"YOU ARE THE SALT OF THE EARTH." (Mt. 5:13)
"The salt of the earth" figuratively means in the plural, 'the finest citizenry',
and in the singular, 'one among them'. In the course of His Sermon on the
Mount, Jesus addresses the listeners individually and collectively as the
salt of the earth. He reminds them that salt renders itself good for nothing
when it loses its taste. The reminder serves to warn against their losing
sight of their mission in life and leading bland, unsavory, meaningless lives.
During the Lord's earthly ministry, pure salt was a very scarce commodity,
and therefore, quite dear and often a suitable medium of exchange in terms
of its stability in value. Hence, the use of the figure of speech is in context
to challenge the listeners to evaluate what they really 'are', and what they
'can be' in God's kingdom on earth by being like pure salt without blemish.
The Lord's message is as much relevant to us individually as Christian
believers, and collectively as a parish/diocese/ church in the 21st century as
it was to the listeners then. In modern usage, we often refer to a diligent
and dedicated worker as being 'worth his/her salt'. That means, the worker
concerned MERITS IN FULL, what he/she earns as salary, by virtue of
personal commitment, perseverance and resultant improved productivity.
The word 'salary' itself is derived from the word 'salt'. In fact, salary means
'salt-money' .
We read in Job 6:6, "Can that which is tasteless be eaten without salt."
The same is a fact of life even today. Salt is extremely useful in our
day-to-day lives when used in its appropriate quantity. Salt is immensely
valuable for what it does. Salt SEASONS; PRESERVES; PURIFIES;
IRRITATES CUTS AND BRUISES; PERMEATES AND PENETRATES. Life
without salt is inconceivable. So must be Christianity and its adherents to
the present-day social life.
Millions around the globe remain literally drained of their spiritual dignity,
emotional security, mental peace and physical well-being. They desperately
look for props to cling to while living through the abject misery of their broken
lives. Just as salt seasons and causes flavor to come alive, Christian
believers and their churches of various denominations must strive to redeem
them by imparting flavor and zest to their otherwise wretched lives. They
have to be provided with at least a semblance of hope worth living for.
Like salt, Christianity has to be consistently an efficacious 'preservative' in
the face of rapidly vanishing values of life such as respect for the sanctity of
life; chivalry; chastity in thought, speech and action; courage of conviction;
personal integrity and so on. A society solidly founded on sound moral
tenets and values will become a forlorn dream unless Christianity does its
part in protecting and PRESERVING moral values on a war footing.
In 2 Kings 2:20-22 is the narrative of how Elisha made a polluted spring of
water wholesome by dropping salt in it from a new bowl with a prayerful
pronouncement of blessing over the water. Salt has antiseptic properties to
heal. In olden days new-born babes were given a saline bath to ward off or
avoid infections. Christianity has to play the role of 'purifying salt' by being a
relentless uncompromising voice of sanity and moral rectitude against the
rampant corrupting influences that threaten modern civilization. Social ills
will then be certainly healed, heralding the dawn of a better morrow.
Mark 9:49 reads: "For every one will be salted with fire." It implies that a
burning sensation is common to both salt and fire. As far as cuts and
bruises are concerned, salt is an irritant. Christians and their churches of
various denominations must also act as 'irritants' in a sick society. The
decaying modern culture badly needs and calls for the salt of Christianity and
the Lord's empowering gospel to break away from the stinking status quo,
and start afresh in newness of spirit.
Just as salt permeates and penetrates water, churches of various
denominations are to deploy their human resources to reach out to, and
penetrate all the different social strata, with the life-giving gospel of our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ, instead of keeping it hidden under a bushel. A
sweeping spiritual revival will then ensue giving hope and healing to billions.
Christians are required NOT to be conformed to this world. They are to be
strikingly different from non-Christians in their thought and behavioral patterns.
Apostle Paul, therefore, exhorts us: "Let your speech always be gracious,
seasoned with salt." (Col. 4:6) We owe it to ourselves and to our Lord to
conduct ourselves in such an exemplary manner as to be able to draw non-
Christians to the Lord of Glory.
I conclude this message by posing to myself the question: "Am I, my parish,
my diocese, my church pure salt or salt that has lost its savor?"
