Reformation: An Invitation For Sacramental Living

Reformation: An Invitation For Sacramental Living

Rt. Rev. Dr. Geevarghese Mar Theodosius
Episcopa, Mar Thoma Diocese of North America and Europe

I am delighted that Chalanam, the publication of the Mar Thoma Theleological Seminary in Kottayam, is publishing a new edition to coincide with the 175th anniversary of the reformation within the Malankara Mar Thoma Church. I am also happy that the staff and students of the seminary have decided to publish this edition with the title Reformation: An Invitation For Sacramental Living. I wish the publication all success and pray that it will prove to be a blessing to all the members of the church and friends of the seminary.

The universe and the entire inhabited earth requires the Grace of God for its very existence, and may the church, the body of Christ, called and sanctified, carry out the mission of being the channel of His grace to all creation. On the occasion of the 175th anniversary of reformation it is important to reflect on what it means to be a reformed church.

1. Reformation is not for the formation of a new church but for transforming the existing church for a fruitful living.

There are people who consider the reformation that took place 175 years ago as the birth of the present Mar Thoma Church. This is a wrong notion. The Malankara Mar Thoma Church is part of the Christian church in India that started in AD52 with the visit of the apostle Saint Thomas who preached the gospel to the people in the southern part of India. The availability of the Holy Bible in the language of the people and the mission of help that came from the Church Mission Society (CMS) enabled the leaders of the church to look closely into her life and mission. Great men like Palakunnathu Abraham Malpan and Kaithayil Geevarghese Malpan felt the need to educate the members of the church to look into their lives and church-practices in the light of the Holy Bible. People responded to this invitation and recognized the need for transformation within the worshiping community, the church. This invitation caught momentum and brought reformation within the existing church. It is significant that the reformation-fathers chose to uphold the values of the Kingdom of God instead of worldly ways.

2. Reformation in worship is an integral part of church-life and growth

The church gains vitality and she assumes her growth as members gather together regularly for worship. God is the one who is worthy of worship. God’s children, the members of the church, gather together to praise and glorify Him. (Is. 6) God fills his children with His love; Jesus Christ strengthens His body by His grace and the Holy Spirit grants dynamism and vitality for the renewal of the church by His abiding presence. The gathered community by its regular religious practices turns to liturgical forms of worship for meaning and discipline.

All important occasions of human life are moments to turn to God and seek His grace and blessings. Many religious practices have become sacraments in the church where the religious community gathers together for worship. Although the entire human life is to be understood and celebrated as a sacrament, the Church has identified seven sacraments for the edification of human life. A sacrament can be defined as a means of receiving God’s grace. Every sacrament has its outward expressions, which will carry meaning only when there is an inward spiritual experience. This is possible only through the grace of God. Though the Church has liturgical forms of worship for all sacraments, and the religious practices appear to be a ritual, each sacrament will become relevant and meaningful only when there is inward spiritual experience in the life of the people. Therefore the sacraments in the church are for the sacramental living of the people. The reformation in the church was an invitation to the members of the church for sacramental living. It is to be noted that the reformation-fathers trusted God and were strengthened by God’s grace, which made them give away many of the material possessions and risk the positions they enjoyed in their society.

3. Reformation is invitation for sacramental living.

Reformation is not a one time event; it is a continuous process inviting members to reform their religious practices and to renew their life. The salient features that the Mar Thoma Church speaks of as unique characteristics of reformation are not closed entities but processes that shall give meaning to the nature of the church as we move forward in time. For example,

a. At the time of reformation the Church took a stand to translate the liturgy from the Syrian language (Syriac) to Malayalam. The reformation process was intended to free the church from domination by a foreign language and to grand freedom for the members to have the liturgy in their own language. It is gratifying to see that the Mar Thoma Church continues to translate its liturgy into the languages of the people based on the geographic location of the Church’s parishes. Wherever the Church members become conservative and hesitant to change their language from Malayalam, when the growing generation speaks other languages, the Church is turning a deaf ear to the invitation for sacramental living. Wherever a group of members are insisting to have only Malayalam service till they die, thereby neglecting the need of the people to have the liturgy in their own language, they are weakening the Church by forgetting the true spirit of reformation.

