Presidential address – Diocesan Assembly
Mumbai Diocese of the Mar Thoma Church
Diocesan Assembly July 2017
Presidential address
Dear friends in Christ,
“Do all the good you can, By all the means you can
In all the ways you can, In all the places you can,
At all the times you can, To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.”
- John Weasley
A person wanted to visit the mother of his friend, who was hospitalised. He went from the town to the hospital by an auto rickshaw. He himself was having a back ache and therefore asked the driver to be slow and careful. He obliged. When he reached the hospital, he asked the amount that he had to pay. The Driver showed a box and told him to place in it a donation of an amount that he pleases. It was written on the box, ‘For deserving poor patients!’ It was then that the security guard came speedily to ask the autorickshaw to be moved from the entrance. Though he came angrily, he cooled down seeing the driver and said, ‘Good Morning Sir.’ A donation was given by the passenger, who then went to the security guard to find out who the driver is?…He is the 4th son of a daily wage employee. His father died recently. His brother is sick and he has two younger sisters. The whole family depends upon him. The autorickshaw came to him as a gift from the superintendent of the Hospital for the good marks he secured in plus two. The driver offered to pay the amount in installments but the superintendent said, it is a gift. From that day, he is saving money for the deserving poor patients in the same hospital through the box. The person became more anxious and asked the security guard, why did you salute him by saying, ‘Sir’. He said: Now that person is a 3rd year MBBS student….. A symbol of humility and service.’
‘it doesn’t matter how big you are or succeed in life, it is how humble you are in person that matters everywhere. Here lies a message: never be proud of what you are and the position you hold, because after a game of chess, the king and the soldiers go into the same box.
- What is our identity?
Holy Bible tells us that we are created in the image of God. It is the image of the Holy Trinity. God head reveals the diversity in the ‘functioning’ of God. We are created as persons in community. That means we need to recognize the diversity in God’s creation – male, female and third gender; humans as a whole and the rest of the creation. It is the life in relationship. We are created to accept the other, give respect and recognize the dignity of the other. Therefore, our personality is understood in mutual relationship, where we communicate each other and share the resources for the good of all. When we recognize that we have the ability to communicate, let us remember that our communication in words, gestures, works and even in silence is for the edification of the other. We thus reveal the image of God in communication, in relationships and in sharing with a spirit of care. We find our identity not in isolation but in living in homes and communities.
The liturgy of the Holy Qurbana reminds us of the theological dimensions on our identity. It says that we are sealed as God’s own through the sacrament of Holy Baptism, we are redeemed by the cross of Christ and sanctified as the worshipping community. We are all forgiven sinners, forgiven and redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ. St. Peter reminds us that (1Pet. 2:9) ‘We are a chosen race (the King’s priests) royal priesthood, the holy nation, God’s own people, chosen to proclaim the wonderful acts of God who called us out of darkness into his own marvelous light.’
- Life in space and time
We were all part of the agrarian society once. Various reasons prompted us to look for greener pastures. The migrants to Maharashtra, Gujarat and elsewhere understood that they are called out to lead a very meaningful life as Christians in the newly found home and society by discerning the will and purpose of God about them and fulfilling God’s call on their lives. This gave us the need to open ourselves to the vision God gives us from time to time and to experience God’s presence in our times. This characteristic nature of the community continues and is to be seen in our new generation as well. Our children are ‘sons of the soil’ who inherit the culture and language of the people around them. Values of the Kingdom of God and faith formation are related to each other and values like sharing, justice, sacrifice and reconciliation are to be taught and practiced in our families and churches. Now we have 59 parishes and 11 congregations. This is the result of our community formation as worshipping communities in each area and community living as faith – communities to express ourselves. Each parish is a centre for worship and to learn and teach the Holy Bible systematically. As part of the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church, we have a rich legacy and a proud history. At the same time we have a great responsibility to pass on our great liturgical tradition and faith oriented ministry meaningfully to the new generation who are exposed to different languages, culture and spiritual orientations. Let us make the Church-life more relevant and meaningful in our modern and fast developing world. Let us make our habituated world more eco-friendly by planting trees (Go Green) and conserving water. (Streams of Living Water).