Prayerfully,
Nakkolackal V. L. Eapen,
St. Gregorios Church, Austin, TX.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
IT IS FINISHED. (Jn.19:30)
"IT IS FINISHED." (Jn.19:30)
The Lord's above pronouncement from the cross at Calvary represents
the DIVINE perspective. Its emphasis is, therefore, NOT on the
Sacrificial Lamb, but on the final outcome of the sacrifice - i.e. the
fulfillment of the Heavenly Father's sovereign will. If paraphrased to
represent the HUMAN perspective, it would read: "I have finished it."
The Lord's emphatic declaration, "It is finished," leaves no room for
skepticism. However, to appreciate what has been finished, and at
what stupendous cost it has been finished, we need spiritual discern-
ment besides a sound understanding of the relevant Scriptural texts.
God's New Covenant with Israel, spelt out in Jer. 31:31-34 and alluded
to in Ezek. 36:24-28, has the following four (04) provisions: (i) Re-
generation: God's law will be ingrained in their minds and written on
their hearts; (ii) Israel's Restoration: Yahweh will be their God and
Israelites will be His people; (iii) The Holy Spirit's Direct Ministry:
They will ALL be individually instructed by the Spirit of God; and (iv)
The Assurance of Full Justification: Their sins will be forgiven and
remembered no more. The shed blood of the Lamb of God on Calvary's
cross guarantees to Israel its New Covenant while assuring forgiveness
of sins to believers comprising the Church, which forms God's New
Israel. In Rom. 11:25-26, St. Paul anticipates a day when all Israel
would accept Jesus as the Messiah and His death on the cross as the
atonement for their sins. "A hardening has come upon part of Israel,
until the full number of the Gentiles come in, and so all Israel will be
saved."
The cross is as much a symbol of 'divine justice' as it is of 'divine love'.
Divine justice dictates that the wages of sin is death. The reference
here is NOT to 'physical' death, but to 'spiritual' death. Spiritual death
means 'separation from God'. That is, the indwelling spirit, which is the
"inward being" (Ps. 51) or the "inner man"/woman (Eph. 3:16), becomes
separated from God as the inescapable consequence of sin. This is
attested in Isaiah 59:2. "But your iniquities have made a separation
between you and your God." When Adam and Eve ate the forbidden
fruit, they instantly died spiritually. Consequently, they lost their
fellowship with God and their God-centeredness, and became self-
centered, and scrambled for fig leaves to cover their nakedness. What
has been finished at Calvary is the BRIDGING OF MAN'S SEPARATION
FROM GOD in accordance with the rigorous, but just and fair require-
ments of divine justice. The Sinless Christ became our sin on the cross,
and died in our place, not only physically, but also spiritually, to appease
God's wrath against us. The Lord's SUBSTITUTIONARY SPIRITUAL
DEATH on our behalf implies His momentary separation from God the
Father, necessitating the heart-rending cry, "My God, My God, why hast
Thou forsaken Me." (Mt. 27:46) The strange salutation is profoundly
significant in that it is NOT, 'My Father, My Father', as it should
otherwise be. Suffice it to say that God punished Christ as though He
had committed our sins. On the other hand, when we believe in Christ,
God accepts us as though we were as righteous as Christ. (2 Cor. 5:21)
In Biblical terminology, it is called "reckoned"/imputed righteousness.
(Rom. 4:6)
The Lord Himself affirms in Lk. 22:37, "For what is written about Me has
its fulfillment. " The Lord's clarity of vision as to His epoch-making mission
at Calvary is apparent in Lk.12:50. "I have a baptism to be baptized with;
and how I am constrained until it is accomplished! " It was indeed a
baptism of fire; an acid test of His obedience and faithfulness. Accord-
ingly, the Lord "offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and
tears, to Him, Who was able to save Him from death, and He was heard
for His godly fear." (Heb. 5:7) The Lord also thoughtfully prepared His
disciples for the impending tragedy.
The mission at Calvary has four (04) primary purposes: (i) Bearing our
iniquities; (ii) Carrying our sicknesses; (iii) Washing away our sinful-
ness and purchasing with His precious blood the forgiveness of our sins;
and (iv) Dying physically to rise from the dead, and thus to destroy for
ever the power of death.
