiastic office, knowledge of liturgy and cannons. Yet we produce no fruit. When Jesus look for fruit, will he be disappointed and say ….
On Tuesday he cleansed the disciples’ little faith. The disciples marvelled that the tree Jesus cursed withered overnight. He uses this occasion to demonstrate the greatest lesson of prayer: “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt … say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done. And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”
This is the most misunderstood of verses; and also the most criticized by atheists and agnostics. Remember, faith is not the exuberance of emotion, but the certainty of things unseen (the Reality). It is the certainty of the spiritual Reality, which is God Himself, and the spiritual realm and the spiritual laws. Like Newton’s Laws of Motion, the spiritual realm has its laws, which people of all religions are aware of. You need experience of God and the spiritual realm to gain the confidence and certainty that the Bible speaks of. You need first-hand experience of God, His mind and His will, and be constantly God’s companion through prayer. Then your will and God’s will converge, and you pray for the very things God desires.
One day, the famous writer P. G. Wodehouse, when he was a boy, walked into the church as the Priest was reading this verse. He wanted to get rid of his stammering for which he was laughed at. That night he prayed with all the faith he could muster that his stammering should disappear. The next morning when he got up, he was so thrilled that his stammering had disappeared. But when he started talking, he began to stammer. What disappeared instantly was his faith and he became an atheist. But much later in his life, he admitted that he would never have been a famous writer and amassed a fortune but for his stammering. Your physical handicap, your illness or your momentary financial difficulties could be a source through which God could send you showers of blessing.
On Tuesday, he lashed out at hypocrisy offering the Pharisees an opportunity to be cleansed. St Matthew (23: 13-39 ) records the 8-fold woes on hypocrisy:
“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.
You devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers.
You travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.
Blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.’
You pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith.
You cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence.
You are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.
You build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’
Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’”
His public ministry begins with Beatitudes or the 8-fold blessings, and ends in the solemn warning or the 8-fold woes upon hypocrites. That is the character of the Kingdom of God – blessings upon the pure in heart, the humble, the merciful, the forgiving, and the true seekers of God and judgment upon the proud, conceited hypocrite.
On Wednesday, he prepared for the Great Cleansing to follow on Thursday and Friday. All great human and divine endeavours need preparation in silence, stillness and solitude. As man and God, Jesus needed the same.
On Thursday, he instituted the Holy Communion, the sacrament of empowerment, rooted in purging and cleansing. In the Sermon on the Mount, he taught his disciples the fundamentals of the Kingdom of God; in his farewell discourse, he taught them the mystery of the kingdom. He illustrated the mystery first by cleansing them with water and word and then taking them through the experience of Union with God. Simple yet profound is the mystery: the disciples abiding in Jesus, and Jesus abiding in the Father, and the Father in Jesus and in them. It is a Spiritual Union words have no power to express. A mystery can only be experienced, not expressed; and the Holy Eucharist remains at the heart of dynamic Christian living.
When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him. Then He said to them, “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”
Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.
On Friday, he cleansed the human race by his precious Blood, offering them salvation. The immortal 7 sayings on the Cross reveal the unique person that Jesus Christ is:
Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”
God is agape, the transforming, transcending trans-territorial love that reaches out to everyone who cares to receive it. `The bird will sing even for the hunter who shoots her down,’ wrote a poet. That is an iota of God’s love. God loves all his creation, even those who crucify him! It is in search of them that he came into this world. If this love does not touch you and forgive those who offend you, this Good Friday has no meaning for you.
And Jesus said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
On the Cross and in excruciating pain, he found time to save a life from going into hell. Pain has not dimmed his humanity or his divinity. God’s goodness knows no boundaries.
Now there stood by the Cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!” 27 Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home.
Renouncing is not abdicating responsibility. He was always on his Father’s business but at her hour of need, he was there, helpless he may seem to the world but helpful to those who have eyes to see.
, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
Thus begins the 22nd Psalm written by David centuries ego as inspired by the Holy Spirit. The psalm begins in despair and ends in triumph, prophetically describing the agony on the Cross and celebrating Redemption accomplished by His Precious Blood.
After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I thirst!” Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth.
Everything that Jesus did was on the Divine Calendar. The following two verses reinforces the revelation.
So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.
He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’”
Seeing everything that happened – the darkness at noon, the earthquake and the supernatural witnessing – the Roman Centurion exclaimed: Truly, he was the Son of God!
