Until this morning, I hadn't known that Jonah, who lived in the belly of a fish for three days lived in Galilee, just three miles from Nazareth where Jesus grew up. Jonah and Ninevah, I could match, but Jonah and Galilee? I wouldn't have guessed if not for the Bible commentary I read this morning around 5 a.m.
I hadn't read the Book of Jonah for years, maybe for the reason the story is too familiar for me to read through again. But this morning, I came across some facts , which I hadn't known before. Being only 4 short chapters long, I finished reading the book of Jonah in one sitting.
I found it interesting to know that Jonah was the only old Testament prophet who had lived in Galilee. Of course he lived around 750 yrs before Jesus. Though it's a short book, Jonah contains many valuable lessons for us to learn. Even Jesus mentioned about Jonah being in the belly of the fish for three days, when he spoke of His death and resurrection.
The book reveals the outreaching grace of love for the Gentiles. God summoned Jonah, the prophet, to go to Ninevah, the capital of the Gentile nation of Assyrians. Assyrians were long term enemies of Israelites, and probably Jonah might have feared and hated them much as the rest of the Israelites in his time did.
Knowing well the danger, humiliation and even death he might face in the hands of Ninevites, Jonah in his wisdom thought of running away in secret in the opposite direction. A very bad decision! How could he even think of doing anything unknowing to the all-knowing God? The result- waves under the command of God rocked the boat Jonah was travelling, and threw him overboard and into the belly of a large fish. Only then did Jonah realize, how stupid and disobedient he had been to run away from Someone who could command and overturn nature with the flick of His finger.
The storm made Jonah to be thrown into sea, and God, not yet finished with Jonah ordered a large fish that's big enough to host Jonah in its belly for three days to swallow him up. It's here, in the pit of slimy darkness, wrapped up in sea weeds, Jonah came into his senses, repented for his sins and begged for forgiveness from God. After three days, he got vomited out on the shore. And it took Jonah three days to walked to Ninevah to give out God's message to the people.
Jonah's thunderous warning of the destruction of the city, alerted the Ninevites, including the king, to panic. Soon they put on sackcloth and sat on ashes and proclaimed fast without any food or drink. To display the seriousness of their repentance, they didn't allow even their animals to drink or eat anything.
Was Jonah pleased over their repentance? The Bible doesn't say so. But God did. He saw the Ninevites' sincere attempt to change their ways and and decided to withdraw the punishment he planned to bring upon them earlier.
Jonah should have leaped in the air and praised God for His mercy, on witnessing the peoples' act of repentance. Instead, the scripture tells us that he was displeased and was angry at God for changing His plan. Why? What was the problem with Jonah?
Self-centeredness! Plain and simple. He had proclaimed to the people that God was going to destroy the city soon. That didn't happen. He didn't want to look like a false prophet before the people. The fact that they've repented and changed their ways didn't matter to him. It's his reputation, he saw was at stake. He couldn't understand why His God, the LORD of Hebrews should mercy towards his enemies and let them live.
To teach Jonah a lesson, God sat him under a shady vine to give him enjoy its comfort for a while and then made the plant worm- eaten and wither. The loss of the plant made Jonah sad and get angry with the worm. God made Jonah to realize that, if he could have pity on a vine for which he hadn't labored, shouldn't God have pity on Nineva where more than hundred and twenty persons and much of their livestock.
Don't we all sense a little of Jonah in us? Sometimes, we hate to see someone we dislike being blessed. We expect those who violate God's ways to be punished then and there. Instead of praying for them, we impose judgement on them. We expect God's anger rather than God's mercy for those, who don't follow after Him.
Self-righteousness could become a barrier and hinder us to rejoice with those whom we don't associate. It's here, we need to be cautious, and not to give into Jonah in us. If God could die for all, why should we restrict our love and prayers to only to those who are familiar to us. What about those who belong to another faith? Or those whose life styles we condemn? Jesus loves them too. Only through us, He can love them. So, are we willing to go where He want us to go or do we want to sail in the opposite direction?***
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Joseph Arimathea- An unknown, but courageous follower of Jesus
When You, my Lord, breathed your last breath on Calvary
The earth shook,and the sun stopped shining.