Isaiah, who lived 700 years before Christ, perceived in his spirit, the
spiritual, mental, emotional and physical agony of the dying Christ on
the rugged cross, and under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he wrote:
"He (the Father) shall see the fruit of the travail of His (the Son's) soul
and be satisfied; by His knowledge shall the Righteous One, My
Servant, make many to be accounted righteous; and He shall bear their
iniquities." (Is. 53:11) "He shall bear their iniquities," means that He
shall suffer substitutionary spiritual death.
Again, Isaiah saw in his spirit Lord Jesus Christ at the whipping post
being ruthlessly lashed by the Roman soldiers, and Isaiah cried out:
"Upon Him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with His
stripes we are healed." (Is. 53:5) The stripes, left on the Lord's back by
the soldiers' strokes with the whip, are a provision for our divine healing.
In other words, the Lord took upon Himself our ailments and diseases
to be nailed to the cross, and gave us in return health and healing with
His stripes. It is NOT coincidental, but prophetic, that David writes in
Psalm 103: "Who forgives all your iniquity," (because of the spilled
blood at Calvary), and "Who heals all your diseases," (with the stripes
on the Lord's back).
The Lord's mission having been triumphantly 'finished', it is up to us, the
believers, to claim and receive Calvary's everlasting victory over Satan,
sin, sickness and death, as our own inheritance during this Holy Lenten
Season.
Prayerfully,
Nakkolackal V. L. Eapen,
St. Gregorios Church, Austin, TX.
The Lord's above pronouncement from the cross at Calvary represents
the DIVINE perspective. Its emphasis is, therefore, NOT on the
Sacrificial Lamb, but on the final outcome of the sacrifice - i.e. the
fulfillment of the Heavenly Father's sovereign will. If paraphrased to
represent the HUMAN perspective, it would read: "I have finished it."
The Lord's emphatic declaration, "It is finished," leaves no room for
skepticism. However, to appreciate what has been finished, and at
what stupendous cost it has been finished, we need spiritual discern-
ment besides a sound understanding of the relevant Scriptural texts.
God's New Covenant with Israel, spelt out in Jer. 31:31-34 and alluded
to in Ezek. 36:24-28, has the following four (04) provisions: (i) Re-
generation: God's law will be ingrained in their minds and written on
their hearts; (ii) Israel's Restoration: Yahweh will be their God and
Israelites will be His people; (iii) The Holy Spirit's Direct Ministry:
They will ALL be individually instructed by the Spirit of God; and (iv)
The Assurance of Full Justification: Their sins will be forgiven and
remembered no more. The shed blood of the Lamb of God on Calvary's
cross guarantees to Israel its New Covenant while assuring forgiveness
of sins to believers comprising the Church, which forms God's New
Israel. In Rom. 11:25-26, St. Paul anticipates a day when all Israel
would accept Jesus as the Messiah and His death on the cross as the
atonement for their sins. "A hardening has come upon part of Israel,
until the full number of the Gentiles come in, and so all Israel will be
saved."
The cross is as much a symbol of 'divine justice' as it is of 'divine love'.
Divine justice dictates that the wages of sin is death. The reference
here is NOT to 'physical' death, but to 'spiritual' death. Spiritual death
means 'separation from God'. That is, the indwelling spirit, which is the
"inward being" (Ps. 51) or the "inner man"/woman (Eph. 3:16), becomes
separated from God as the inescapable consequence of sin. This is
attested in Isaiah 59:2. "But your iniquities have made a separation
between you and your God." When Adam and Eve ate the forbidden
fruit, they instantly died spiritually. Consequently, they lost their
fellowship with God and their God-centeredness, and became self-
centered, and scrambled for fig leaves to cover their nakedness. What
has been finished at Calvary is the BRIDGING OF MAN'S SEPARATION
FROM GOD in accordance with the rigorous, but just and fair require-
ments of divine justice. The Sinless Christ became our sin on the cross,
and died in our place, not only physically, but also spiritually, to appease
God's wrath against us. The Lord's SUBSTITUTIONARY SPIRITUAL
DEATH on our behalf implies His momentary separation from God the
Father, necessitating the heart-rending cry, "My God, My God, why hast
Thou forsaken Me." (Mt. 27:46) The strange salutation is profoundly
significant in that it is NOT, 'My Father, My Father', as it should
otherwise be. Suffice it to say that God punished Christ as though He
had committed our sins. On the other hand, when we believe in Christ,
God accepts us as though we were as righteous as Christ. (2 Cor. 5:21)
In Biblical terminology, it is called "reckoned"/imputed righteousness.