- Mission in a fast developing world:
Digital Technology is something which we cannot completely deny today or embrace. In the modern world, internet is one which is not only connecting the whole universe but also altering substantially the human life on an individual and collective levels. We have almost wiped away the habit of writing personal letters and posting hard copies. Genuine contacts and face to face conversations are replaced by instant messaging and texting. In a digital world, we have very many ‘contacts’ but very little ‘connections’. We live in a world where rapid changes are happening and the acceleration of the change is beyond all our imaginations.
Today, digital technology is taking us to a virtual world. This is creating problems when a techno savvy person tries to establish, prove, build and propogate his/her own world and career. In a ‘selfie’ world, you project yourself and distance yourself from all others including those who are dear and near. “Even in our spiritual life, very often we are for the satisfaction of our selfish needs and seldom do we realize the role of our family within God’s plan.” [Every day with the Word. July 5, 2017]
One tends to avoid all dialogue and expresses that engaging with the other is a waste of time and exceedingly exhausting. Relationship never dies a natural death. They are killed by ego, attitude and ignorance…This life is not Christian when we believe that Christ came as a ‘Man for others’. We, as Christians, need to welcome other people, dear ones, friends and even strangers. Holy Bible keeps on exhorting us that we should be extending hospitality to all. People are important and we are called to take the ‘otherness’ from the person next to you. People of the digital world need a ‘paradigm shift’ from the position where you ask the real person to wait while you are engaged with a virtual person over the mobile. The primary importance is not for the self or the virtual person but the person who is physically present before you in the form of a ‘friend’ or a ‘stranger’. As Christians, We are called to continue the incarnational ministry of Christ by incarnating in the life situations of the people.
Jesus gave preferential option for the poor and the neglected.
There are also those who are helpless and desperate. They need others to help them, like the paralytic who wanted the 4 men (Mk 2:1-12). A person wrote:
On my way home, I found a piece of paper tied to an electric pole, with a small note on it. I was curious to know what was written, hence went closer & read it. “I lost Rs. 50 somewhere on the road. If any of you find it, please give it to me at this address. My vision isn’t great so please help”. I was urged to follow that address & found an old hut in shatters with an older woman sitting outside. She was frail & asked who is it, following my footsteps. I said I came by this way, found Rs. 50 on the road, so wanted to hand it over to you. She began crying on hearing this. She said, “My dear, I have had atleast 30-40 people come over & give me Rs. 50, saying they found it on the road. I didn’t write that note, I cannot even see properly, nor do I know how to read & write”. I said. “It’s Ok Amma you keep it”. She asked me to tear the note off on my way back. I walked back with a million thoughts as to who could’ve written that note? She would have asked everyone to tear that note, but none did.
I mentally thanked that person & realised that we just have to feel the need to help; there are so many ways to do it. He/she just wanted to help this old woman who lived alone…. Then someone stopped me & asked, “Bro, can you help me with this address? I found a 50 rupee note & want to hand it over”.
Humanity continues to be alive….No body is perfect…Affection is always greater than perfection. “Enjoy doing the little things in life…for one day, you will look back and realise that they were really the big things.”
- Information and spirituality
Information explosion is what is taking place today as we live with information technology. Too much of unprocessed information confuses the brain regularly and we feel buried in ‘Information Junkyards’. This confusion leads us to insensitivity, inaction and procrastination. That is not making one ‘good and wise’. Social media can tell us what is trendy, what is popular and what is happening now, but that will not provide us a space to think of why it is happening and how that matters to our life. We get wisdom by the ‘Interpretation of’ and ‘Reflection on’ the available information. For that we require some leisure, time of silence and quietness. Jesus acquired information during day time and late in the night or early morning, he moved away from everything and chose his way to deal with the demands of His life and ministry (Mt. 14:22-23, / Lk. 5:15-16, Mk. 1:35-39) Here is a story of a jackal and a cat:
A Jackal and a cat met in the middle of a forest. The jackal asked the cat how he would get away from a tiger. The cat said: ‘I know only one way and that is to climb the tree as fast as possible.’ Then the cat asked jackal his way. He replied: ’Brother, I know 101 ways of getting away. For example, I can go into a hole… suddenly a tiger appeared. The cat immediately climbed the tree while the jackal pondered- which solution should he adopt? Meanwhile the tiger pounced on the jackal and killed it.