And an eclipse like darkness covered the earth
The temple curtain ripped from top to bottom
leaving the Most Holy Place wide open for anyone to enter.
The centurion, who stood at the cross to guard You,
saw Your love and acknowledged You as
Son of God.
Your mother Mary and the women beside, stood at a distance
And wept with grief, as You the Holy One
hung among thieves and suffer such gruesome death
John, who called himself your beloved disciple
stood at a distance and watched in tears as you die
Peter who vouched to give his life for you
not to be seen ,so were James, Philip, Andrews and Thomas
Judas gone away in guilt ,to hang himself on a tree.
Mary, Martha and Lazarus whom you loved to visit
weren't present at the cross site to bring any comfort at Your last hour
Out of fear, all fled and left you alone to die on the cross, bruised and bleeding
But Joseph from Arimathea, an unknown disciple of yours
A rich man and a prominent member of the Council
took up courage to go to Pilate and ask for your body.
Along with Nicodemus, who once came to meet You in secret
He took down your blood stained body from the cross
wrapped in linen and placed it in a new tomb cut out of rock nearby.
He gave no thought about his safety
nor the risk of excommunication from the council.
What he wanted was to give you an honorable burial
He gave You all what he could
and he did it by his own choice, expecting nothing in return..
Never before, and never after is Joseph Arimathea
mentioned in the Gospels nor in the entire Bible
But, surely in Your kingdom he may be seated among your chosen best
as the one who served you well at the time when it was needed.
Even if his name is not much known among those who serve You today
He truly deserves his deed to be remembered as one of the worthy service indeed!***
The earth shook,and the sun stopped shining.
And an eclipse like darkness covered the earth
The temple curtain ripped from top to bottom
leaving the Most Holy Place wide open for anyone to enter.
The centurion, who stood at the cross to guard You,
saw Your love and acknowledged You as
Son of God.
Your mother Mary and the women beside, stood at a distance
And wept with grief, as You the Holy One
hung among thieves and suffer such gruesome death
John, who called himself your beloved disciple
stood at a distance and watched in tears as you die
Peter who vouched to give his life for you
not to be seen ,so were James, Philip, Andrews and Thomas
Judas gone away in guilt ,to hang himself on a tree.
Mary, Martha and Lazarus whom you loved to visit
weren't present at the cross site to bring any comfort at Your last hour
Out of fear, all fled and left you alone to die on the cross, bruised and bleeding
But Joseph from Arimathea, an unknown disciple of yours
A rich man and a prominent member of the Council
took up courage to go to Pilate and ask for your body.
Along with Nicodemus, who once came to meet You in secret
He took down your blood stained body from the cross
wrapped in linen and placed it in a new tomb cut out of rock nearby.
He gave no thought about his safety
nor the risk of excommunication from the council.
What he wanted was to give you an honorable burial
He gave You all what he could
and he did it by his own choice, expecting nothing in return..
Never before, and never after is Joseph Arimathea
mentioned in the Gospels nor in the entire Bible
But, surely in Your kingdom he may be seated among your chosen best
as the one who served you well at the time when it was needed.
Even if his name is not much known among those who serve You today
He truly deserves his deed to be remembered as one of the worthy service indeed!***
Friday, April 22, 2011
Good Friday
Yes, it's Good Friday today and churches around the world are having services to commemorate the crucifixion of Christ. Strangely, this day is not a public holiday in the United States which is considered as a Christian country by the rest of the world. I was born and raised in Sri Lanka which is a Buddhist country with a minority Christian population. Well, Good Friday which in my native tongue called it as Big Friday, had three hour services in the afternoon (calculated to be the time Jesus hung on the cross) in many of the churches.
As a child of five to six years, I remember of sitting on the front verandah with my friend and talking about Jesus painful death and crying over it. As a teenager, I used to avoid any kind of meat or fish during lent season and be a vegetarian. The entire day on Good Friday ,I used to fast and have my meal around 6 pm after coming from evening church service. Today, I haven't fasted nor had myself give up on anything during the Lent season this year. Does that reflect any depletion in my faith. I don't think so. It's more of my aging and willpower than anything, I presume.