(Rom. 4:6)
The Lord Himself affirms in Lk. 22:37, "For what is written about Me has
its fulfillment. " The Lord's clarity of vision as to His epoch-making mission
at Calvary is apparent in Lk.12:50. "I have a baptism to be baptized with;
and how I am constrained until it is accomplished! " It was indeed a
baptism of fire; an acid test of His obedience and faithfulness. Accord-
ingly, the Lord "offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and
tears, to Him, Who was able to save Him from death, and He was heard
for His godly fear." (Heb. 5:7) The Lord also thoughtfully prepared His
disciples for the impending tragedy.
The mission at Calvary has four (04) primary purposes: (i) Bearing our
iniquities; (ii) Carrying our sicknesses; (iii) Washing away our sinful-
ness and purchasing with His precious blood the forgiveness of our sins;
and (iv) Dying physically to rise from the dead, and thus to destroy for
ever the power of death.
Isaiah, who lived 700 years before Christ, perceived in his spirit, the
spiritual, mental, emotional and physical agony of the dying Christ on
the rugged cross, and under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he wrote:
"He (the Father) shall see the fruit of the travail of His (the Son's) soul
and be satisfied; by His knowledge shall the Righteous One, My
Servant, make many to be accounted righteous; and He shall bear their
iniquities." (Is. 53:11) "He shall bear their iniquities," means that He
shall suffer substitutionary spiritual death.
Again, Isaiah saw in his spirit Lord Jesus Christ at the whipping post
being ruthlessly lashed by the Roman soldiers, and Isaiah cried out:
"Upon Him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with His
stripes we are healed." (Is. 53:5) The stripes, left on the Lord's back by
the soldiers' strokes with the whip, are a provision for our divine healing.
In other words, the Lord took upon Himself our ailments and diseases
to be nailed to the cross, and gave us in return health and healing with
His stripes. It is NOT coincidental, but prophetic, that David writes in
Psalm 103: "Who forgives all your iniquity," (because of the spilled
blood at Calvary), and "Who heals all your diseases," (with the stripes
on the Lord's back).
The Lord's mission having been triumphantly 'finished', it is up to us, the
believers, to claim and receive Calvary's everlasting victory over Satan,
sin, sickness and death, as our own inheritance during this Holy Lenten
Season.
Prayerfully,
Nakkolackal V. L. Eapen,
St. Gregorios Church, Austin, TX.
THE MAKINGS OF A SPIRITUALLY VIBRANT PARISH
Professing Christ is a far cry from possessing Christ. Living a selfless life in
absolute obedience to Christ's commandments is the only way to possess Christ
and be His disciple(s). What distinguishes a spiritually vibrant parish is the
parishioners' habitually 'loving one another' in the same way as Christ has
unconditionally loved them. (Jn. 15:12) Loving one another is enjoined as
imperative in Christian discipleship. (Jn. 13:35) Apostle Paul calls it a debt
that we "owe" (Rom. 13:8) to one another regardless of pelf, position or power.
Apostles Peter and John commend it as a way of life to be diligently pursued and
passionately preserved for mutual edification. (1 Pet. 1:22; 1 Jn. 3:11&23;
4:7,11&12 and 2 Jn. 1:5) Furthermore, Apostle John exhorts us: "Little
children, let us not love in word or speech but in deed and in truth." (1 Jn. 3:18)
Parishioners' loving one another must manifest itself in the way they
instinctively think, speak and act. The following are a few among the many
channels of expression of their mutual love and adoration.