On Saturday, he cleansed the grave, proclaiming the Good News to the departed.
On Sunday, he brought Immortality to the human race, offering them the New Life.
Let this Passion Week and Easter be a transforming experience in witnessing Jesus Christ by your life, word and deed.
THE CROSS, OUR LANDMARK
Fr M C Poulose
A seven-year-old girl one day lost her way. Nowhere to go, nowhere to turn, she spent several hours, bewildered and terrified and heartbroken. A man saw the young girl hopelessly crying. "What is the problem my dear child," asked the man."I'm lost", wailed the child. "Do not cry, I can take you home safely. Now, tell me where do you live?" "I am not sure", said the girl, "but lead me to the hill where the big wooden cross is; I can then find my way home." For the young girl that big wooden cross was her landmark. It was her symbol to come home.
There was a big wooden cross at a place called Golgotha nearly two thousand years ago. Year after year on Good Friday, we spent much time in meditation, prayer and adoration beneath the cross. It is in tasting Christ's passion on the cross that we can partake of His resurrection. By keeping and remembering Christ's cross at the center of our lives, our path will be enlightened and God's plan for us will come to fruition.
The act of remembering what Christ accomplished on that big wooden cross is simply not enough. This remembrance must lead us to the reality of the cross. Our Lord said, "Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me." This calls for action and positive change. It is here that our faith in God is put to the test! What is this test?
First, we are called to 'deny' ourselves. The word 'deny' may be the most hated word in our society. Our modern age encourages us to deny God and to focus solely on ourselves. We are led to falsely believing that we are in charge while Christ reverses the order and tells us to deny ourselves and to focus solely on Him, because He is Lord and King. We are to deny our passions, temptations, and anything that will deter us from being close to God. We have to leave behind our selfish ways and to empty ourselves, so that God's will may abide in and work through us. We say in the Lord's Prayer, "Thy will be done". To deny ourselves is not to lose our uniqueness as individuals, rather it is to reach our full potential as children of God.
Next we are told to 'pick up' our 'cross'. What is my cross? And what is your cross? This act of picking up our cross is different for each one of us. As Christ had His cross, we too have inherited our own. The cross can come to us in various ways. For some their cross might be a tragic life-threatening illness, while others might have what are seemingly less significant like dealing with ethical dilemmas. Whether your cross might be being falsely labelled or to be persecuted unjustly, the fact remains, that all of us have a cross to bear. We don't know why we are given a particular cross as opposed to our neighbors.
Finally, we are told to 'follow' Him. To follow Him each day of our lives, and throughout our lives. In following Him, our identity becomes Christ's. By denying ourselves in this world and picking up our cross, we walk daily to His Kingdom. At times, the cross may be burdensome, but the reward is eternal! One saint wrote, "The cross is the door to mysteries. Through this door the intellect makes entrance into the knowledge of heavenly mysteries." By experiencing the cross, we are able to share in the risen Christ.
A seven-year-old girl one day lost her way. Nowhere to go, nowhere to turn, she spent several hours, bewildered and terrified and heartbroken. A man saw the young girl hopelessly crying. "What is the problem my dear child," asked the man."I'm lost", wailed the child. "Do not cry, I can take you home safely. Now, tell me where do you live?" "I am not sure", said the girl, "but lead me to the hill where the big wooden cross is; I can then find my way home." For the young girl that big wooden cross was her landmark. It was her symbol to come home.
There was a big wooden cross at a place called Golgotha nearly two thousand years ago. Year after year on Good Friday, we spent much time in meditation, prayer and adoration beneath the cross. It is in tasting Christ's passion on the cross that we can partake of His resurrection. By keeping and remembering Christ's cross at the center of our lives, our path will be enlightened and God's plan for us will come to fruition.
The act of remembering what Christ accomplished on that big wooden cross is simply not enough. This remembrance must lead us to the reality of the cross. Our Lord said, "Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me." This calls for action and positive change. It is here that our faith in God is put to the test! What is this test?
First, we are called to 'deny' ourselves. The word 'deny' may be the most hated word in our society. Our modern age encourages us to deny God and to focus solely on ourselves. We are led to falsely believing that we are in charge while Christ reverses the order and tells us to deny ourselves and to focus solely on Him, because He is Lord and King. We are to deny our passions, temptations, and anything that will deter us from being close to God. We have to leave behind our selfish ways and to empty ourselves, so that God's will may abide in and work through us. We say in the Lord's Prayer, "Thy will be done". To deny ourselves is not to lose our uniqueness as individuals, rather it is to reach our full potential as children of God.