Likewise having Good Friday as a holiday or not. doesn't necessarily reflect the nature of our faith either, in my opinion. I do not know when and why United States decided not to make this a holiday as most of the other nations including Budhist and Hindu countries. It would have helped many to dwell on the suffering and sacrifice of Christ on that fateful day and spend some time on reflection. But on the other hand, people could use this day for watching ball games and doing other mundane things giving no thought to Christ or His sacrifice for our redemtion. In such case, a capitalist country like America could benefit by having people working on this day rather than sitting on their hinds and watching television at home or munching popcorns at the theaters. So, let me leave the country's decision alone and concentrate what this day means to me.
Well, Good Friday commemorates Christ's crucifixion, and I fully believe that without His sacrificial death on the cross, my death here will end up like any any animal's death. His blood cleansed me from past sins and made in direct communion with God almighty. Otherwise, I'd live , love and die with all my unfogiveness, hatred, pride and projudice intact. An unblemished lamb had to be sacrificed for the sins of people in ancient Jewish customs and it was required by the God of Israel.
Jesus is the unblemished lamb sacrificed for my redemtion. Do I really belief it? Yes, I do. Otherwise, I've no right to call myself a Christian or His follower. How do I know that His blood alone has the power to cleanse the sins of those who come to Him in repentence. Well, that's what Jesus had said and His disciples had preached and died for. But can I absolutely sure, to stand by it? It's here faith comes in. Faith is the substance you hope for the evidence of which you havent seen yet. When I put my faith in Christ, I believe in what He says. Faith doesn't require proof, and once anything is proved, you don't need faith to believe it . Faith is believing without seeing. Yes, there are times my faith is challenged by doubts, troubles and what's going around the world. But my faith in Christ, who He is, what He said, what He had done and what He had promised is on solid rock and I'm so thankful for that.
Then, what about those who don't believe in Christ? Is He the the one and only way? That's what the Bible says and even Jesus had said, " I'm the Way. No one come to the Father, but by me." Doesn't that sound somewhat unfair? There are so many kind and noble people doing so many good things, and they end up in hell and then there were and are Christians who did and do atrocious and unkind things and they end up in heaven? Yes, that sounds very unfair and I'm no one to say who goes to heaven and who goes to hell. God alone is the judge. But one thing for sure, we cannot on our own strength and manoevers can redeem ourselves from sin, however holy and noble our attempt could be. Only God has the power to do that.
We, Christians stand more accountable to what we do. We've no right to look at another person and say he's going to end up in hell, because he's not believing what we believe. If we've practiced what we preach, who knows there won't be even a single unbeliever on earth. All would have been drawn towards our Christ like attitude, love and behaviour and stood in line to be baptized. That's not happening even though we've toiled to evangelize the world. That means something what we are doing is not right and allowing satan to take the upper hand.
On this Good Friday, we need to examine our thoughts and acts to see where we've gone wrong. Otherwise, the precious blood of Christ is shed in vain. He died for all mankind. The Son of God came down to earth to understand human fraility and willingly laid his life so that we could be saved from darkness and destruction. He came to give us peace, joy and love and abundant life to live.
Do we Christians live a joyful and contended life as He wills for us or are we stressful the rat race like any other chasing the unnecessary. These days ,we even sell His name for our benefits. This need to stop. We need to cry out to God and ask Him to help us come to our senses. Good Friday is a great day to repent and return to the foot of the Cross where our Lord shed His precious blood.
Easter Sunday is coming! Hope of resurrection is in the breeze even though empty tomb is all what we see at times. Risen Christ is going to stand at the door soon. So, be prepared to welcome Him on Easter morning with all jubliation. Until then, lets focus inward and ask Christ to put aright what's not right and beautiful there.
As a child of five to six years, I remember of sitting on the front verandah with my friend and talking about Jesus painful death and crying over it. As a teenager, I used to avoid any kind of meat or fish during lent season and be a vegetarian. The entire day on Good Friday ,I used to fast and have my meal around 6 pm after coming from evening church service. Today, I haven't fasted nor had myself give up on anything during the Lent season this year. Does that reflect any depletion in my faith. I don't think so. It's more of my aging and willpower than anything, I presume.