1. Greeting one another: (Rom. 16:16; 1 Cor. 16:20; 2 Cor. 13:12 & 1 Pet. 5:14)
In the first three cited references above, Apostle Paul emphasizes the need for
greeting one another "with a holy kiss" while in the fourth and last, Apostle
Peter reiterates it using a similar expression, "with the kiss of love". The
kiss envisaged by the Apostles is by way of informal routine unlike the formal
'kiss of peace' we cherish having during the Holy Qurbana. In a spiritually
vibrant parish, members tend to greet one another, with a warm and cordial
embrace and with spontaneous cheer and courtesy, especially when they come
together for light refreshments after the Holy Qurbana. The temptation to
remain secluded in prisons of one's own making cannot then arise at all.
Inspired as they are with love for one another, 'other people' and 'common
events' do not generally feature in their sublime conversation. Instead, they
tend to discuss shared moral goals and values; precepts and principles; norms
and standards. Even the tone and tenor of their conversation will be mutually
elevating and empowering as is summed up in Eph. 5:19.
2. Rejoicing in the Lord and in one another: (Phil. 4:4)
A parish community, that steadfastly upholds love in all its internal dealings
with one another, tends to blossom out as a 'joyful' community, rejoicing in the
Lord always and consequently in one another.
3. Living in harmony with one another: (Rom. 12:16 & 1 Cor. 1:10)
A joyful parish community evolves into a 'peaceful' community in due course,
ironing out differences and forging consensus amicably. The parish community is
then at peace with itself, with other parishes and with God.
4. Bearing with one another in a spirit of forgiveness: (Eph. 4:2 & Col. 3:13)
When interactive love, joy and peace permeate among the parishioners, they tend
to be graciously 'patient' with one another's shortcomings, and refrain from
"passing judgment on one another." (Rom. 14:13)
5. Accepting one another and serving one another: (Rom. 15:7; Gal.5:13 & Eph.
4:32)
The offshoot of 'patience' outlined in (4) above is 'kindness' in accepting one
another as one really is, and being servants of one another in "humility". (1 Pet. 5:5)
6. Encouraging one another out of goodness: (1 Thess. 5:11; Heb. 3:13 & 10:25)
By 'goodness' is NOT meant 'inherent' goodness, but goodness attained by the
parishioners through the practice of virtues in successive stages starting from
'pervasive love'. At this stage, they are able to overcome their envy, and begin
encouraging one another to scale greater heights of success in their respective
professional and/or personal pursuits.
7. Teaching and admonishing one another in faithfulness: (Rom. 15:14 & Col.
3:16)
All parishioners cannot be at the same level of spiritual growth and awareness
at any given time. Those lagging behind need to be helped out by the
enlightened and discerning in 'faithfulness' which is yet another fruit of the
Spirit.
8. Submitting and being hospitable to one another in gentleness: (Eph. 5:21 &
1 Pet. 4:9)
'Gentleness' ranks eighth in the nine-fold fruit of the Spirit. (Gal. 5:22)
Gradually, when parishioners climb up to the eighth rung of the spiritual ladder
through self-surrender, the Holy Spirit enables them to submit to one another
gently without self-importance or pride. They also tend to practice being
hospitable to one another.
9. Exercising self-control in thought, speech and action: (Gal. 5:22)
At this final stage, parishioners are strengthened by the Enabler to gain
control over themselves and be temperate. The steady ascent, step after step
from 'permeating love', eventually culminates in self-mastery and control,
indispensable to overcoming the world and its temptations, and living abundantly
thereafter.
Gal. 5:22 reads: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. " Only when ALL the
parishioners bear the nine-fold fruit of the Spirit in their daily lives, does a
parish become spiritually vibrant in its true sense. Becoming and being a
spiritually vibrant parish, has therefore to be a protracted ongoing process.
Providential grace is the one key to achieving final victory.
Prayerfully,
Nakkolackal V. L. Eapen
absolute obedience to Christ's commandments is the only way to possess Christ
and be His disciple(s). What distinguishes a spiritually vibrant parish is the
parishioners' habitually 'loving one another' in the same way as Christ has
unconditionally loved them. (Jn. 15:12) Loving one another is enjoined as
imperative in Christian discipleship. (Jn. 13:35) Apostle Paul calls it a debt
that we "owe" (Rom. 13:8) to one another regardless of pelf, position or power.