Next we are told to 'pick up' our 'cross'. What is my cross? And what is your cross? This act of picking up our cross is different for each one of us. As Christ had His cross, we too have inherited our own. The cross can come to us in various ways. For some their cross might be a tragic life-threatening illness, while others might have what are seemingly less significant like dealing with ethical dilemmas. Whether your cross might be being falsely labelled or to be persecuted unjustly, the fact remains, that all of us have a cross to bear. We don't know why we are given a particular cross as opposed to our neighbors.
Finally, we are told to 'follow' Him. To follow Him each day of our lives, and throughout our lives. In following Him, our identity becomes Christ's. By denying ourselves in this world and picking up our cross, we walk daily to His Kingdom. At times, the cross may be burdensome, but the reward is eternal! One saint wrote, "The cross is the door to mysteries. Through this door the intellect makes entrance into the knowledge of heavenly mysteries." By experiencing the cross, we are able to share in the risen Christ.
YOUR FAITH HAS SAVED YOU
There are four kinds of faith spoken of in the Bible:
• Saving faith
• Living Faith
• Healing Faith
• Triumphant Faith
Simon said, `Lord save me’ (Matthew 14:30)
Simon Peter wanted to imitate His Master. Peter did walk on water and performed a miracle because he trusted the Word of the Living God. But when the wind blew and the water disturbed, his faith vanished. Precisely then he started sinking. This is the story of many Christian leaders today.
The just shall live by faith (Habakkuk 2:4)
(Romans 1: 17, Hebrews 10:38)
Abraham believed God and it was considered righteousness for him. The righteous man is not one who has never ever sinned. But he is one who trusts God with all his heart, all his might, all his mind and all his spirit. He is one who will rise up even if he falls seven times, not the one who has never ever fallen.
Abraham received from God the promise of a son, the promise of descendants, and the promise of land. In his lifetime, he did not see much of the promise. For 24 years after the promise, he had no son; but Abraham believed that the God who promised is capable of fulfilling his word. That was the faith of Abraham, which saw its climax at Mount Moriah.
‘Your faith has healed’ (Mark 5: 34)
People in the medical and paramedical profession have the opportunity to touch the hearts of people as no other profession can. They can reach out to the lonely and forsaken hearts and start the process of healing. Healing is not just by medicine alone, but by love and care that heal the heart facilitating the healing of the mind and body.
If you have the faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, move from here .. and it will move.. (Matthew 17: 21)
Faith triumphs when it removes mountains. Mountains of obstacles. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor can a lighthouse or a beacon of light.
Mother Teresa was once an unknown school teacher who was unhappy because she did not find fulfillment in her life. As she was contemplating, a beggar approached her. She gave alms only to find another, and another approach her. Finally, she decided to start an orphanage, and soon she was left with no money to feed the orphans.
She decided to venture into the next house to ask for help. The Sardar next door spat on her outstretched palm. She smiled and said, ‘This is for me. Now give something for the orphans.’ Pricked by the conscience, the Sardar fell at her feet and apologized, and became the greatest patron of her orphanage. Love triumphs at home, at work, in the field, on the street. Love is faith in action.
• Saving faith
• Living Faith
• Healing Faith
• Triumphant Faith
Simon said, `Lord save me’ (Matthew 14:30)
Simon Peter wanted to imitate His Master. Peter did walk on water and performed a miracle because he trusted the Word of the Living God. But when the wind blew and the water disturbed, his faith vanished. Precisely then he started sinking. This is the story of many Christian leaders today.
The just shall live by faith (Habakkuk 2:4)
(Romans 1: 17, Hebrews 10:38)
Abraham believed God and it was considered righteousness for him. The righteous man is not one who has never ever sinned. But he is one who trusts God with all his heart, all his might, all his mind and all his spirit. He is one who will rise up even if he falls seven times, not the one who has never ever fallen.
Abraham received from God the promise of a son, the promise of descendants, and the promise of land. In his lifetime, he did not see much of the promise. For 24 years after the promise, he had no son; but Abraham believed that the God who promised is capable of fulfilling his word. That was the faith of Abraham, which saw its climax at Mount Moriah.
‘Your faith has healed’ (Mark 5: 34)
People in the medical and paramedical profession have the opportunity to touch the hearts of people as no other profession can. They can reach out to the lonely and forsaken hearts and start the process of healing. Healing is not just by medicine alone, but by love and care that heal the heart facilitating the healing of the mind and body.