Technological progress is necessary and it will open up innumerable choices. One can win the race for maximizing the choices, but our spiritual choice of what is good and bad allows us to find the direction and mechanism to live a sustainable, happy and blessed life.
- Churching the Diaspora
One great thing about our Church and similar main line churches is that the members regularly gather together for worship and sacraments, irrespective of the distance they have to travel and the money they have to spend. This is threatened by the modern trend to shop for Churches and to go for instant gratification through video screens. This trend will not help one to be rooted in the Faith and value systems of a religious community. Memories are important and they keep the community intact by way of our loyalty to the Church and commitment to the mission and ministry. In our onward movement of the community we keep these ‘conceptual memories’ by recreation and interpretation. A simple example is our Holy Communion Service which we celebrate more than the Divine Service (Parasyaradhana…) Jesus said,” Do this in remembrance of me until I come.” We do that again and again and every time the gathered community would say, “Lord we remember your death, we celebrate your resurrection and we look forward to your second coming.” In addition we conduct classes for the ‘First Communicants’ and the dedication service is celebrated. By this, we go on teaching the biblical and theological basis for the Faith and faith practices of the Church. These are keeping the religious community intact.
Look at our Diocese:
This year, our diocese celebrated the ordination services of 4 of our youth members at 4 different parishes covering Maharashtra and Gujarat. It is the first time that both the ordinations took place in our Diocese (Deacon & Kassessa), though we are away from central Kerala. It was a time of celebration in each place and anchoring of our faith. It marks the continuity in a changed context. Let us thank God that our youth members are becoming evangelists and priests every year and 4 of our youth members have joined this year also for theological studies.
- Witnessing and serving community
Church is called to be a witnessing and serving community. (James 2:14-26) This is carried forward by the intentional and consistent commitment of all faithful members. I am glad to say that our diocese is a witnessing community, witnessing the gospel in about 300 villages of Maharashtra and Gujarat. At the same time we are a serving community, carrying out specific ministries through Navjeevan and Navodaya.
Considering the enormous task that we shoulder on these levels, we need deeper commitment and greater participation. We need more volunteers in different fields to serve and support the cause envisaged in these mission and ministries. Tithing of our time and talents will prove to be good. Rev. Prakash Abraham writes:
“There is a real need to go beyond the “spiritual” exterior and view the parish as a mission-field to bring about an inner transformation in the parishioners. It is necessary to harness the diverse potential within the Church and guide the people to be useful in places of real need, giving their tithes, not merely money, but of their time and talents as well.” (Rev. Prakash Abraham (Ed.) Towards Greener Pastures – 2017) A good number of our parishes are sponsoring and supporting the mission fields and social activities. Consolidation of more members on the parish level itself will strengthen our activities and that will yield more results. “Challenges are what make life interesting. And overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.”
- Financial commitments
The recent midnight session in Indian Parliament which marked India’s transition to GST (Goods and Service Tax) brought to mind the eve of India’s Independence (Freedom at Midnight). GST is an epoch-making transformation. This is a call for transparency, clean administration and accountability. We should welcome this and the church is to be in the forefront to set a model (Mt. 17:27) All unethical business practices and money transactions are to be curbed. We want the nation to grow as a tax compliant society. One good thing is that the poor in the country have been insulated from any adverse impact of GST. If this is well implemented this will accelerate the economic growth of the country and contribute to better employment opportunities. These are welcome moves which need our support and co-operation.
Jesus said, (Mt 5:5-9)
“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”
- A word of Welcome
I welcome you all to this Diocesan assembly. You are elected by God through God’s people in our parishes. I have also nominated two persons. We are going to review the activities of the Diocese through the Annual Report and Annual Accounts. We are also going to consider the Annual Budget for the year 2017-2018.
“Speak in such a way that others love to listen to you…
Listen in such a way that others love to speak to you”
Remember, we had a humble beginning. In all humility let us praise God for the growth that God has given us. Let us be humble enough to commit ourselves to do greater things for God’s glory, for the blessing of the people among whom we live and minister and lay proper bricks to build up the Church and thereby the Kingdom of God.
Let me conclude with the words of St. Paul, as we read in Phil 4:8.
My brothers, fill your minds with those things that are good and that deserve praise, things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely and honourable…….Vs. 7. And God’s peace, which is far beyond human understanding, will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with Christ Jesus. Amen
Mar Theodosius
Navi Mumbai