b. The reformed Church gave due emphasis to studying the Holy Bible and living the Gospel. In the modern technocratic world where humans are “busy”, a large number of people stay away from studying the Word of God and renewing their life accordingly. They knowingly or unknowingly neglect the essentials of Christian life. While we do not want to be mere traditionalists, we need to keep the traditions of personal meditation, family prayer, study of the Word of God in smaller groups, and systematic learning of the faith and practices for spiritual nurturing and healthy growth. The reformation is therefore an invitation at all times to understand and live the Word of God. The church life becomes sacramental living when the members take keen interest to grow in family worship and in prayer groups. Thus, regular attendance in the Church’s organizational meetings will nurture one’s spiritual life as well as strengthen the fellowship of community living.

c. The reformed Mar Thoma Church is a missionary church. While the Church is highly liturgical, it is also evangelical. The reformed Church took great interest to cross all boundaries and to reach out to all people with the gospel. At one time, there was a strong movement by the people in the church to go out of the State of Kerala in small groups to profess the gospel of Jesus Christ, and to live and preach the Good News among people, irrespective of caste, color and creed. The ashrams of the Mar Thoma Church are examples of that movement. When a community withdraws itself and lives like a caste or communitarian group they are making the Church insulated and isolated and thereby taking away from the spirit of reformation. If it becomes necessary to close any local parish, after a reasonable period of existence, it would be highly indicative that the church there was introverted instead of reaching out to the people in the neighborhood. Today the Mar Thoma Church has become a global church, mainly by its Diaspora. However, it is necessary for the church to become interracial and multicultural and this would be the invitation of the reformed church; to be the church of its time. That kind of reformation can only happen in a church that practices sacramental living.

d. The reformed Mar Thoma Church is hierarchical in nature and democratic in her administration. The spirit of reformation can be continued only when the church maintains a proper balance between its hierarchical and its democratic characteristics. There can be real danger to the Church when overemphasis is given to the Church’s democratic pattern of decision-making or when the ministry of the church becomes merely considered as a profession. The church should be willing to give proper attention and recognition to the priesthood of believers and be willing to listen to the wisdom of the Church’s chosen leaders as well as people who are talented and experienced. The successful growth of the Mar Thoma Church to its current stature has proven that its members have listened to the prophetic voices of its spiritual leaders to engage in social involvement in order to carry out the servant ministry of the Church, and that the Church has respected its lay-leaders who offered leadership in global ecumenical circles and other spheres to witness Jesus Christ.

4. The sacramental living of the members will make the Church a community for others.

Jesus Christ lived on Earth as a ‘man for others’. The purpose of God in sending his son Jesus Christ into the world is to redeem all of creation through Him. The church is an instrument for serving God’s purpose and therefore a channel of God’s grace to the entire world. The church will lose her meaning and purpose if she exists only for her own wellbeing. Jesus Christ showed the church the true way of life by His self-emptying life. The cross of Christ marks the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and we celebrate these events in every sacrament, particularly the sacrament of Holy Qurbana where it says, “He took bread in His holy hands, gave thanks, blessed, sanctified and broke it and gave it to his disciples saying: take, eat, this is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me”. These words are not simply to be recited or repeated during the Holy Qurbana, but these words ought to become a living experience and enable the transformation of the church and the world. This is the meaning of re-formation. This is living “the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ” everyday. Adhering to the words of Jesus Christ, “you are the light of the world”, our Church forefathers established the motto of the Mar Thoma Church as “lighted to lighten”. Let us keep the light shining as the Church continues to grow, worship and practice a more meaningful and sacramental living. Let us keep the light shining on the occasion of the 175th anniversary of reformation and remember that the Church is the body of Christ and is established for spreading the good news that Jesus Christ is savior of the entire world and the light to the whole world.

Mar Theodosius