If you have the faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, move from here .. and it will move.. (Matthew 17: 21)
Faith triumphs when it removes mountains. Mountains of obstacles. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor can a lighthouse or a beacon of light.
Mother Teresa was once an unknown school teacher who was unhappy because she did not find fulfillment in her life. As she was contemplating, a beggar approached her. She gave alms only to find another, and another approach her. Finally, she decided to start an orphanage, and soon she was left with no money to feed the orphans.
She decided to venture into the next house to ask for help. The Sardar next door spat on her outstretched palm. She smiled and said, ‘This is for me. Now give something for the orphans.’ Pricked by the conscience, the Sardar fell at her feet and apologized, and became the greatest patron of her orphanage. Love triumphs at home, at work, in the field, on the street. Love is faith in action.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
SING WITH DAVID
An Overview of Psalms
They were written for singing. They were meant for temple worship. They are melodious lyrics, more than poems.
Compiled over a thousand years – from the time of Moses to the time of Ezra –
they are deeply emotional, heart-rending, dramatic and figurative in speech. From the depth of despair, and excruciating agony, and the torture of disbelief, they take us through the ladder of faith to the Upper Room. The Psalms inspire us to worship the Living God. The apostolic church believed there is special blessing for reading the Psalms. Ever since they were penned, the Psalms remained close to the heart of the believer.
The structure of the Book of Psalms is similar to the Five Books of Moses, called the Pentateuch, or the Book of the Law.
Compiled over a thousand years – from the time of Moses to the time of Ezra –
they are deeply emotional, heart-rending, dramatic and figurative in speech. From the depth of despair, and excruciating agony, and the torture of disbelief, they take us through the ladder of faith to the Upper Room. The Psalms inspire us to worship the Living God. The apostolic church believed there is special blessing for reading the Psalms. Ever since they were penned, the Psalms remained close to the heart of the believer.
The structure of the Book of Psalms is similar to the Five Books of Moses, called the Pentateuch, or the Book of the Law.
BOOK I – Psalms 1-41
BOOK II – Psalms 42-72
BOOK III – Psalms 73-89
BOOK IV – Psalms 90-106
BOOK V – Psalms 107-150
While each of the five books concludes with a praise (doxology), Book V concludes with a psalm of praise (Psalm 150). Books I and II are primarily composed of Davidic Psalms. Book III includes Psalms of Asaph, and the sons of Korah. Books IV and V include anonymous Psalms, along with those of David and others.
Based on their themes, Psalms may be classified as:
Royal Psalms emphasise "God as King"; look for phrases like "the Lord reigns" or imageries of the Creator, the Savior of Israel, and "the coming One".
Zion Psalms focus on Jerusalem, preferring its endearing name, Zion; they rhapsodise over God's chosen site for the Holy Temple, the place for true worship in His name.
Penitential Psalms confess sins and ask God forgiveness, and then praise Him in the joy of renewed fellowship (e.g., Psalm 51).
Wisdom Psalms read like the Book of Proverbs. They juxtapose the righteous and the wicked, the wise and the foolish, the blessed and the abominable. Its sub-category, Torah Psalms focus on the beauty, truth, and sufficiency of the law of God.
Imprecatory Psalms ask God to curse the wicked, which might shock the New Testament readers, but reinforces God's abhorrence of evil.
Passover Psalms (113-118) are sung at the beginning of the Passover. Psalms 113-115 were sung at the temple during the slaying of the animals; Psalms 116-117, during the meal, and Psalm 118 at the end.
Hallel Psalms are clustered at the end, focusing on the Exodus and praising the Lord for His salvation, literally from Pharaoh and his armies and spiritually from Satan and the dark forces.
Lament Psalms are written in distressing times to pour out one’s sorrow and vexation of spirit which even the righteous pass through, life being a blend of good times and bad times. But God wipes away the tears of His children, as the faithful experience time and again.
Royal Psalms emphasise "God as King"; look for phrases like "the Lord reigns" or imageries of the Creator, the Savior of Israel, and "the coming One".
Zion Psalms focus on Jerusalem, preferring its endearing name, Zion; they rhapsodise over God's chosen site for the Holy Temple, the place for true worship in His name.
Penitential Psalms confess sins and ask God forgiveness, and then praise Him in the joy of renewed fellowship (e.g., Psalm 51).
