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Vicar's Message |
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Dearly beloved in Christ, Once again we commemorate the Suffering, Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. The disciples accepted Jesus as the Messiah. Their idea of the messiah's role was very different from that of Jesus. Their idea of the Messiah was that he will be a King. But Jesus took His ideal of the Messiah from the description given by the prophet Isaiah, the servant who was ready to suffer and die for others. In the wilderness, He decided to follow only the path of love, even if it would lead to suffering and death. When He found that peter might prevail upon Him to deviate from that path. He rebuked Peter, saying "Get behind me, Satan". From Mark 8:27-10:45 where Jesus teaching about the way of the cross is recorded, we can learn the basic truth about Christian life. A Christian is one who follows Christ. Therefore, like Christ, he must be ready to bear the cross. A Christian not only sets out on the path of sacrifice but also does the will of God. This goal is reached through Self Sacrifice, Self-denial, Sincerity and Humility which are essential for the Disciples of Christ. The Cross was the Supreme fact in the life of Jesus. It was the Supreme moment in the manifestation of God's own life, the moment when He revealed His very self in relation to the human race. The Cross is an eternal fact in the life of God. Always longing to find rest in the fellowship of men, eternally seeking us, at last he meets us here at our own level, armed with the forgiveness of holy love. It is this love that voluntarily gives itself to us on the Cross in the face of sin and ignorance that cause Him pain. Here indeed is the manifestation of a suffering God, suffering in the faith that can save man from sin and ignorance and make him responsive to his love. Suffering in the hope that man will now give God his longed for rest. The Cross of God is the cost of divine forgiveness. Lent is the time of our conversation and the renewal of God's life in us. Only thus can we prepare ourselves for the celebration of Christ's death and resurrection. Our death and Resurrection with Christ becomes dominant. Then we are led more directly in Christ's Passion and death. All the penance we do kill sin in us implies our death to sin, implies our death with Jesus. But lent does not stop with the death of Christ. Jesus takes us through death into His new, glorious risen life. This is the hope and Joy that pervade the whole of this season. The Resurrection is the experience of truth that can be known by faith. Its proof is the quality and meaning of relationship that come as a fruit of faith. The Resurrection is not exclusively an experience of life after death. Resurrection happens everyday. Resurrection is a process of the transformation of our relationships. Annual General Body Meeting and all other related administrative responsibilities have been completed. I thank the office bearers and the Executive Committee members of 2006 for there valuable Service to the extension of the Kingdom of God. I also welcome the new office bearers and the Executive Committee members to the activities of 2007. In this quarter, we will have Passion Week services, Sunday School Exam, Regional Junior Youth Conference, Sunday School Anniversary, V. B. S etc. May God bless you all!
Yours in Christ's Service, |