Apostles Peter and John commend it as a way of life to be diligently pursued and
passionately preserved for mutual edification. (1 Pet. 1:22; 1 Jn. 3:11&23;
4:7,11&12 and 2 Jn. 1:5) Furthermore, Apostle John exhorts us: "Little
children, let us not love in word or speech but in deed and in truth." (1 Jn. 3:18)
Parishioners' loving one another must manifest itself in the way they
instinctively think, speak and act. The following are a few among the many
channels of expression of their mutual love and adoration.
1. Greeting one another: (Rom. 16:16; 1 Cor. 16:20; 2 Cor. 13:12 & 1 Pet. 5:14)
In the first three cited references above, Apostle Paul emphasizes the need for
greeting one another "with a holy kiss" while in the fourth and last, Apostle
Peter reiterates it using a similar expression, "with the kiss of love". The
kiss envisaged by the Apostles is by way of informal routine unlike the formal
'kiss of peace' we cherish having during the Holy Qurbana. In a spiritually
vibrant parish, members tend to greet one another, with a warm and cordial
embrace and with spontaneous cheer and courtesy, especially when they come
together for light refreshments after the Holy Qurbana. The temptation to
remain secluded in prisons of one's own making cannot then arise at all.
Inspired as they are with love for one another, 'other people' and 'common
events' do not generally feature in their sublime conversation. Instead, they
tend to discuss shared moral goals and values; precepts and principles; norms
and standards. Even the tone and tenor of their conversation will be mutually
elevating and empowering as is summed up in Eph. 5:19.
2. Rejoicing in the Lord and in one another: (Phil. 4:4)
A parish community, that steadfastly upholds love in all its internal dealings
with one another, tends to blossom out as a 'joyful' community, rejoicing in the
Lord always and consequently in one another.
3. Living in harmony with one another: (Rom. 12:16 & 1 Cor. 1:10)
A joyful parish community evolves into a 'peaceful' community in due course,
ironing out differences and forging consensus amicably. The parish community is
then at peace with itself, with other parishes and with God.
4. Bearing with one another in a spirit of forgiveness: (Eph. 4:2 & Col. 3:13)
When interactive love, joy and peace permeate among the parishioners, they tend
to be graciously 'patient' with one another's shortcomings, and refrain from
"passing judgment on one another." (Rom. 14:13)
5. Accepting one another and serving one another: (Rom. 15:7; Gal.5:13 & Eph.
4:32)
The offshoot of 'patience' outlined in (4) above is 'kindness' in accepting one
another as one really is, and being servants of one another in "humility". (1 Pet. 5:5)
6. Encouraging one another out of goodness: (1 Thess. 5:11; Heb. 3:13 & 10:25)
By 'goodness' is NOT meant 'inherent' goodness, but goodness attained by the
parishioners through the practice of virtues in successive stages starting from
'pervasive love'. At this stage, they are able to overcome their envy, and begin
encouraging one another to scale greater heights of success in their respective
professional and/or personal pursuits.
7. Teaching and admonishing one another in faithfulness: (Rom. 15:14 & Col.
3:16)
All parishioners cannot be at the same level of spiritual growth and awareness
at any given time. Those lagging behind need to be helped out by the
enlightened and discerning in 'faithfulness' which is yet another fruit of the
Spirit.
8. Submitting and being hospitable to one another in gentleness: (Eph. 5:21 &
1 Pet. 4:9)
'Gentleness' ranks eighth in the nine-fold fruit of the Spirit. (Gal. 5:22)
Gradually, when parishioners climb up to the eighth rung of the spiritual ladder
through self-surrender, the Holy Spirit enables them to submit to one another
gently without self-importance or pride. They also tend to practice being
hospitable to one another.
9. Exercising self-control in thought, speech and action: (Gal. 5:22)
At this final stage, parishioners are strengthened by the Enabler to gain
control over themselves and be temperate. The steady ascent, step after step
from 'permeating love', eventually culminates in self-mastery and control,
indispensable to overcoming the world and its temptations, and living abundantly
thereafter.
Gal. 5:22 reads: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. " Only when ALL the
parishioners bear the nine-fold fruit of the Spirit in their daily lives, does a
parish become spiritually vibrant in its true sense. Becoming and being a
spiritually vibrant parish, has therefore to be a protracted ongoing process.
Providential grace is the one key to achieving final victory.
Prayerfully,
Nakkolackal V. L. Eapen
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