Wisdom Psalms read like the Book of Proverbs. They juxtapose the righteous and the wicked, the wise and the foolish, the blessed and the abominable. Its sub-category, Torah Psalms focus on the beauty, truth, and sufficiency of the law of God.
Imprecatory Psalms ask God to curse the wicked, which might shock the New Testament readers, but reinforces God's abhorrence of evil.
Passover Psalms (113-118) are sung at the beginning of the Passover. Psalms 113-115 were sung at the temple during the slaying of the animals; Psalms 116-117, during the meal, and Psalm 118 at the end.
Hallel Psalms are clustered at the end, focusing on the Exodus and praising the Lord for His salvation, literally from Pharaoh and his armies and spiritually from Satan and the dark forces.
Lament Psalms are written in distressing times to pour out one’s sorrow and vexation of spirit which even the righteous pass through, life being a blend of good times and bad times. But God wipes away the tears of His children, as the faithful experience time and again.
Another way of gaining an overview of the Book of Psalms is to follow the history of Israel. Based on the history around the Davidic Covenant, the book may be classified afresh as:
INTRODUCTION: The righteous one 1-2
BOOK I: David’s conflict with Saul 3-41
BOOK II: David’s kingship 42-72
BOOK III: The Assyrian crisis 73-89
BOOK IV: The destruction of the temple and the Exile 90-106
BOOK V: The Return and the new era 107-145
CONCLUSION: The climax of praise to God 146-150
BOOK I: David’s conflict with Saul 3-41
BOOK II: David’s kingship 42-72
BOOK III: The Assyrian crisis 73-89
BOOK IV: The destruction of the temple and the Exile 90-106
BOOK V: The Return and the new era 107-145
CONCLUSION: The climax of praise to God 146-150
Theology of Psalms
The Lord rules the universe; He will establish His just rule on the earth through the righteous, who will prosper while the wicked perish. Since the OT did not spell out the final judgment in eternity, its theology worked through events of their world.
Wisdom Literature
Wisdom Literature is a manual for the wholeness of life, out of the brokenness of life. The Hebrew Wisdom Literature, of which the Book of Psalms is a part, was indeed influenced by contemporary Egyptian, Mesopotamian, and Canaanite-Phoenician literatures. By around the second century B.C., a three-fold division of the Hebrew Scriptures arose: The Law, The Prophets, and The Writings. The books of Psalms, Proverbs and Job were described by the mnemonic title “The Book of Truth”
Rhythm of Thought
The Rhythm of Thought and the Rhythm of Sound are unique characteristics of the Hebrew Poetry and Wisdom Literature. The key to thought rhyme is in the technique of parallelism (the matching of one thought with another).
Synonymous parallelism exactly balances the thoughts or meanings in two lines by saying the same thing twice in nearly the same way:
The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them (2: 4).
The trouble he causes recoils on himself; his violence comes down on his own head (7: 16)
Climatic parallelism develops a thought begun in the first line by adding to enrich one’s thinking:
Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
or stand in the way of sinners,
or sit in the seat of mockers (1: 1).
This technique highlights something more important to follow:
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates
day and night (2: 2).
A profound example is Psalm 95:
Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord (the meaning of worship);
.. the rock of our salvation (the object of worship, v 1).
Let us come before him with thanksgiving (the attitude of worship, v 2).
Come, let us bow down in worship,
let us kneel before the Lord our Maker (v 6);
for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture (the why of worship, v 7).
Today, if you hear his voice
do not hearken your hearts
as you did at Meribah
(the warning to worshippers and the theme of the Psalm, v 8).
For forty years I was angry with that generation
(the lesson from history for worshippers, v 10).
Occasionally they are expressed in a three-tier structure in which each line repeats the first, except in the last where a new thought is added. Psalm 29:
Ascribe to the Lord, O mighty ones,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength (v 1).
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due to his name;
Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness (the theme of the Psalm, v 2).
The voice of the Lord is over the waters ..
The voice of the Lord is powerful;
the voice of the Lord is majestic.
The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon (3, 4 & 5).
The voice of the Lord strikes with flashes of lightening.
The voice of the Lord shakes the desert …
The voice of the Lord twists the oaks … (7, 8 & 9)
The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;
the Lord is enthroned as King forever.
The Lord gives strength to his people;
the Lord blesses his people with peace (10-11).