Likewise having Good Friday as a holiday or not. doesn't necessarily reflect the nature of our faith either, in my opinion. I do not know when and why United States decided not to make this a holiday as most of the other nations including Budhist and Hindu countries. It would have helped many to dwell on the suffering and sacrifice of Christ on that fateful day and spend some time on reflection. But on the other hand, people could use this day for watching ball games and doing other mundane things giving no thought to Christ or His sacrifice for our redemtion. In such case, a capitalist country like America could benefit by having people working on this day rather than sitting on their hinds and watching television at home or munching popcorns at the theaters. So, let me leave the country's decision alone and concentrate what this day means to me.
Well, Good Friday commemorates Christ's crucifixion, and I fully believe that without His sacrificial death on the cross, my death here will end up like any any animal's death. His blood cleansed me from past sins and made in direct communion with God almighty. Otherwise, I'd live , love and die with all my unfogiveness, hatred, pride and projudice intact. An unblemished lamb had to be sacrificed for the sins of people in ancient Jewish customs and it was required by the God of Israel.
Jesus is the unblemished lamb sacrificed for my redemtion. Do I really belief it? Yes, I do. Otherwise, I've no right to call myself a Christian or His follower. How do I know that His blood alone has the power to cleanse the sins of those who come to Him in repentence. Well, that's what Jesus had said and His disciples had preached and died for. But can I absolutely sure, to stand by it? It's here faith comes in. Faith is the substance you hope for the evidence of which you havent seen yet. When I put my faith in Christ, I believe in what He says. Faith doesn't require proof, and once anything is proved, you don't need faith to believe it . Faith is believing without seeing. Yes, there are times my faith is challenged by doubts, troubles and what's going around the world. But my faith in Christ, who He is, what He said, what He had done and what He had promised is on solid rock and I'm so thankful for that.
Then, what about those who don't believe in Christ? Is He the the one and only way? That's what the Bible says and even Jesus had said, " I'm the Way. No one come to the Father, but by me." Doesn't that sound somewhat unfair? There are so many kind and noble people doing so many good things, and they end up in hell and then there were and are Christians who did and do atrocious and unkind things and they end up in heaven? Yes, that sounds very unfair and I'm no one to say who goes to heaven and who goes to hell. God alone is the judge. But one thing for sure, we cannot on our own strength and manoevers can redeem ourselves from sin, however holy and noble our attempt could be. Only God has the power to do that.
We, Christians stand more accountable to what we do. We've no right to look at another person and say he's going to end up in hell, because he's not believing what we believe. If we've practiced what we preach, who knows there won't be even a single unbeliever on earth. All would have been drawn towards our Christ like attitude, love and behaviour and stood in line to be baptized. That's not happening even though we've toiled to evangelize the world. That means something what we are doing is not right and allowing satan to take the upper hand.
On this Good Friday, we need to examine our thoughts and acts to see where we've gone wrong. Otherwise, the precious blood of Christ is shed in vain. He died for all mankind. The Son of God came down to earth to understand human fraility and willingly laid his life so that we could be saved from darkness and destruction. He came to give us peace, joy and love and abundant life to live.
Do we Christians live a joyful and contended life as He wills for us or are we stressful the rat race like any other chasing the unnecessary. These days ,we even sell His name for our benefits. This need to stop. We need to cry out to God and ask Him to help us come to our senses. Good Friday is a great day to repent and return to the foot of the Cross where our Lord shed His precious blood.
Easter Sunday is coming! Hope of resurrection is in the breeze even though empty tomb is all what we see at times. Risen Christ is going to stand at the door soon. So, be prepared to welcome Him on Easter morning with all jubliation. Until then, lets focus inward and ask Christ to put aright what's not right and beautiful there.
Monday, April 4, 2011
The Face on the Cover Page
Reflecting the face of Jesus, was the title of the editor's letter on the Voice of Martyrs magazine I rec'd in the mail this week. It was the first time I've received the magazine, and by reading through the article I came to understand that in the January issue of the magazine, they have featured the scarred face of a Christian woman named Yubelina from Indonesia.
