Do we follow Jesus or our Our ancestors???? 4
God created Man in his image and likeness. We sinned. So we lost the image and was cast out of the presence of God. God is love; that means God's love makes Him unable to control, limit or restrict His Love. So He allowed His only begotten Son to become one of the men. As we read in the scriptures; "unto us a child is born; unto us a son is given". The son eternally existed. He became man and dwelt among us. He paid the price of our sins on the Cross-. Hence we are children of the most High. We; by our Lords suffering inherited heaven; as our savior became our brother and through Him we are again the Children of Almighty Father and fellow citizens of heaven.
This made our savior teach us to address Jehovah "Our FATHER in heaven". Many of the new denominations like Pentecostals do not say this prayer. They have different reasons and explanations. When we think about it, we understand that all these explanations / excuses are Satan inspired.
Until Jesus addressed almighty God as "Father"; He was addressed as Jehovah. It means "I am that I am," or "I am the one who is". The name was held so sacred that it was never written or spoken. This name "JEHOVAH" was held by the Jews to be so sacred that it was never pronounced except by the high priest on the great Day of Atonement, when he entered into the most holy place. Whenever this name occurred in the sacred books they pronounced it, as they still do, "Adonai" (i.e., Lord), thus using another word in its stead. When they write they use JHVH (without vowels); out of reverence.
This make us different and unique; the privilege of son-ship and brotherhood with Jesus Our Lord. We call Him:- APPA, DADDY, PAPPA, ABO, ABBA, PITHAJI and so on; just because of Jesus Christ. Nethqa-dash shmokh / Hallowed be thy name
To hallow God's name means to hold it in reverence; hence to hold him in reverence, to honor, glorify, and exalt him. The heaven and the earth are filled with His glory; then how can His name be more glorified?
This is only possible when we reflect His love acting as spotless mirrors to reflect God's love and righteousness by our actions. An example would be like this:- Jeff is the son of Joseph. When Jeff leads an honorable life, the name of Joseph; his father will be honored. If Jeff claims to be Joseph's son and be an alcoholic sleeping in the streets or is a cheat, his father's name will be in disgrace.
In the church we proclaim that the Holy Father, the Holy Son and the Holy Spirit are only holy and the holiness is exclusive for the holy trinity. This affirmation is an answer to the achen's declaration that the holy mysteries (ea visudhathakal visudhyullavarkum vedipullavarkum mathram nalkapedunnu) ought to be given only to the pure and holy.
If so; How does we become holy that the name of Our Almighty Father is hallowed? John 20: 22-23 answers it. He breathed on them (the disciples), and said to them, receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them: If you retain the sins of any, they are retained." This Holy spirit , the spirit of authority to forgive sins of others is exclusive for the apostolic churches as the authority was only given to the apostles. This authority is passed on to the Bishops and to the achens in their ordination service. The prayer during ordination of achens; invoking and hovering the Holy Spirit from the mystically transubstantiated blood and flesh of our Lord is worth noticing.
As explained in Isaiah 6: 1-7; We have a privilege to be free from our sins and be Holy enough to receive Our Lord and savior Jesus Christ eating His Flesh and blood. The only pre-requisite is to repent and confess our sins before the achen, who is authorized by the resurrected Christ, (John 20: 22-23) to forgive our sins.
Let us be Holy so that the name of our Father is hallowed. The name of whom who gave up his only begotten son to be a ransom for our sins and be killed on the cross; be hallowed. TEATHAI MALKOO-THOK / Thy kingdom come
The kingdom of God indicates God's kingship, sovereignty or rule recognized in the hearts and operative in the lives of his people through the holy spirit, effecting their complete salvation. In the kingdom all spiritual and material blessings are from God and man is accountable for what he has, because everything belongs to the King. The individual who received any material or spiritual blessings is obliged to share with others who does not have received the same; because everything and everyone belongs to the King.
Because of the death of Jesus on the cross, almighty Father sent us the Holy Spirit. The operation of the Holy Spirit in our hearts brings us to the environment of God's Kingdom; "Not by might nor by power, but by the spirit,' says the Lord of hosts.
This prayer is to be uttered until the second coming of our Lord. Though the kingdom is here as our Lord said, "For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:21); it is still absent from many hearts.
The transforming grace and power of God is required to for changing the boasting of a man from "my kingdom come" to surrendering to the authority of God and His Kingdom. The claim of a man that
1) By my prayer and fasting and knowledge of the bible; I am closer to God than others.
2) By sharing of my riches and helping hands I am spiritually better off.
3) By the respect I am getting because of my polite behavior, I am better off.
4) By my hard work I have all these riches.
All these untrue garments and veils shows that we are in our own kingdom.
In our Lord's kingdom He makes the decision in our personal day-to-day life. We ask the question, If Christ is my place How would have He reacted to this situation?
Whose name; mine or Christ the King's name be hallowed in my action or inaction?
If it is Christ's, then the Holy Spirit is operating in our hearts and His Kingdom within us.
Immanuel is with us and Paracleat is the God within us so that almighty Father, the God beyond us takes Glory and Honor.
As I said before. The Holy Qurbana is in rememberance of the entire; whole of Jesus. The rememberance of the saints and Methrachens are not a carnal part of the holy Qurbana.
1. The commemmaration of Mary to the departed believers is not in the Liturgy (this parts are not in the thaksa) ie; the portion from Ninnalsthuthiyodu Rajamakal (psalms 45: 9--) is not in the thaksa. When the mistery of misteries; Let this bread become the body of Our Lord; Let this mixture (kasayile kalarpu; as blood and water flowed from His side) become the blood of Jesus; Our Qurbana is complete. The rememberance prayers and songs initially were the hymns from psalms recited when the believers recieve the holy misteries. For this reason the Achen when bring the misteries in a procession says, ngangal bhakshichathaya; past tense.
2.The Thubdain (repeated prayers) is also an addendum. You may have noticed this prayers being changed as time goes by and according to different geographies.
3. The departed believers.
We believe all the faithfull departs in to Jesus. Absent from body prescent in christ. Psalms 115: 17-18. We worship God allways. The apostates of the holy churh like the pentacostals usualy quote verse 17 and purposefully; by satanic instincts keep verse 18 quiet. Our Lord told Titus; the thief on the right; "You will be in paradise today WITH ME. When-ever and where ever our Lord is prescent; all the believers departed in Him are also with Him. When we intercede for them and they intercede for us; we have full communion through Jesus our Lord.
b. If a person did die in sin? Are we allowed to judge? The worship is only for believers. God the Father allowed the israelites to worship Him only after they were redeemed, tought His righteousness through all the sufferings. So we worship only as a church. Our God is not a limited god or a defined god. We know HIM only by His qualities and atributes; Love being one of them. Are we allowed to repent/ lament for someone who died in sin? Is our God helpless to save One who is dead? Atleast; can He save before the final Judgement? Or is He a helpless god. In the early church and even among Jews there was a tradition of geting baptised for the dead. St. Paul specifically asks this question. (Marichchavar uyirkunnilla engil avarku vendy snanam elkunna thentinnu) If the dead does not resurect; then why people are geting baptised for them.
The two commandments are 1. Love God. 2. Love Man. If I love man; should I not wish that they are saved and should I not pray for them?. I should be hate sin; but I should love the sinner. The satan's agents of 666 will never get this insight. Because their god is this worldly.
So we are obliged to pray for the departed believers and non-believers; so that the sufering and death of our Lord saves all humanity.
Kindly ask questions, Thanks, Chemmachen.
Dn. Monsy Manimalethu Jacob