Emblematic parallelism uses images to convey the poetic meaning. While one line conveys the main point in a direct fashion, the second line illuminates it by an image:
Who is like the Lord Our God,
the One who sits enthroned on high,
who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth? (113: 5, 6).
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him (103: 13).
The Lord is my shepherd, ..
he makes me lie down, ..
he leads me..
he restores my soul..
he guides me…
even though I walk through the valley
of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,
your rod and your staff, they comfort me..(23: 1,2,4)
Antithetical parallelism balances the thoughts within a pair of lines by stating truth in the first and the contrast in the second:
For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish (1: 6).
They dug a pit in my path –
but they have fallen into it themselves (57: 6).
Rhythm of Sound
To appreciate the Rhythm of Sound, one needs to know the Hebrew language. So we dare not explain but mention some of the technique in the passing. Worth mentioning is the Acrostic Psalm 119, in which each stanza begins with a Hebrew alphabet (aleph, beth, gimel, daleth, corresponding to a, b, c, d …)
The other techniques employed are:
Alliteration, Paronomasia (word play through the repetition of similar-sounding words), Onomatopoeia (sounds suggesting meaning), Ellipsis (omission of a key word in parallel construction), Inclusio (repetition of words/phrases).
John Calvin describes the Psalter as, “An Anatomy of all the Parts of the Soul; for there is not an emotion of which any one can be conscious that is not here represented as in a mirror. Or rather, the Holy Spirit has here drawn to the life all the grieves, sorrows, fears, doubts, hopes, cares, perplexities, in short, all the distracting emotions with which the minds of men are wont to be agitated.”
The joy of reading about Psalms cannot duplicate the joy of reading Psalms.
Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord (the meaning of worship);
.. the rock of our salvation (the object of worship, v 1).
Let us come before him with thanksgiving (the attitude of worship, v 2).
Come, let us bow down in worship,
let us kneel before the Lord our Maker (v 6);
for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture (the why of worship, v 7).
Today, if you hear his voice
do not hearken your hearts
as you did at Meribah
(the warning to worshippers and the theme of the Psalm, v 8).
For forty years I was angry with that generation
(the lesson from history for worshippers, v 10).
Occasionally they are expressed in a three-tier structure in which each line repeats the first, except in the last where a new thought is added. Psalm 29:
Ascribe to the Lord, O mighty ones,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength (v 1).
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due to his name;
Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness (the theme of the Psalm, v 2).
The voice of the Lord is over the waters ..
The voice of the Lord is powerful;
the voice of the Lord is majestic.
The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon (3, 4 & 5).
The voice of the Lord strikes with flashes of lightening.
The voice of the Lord shakes the desert …
The voice of the Lord twists the oaks … (7, 8 & 9)
The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;
the Lord is enthroned as King forever.
The Lord gives strength to his people;
the Lord blesses his people with peace (10-11).
Emblematic parallelism uses images to convey the poetic meaning. While one line conveys the main point in a direct fashion, the second line illuminates it by an image:
Who is like the Lord Our God,
the One who sits enthroned on high,
who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth? (113: 5, 6).
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him (103: 13).
The Lord is my shepherd, ..
he makes me lie down, ..
he leads me..
he restores my soul..
he guides me…
even though I walk through the valley
of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,
your rod and your staff, they comfort me..(23: 1,2,4)
Antithetical parallelism balances the thoughts within a pair of lines by stating truth in the first and the contrast in the second:
For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish (1: 6).
They dug a pit in my path –
but they have fallen into it themselves (57: 6).
Rhythm of Sound
To appreciate the Rhythm of Sound, one needs to know the Hebrew language. So we dare not explain but mention some of the technique in the passing. Worth mentioning is the Acrostic Psalm 119, in which each stanza begins with a Hebrew alphabet (aleph, beth, gimel, daleth, corresponding to a, b, c, d …)
The other techniques employed are:
Alliteration, Paronomasia (word play through the repetition of similar-sounding words), Onomatopoeia (sounds suggesting meaning), Ellipsis (omission of a key word in parallel construction), Inclusio (repetition of words/phrases).
John Calvin describes the Psalter as, “An Anatomy of all the Parts of the Soul; for there is not an emotion of which any one can be conscious that is not here represented as in a mirror. Or rather, the Holy Spirit has here drawn to the life all the grieves, sorrows, fears, doubts, hopes, cares, perplexities, in short, all the distracting emotions with which the minds of men are wont to be agitated.”
The joy of reading about Psalms cannot duplicate the joy of reading Psalms.
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