It was during a Muslim attack on her village, Yubelina burned in a fire and her disfigured to an extent no one would want have a second look. Strangely, there were some readers, who were offended by the disfigured face on the cover of the magazine, that they requested their names to be taken off from the mailing list of Voice of Martyrs. Some even went to the extent of saying,it gave them-' nightmarish, ghoulish vision."
Yes, those who didn't have the eyes to see the faith of Yubelina, and the cause for her deformation saw only the distorted figure on the cover. But there were others, including children who saw the same photo on the cover wanted to pray for her and even went to the extent to keep Yubelina's picture with her distorted face on top of their computer or in the family room so that they could pray for her and for the persecuted church on a daily basis.
Same picture; two different responses. Why so? What makes the difference? No doubt, both group must have been Christians. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been on the mailing list of Voice of Martyrs. Both must have been concerned about what's happening to Christians around the globe, especially in countries which are hostile to Christians. And even supported financially for the translation and distribution of the Bible and for the expansion of the Gospel. However, one group didn't want to go any farther than their comfort level. They couldn't bear to see the disfigured face of Yubelina on the cover. Instead of seeing her beautiful heart that was set ablaze for Christ, they saw just the face of Yubelina which was scorched by fire.
In a culture, where physical beauty is upheld and worshipped like an idol, it's natural to avoid looking at disfigured people or their pictures. Maybe I would have done the same too. It's more comfortable to keep a distance from a person or a situation that brings either fear or disgust to us. We don't mind praying for them from a distance or pocket out a little sum of money to those, who help them. Going the extra mile to touch and care for them as our own seems to be a big stretch to us.
In the Lord's eyes, how beautiful the scorched face of Yubelina with a blinded eye must have looked, for it is for Him, the woman had braved enough to display her faith and lost her beauty. By losing her outer beauty, she had gained the everlasting beauty that God admires. I pray that you and I too will have the eyes to see as God sees, and be brave enough to carry the scar of our faith to reflect our love for Christ and His love for us, if and when our faith is put to a test as it did for Yubelina.
It was during a Muslim attack on her village, Yubelina burned in a fire and her disfigured to an extent no one would want have a second look. Strangely, there were some readers, who were offended by the disfigured face on the cover of the magazine, that they requested their names to be taken off from the mailing list of Voice of Martyrs. Some even went to the extent of saying,it gave them-' nightmarish, ghoulish vision."
Yes, those who didn't have the eyes to see the faith of Yubelina, and the cause for her deformation saw only the distorted figure on the cover. But there were others, including children who saw the same photo on the cover wanted to pray for her and even went to the extent to keep Yubelina's picture with her distorted face on top of their computer or in the family room so that they could pray for her and for the persecuted church on a daily basis.
Same picture; two different responses. Why so? What makes the difference? No doubt, both group must have been Christians. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been on the mailing list of Voice of Martyrs. Both must have been concerned about what's happening to Christians around the globe, especially in countries which are hostile to Christians. And even supported financially for the translation and distribution of the Bible and for the expansion of the Gospel. However, one group didn't want to go any farther than their comfort level. They couldn't bear to see the disfigured face of Yubelina on the cover. Instead of seeing her beautiful heart that was set ablaze for Christ, they saw just the face of Yubelina which was scorched by fire.
In a culture, where physical beauty is upheld and worshipped like an idol, it's natural to avoid looking at disfigured people or their pictures. Maybe I would have done the same too. It's more comfortable to keep a distance from a person or a situation that brings either fear or disgust to us. We don't mind praying for them from a distance or pocket out a little sum of money to those, who help them. Going the extra mile to touch and care for them as our own seems to be a big stretch to us.
In the Lord's eyes, how beautiful the scorched face of Yubelina with a blinded eye must have looked, for it is for Him, the woman had braved enough to display her faith and lost her beauty. By losing her outer beauty, she had gained the everlasting beauty that God admires. I pray that you and I too will have the eyes to see as God sees, and be brave enough to carry the scar of our faith to reflect our love for Christ and His love for us, if and when our faith is put to a test as it did for Yubelina.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)