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Messages

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

“And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.” Luke 2: 7

Christmas is a celebration time for the world. Christmas is a joyous occasion. For some it is a holiday and vacation time; for others it is a get together and gift giving time. For Christians it is a joyous occasion not simply because it is a birthday celebration but because Christ’s birth gave us eternal life; our Lord Jesus Christ was born to this world to live as one among us and to save us from our sins. As Christians we are celebrating the truth about God, the revelation of God in Christ and the anticipation of the return of Christ to the world in His Second coming.

The first announcement of the birth of Jesus came to the shepherds. Shepherds were quite ordinary people; people who could not quite observe the laws and regulations of the so called chosen people. It was the simple people of the field that God’s message first came. We might expect that, if the Son of God had to be born into this world at all, it would be in a palace or a mansion. There was no room for Jesus’ birth, so it was in the common courtyard that Jesus was born. It is so lovely that the birth of the Son of God took place in this simplicity. It is the great thought of the Christian faith that we have a God who knows this life we live because He too lived it, and claimed no special advantage over us. Christmas is a day; our Lord Jesus Christ chose to be one among us to experience our problems and needs. Christmas also gives us strength because we are not alone in this world; our Lord who knows our every day needs is also with us in the midst of all our problems.

Birth of Jesus also brought peace on earth. There was no room in the inn was symbolic of what was to happen to Jesus. The only place where there was room for Him was on a cross. During this Christmas day our Lord is seeking an entry to the hearts of each one of us but he cannot find room because it is still over crowded. Every year Christmas will come and go. During this Christmas season will you receive our Lord in to this world; in to your life; in to your hearts and minds. Let us celebrate a happy and joyful Christmas and New Year. May God bless you all.

Peace on earth,

Fr. Mathew P. Idicula

"Wish you all a Happy Pentacost"

“ALL of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.” (Acts 2:4)

Christians all over the world is celebrating these days as Pentecost season. Pentecost is not particularly a Christian holiday. It is one of the most important Jewish holidays. Acts 2:1-13, we read the story of the Pentecost. There are three important Jewish festivals to which every male Jew within twenty miles of Jerusalem was bound to come to Jerusalem, the Passover, the Feast of Pentecost and the Feast of Tabernacles. Pentecost fell on the fiftieth day after the Passover. The feast itself had two main significances for Jewish people. One, it commemorates the giving of the Law to Moses on Mount Sinai. (Leviticus 23:21) The other significance of this day is the offerings at the Festival of weeks. (Numbers 28:26) So many people come to Jerusalem on Pentecost festival than other feast days.

What happened at Pentecost we really do not know; certainly the disciples had an experience of the power of the Spirit. After the resurrection they gathered together ashamed and astonished more faithful and may be thinking about their safety and planning for the future may be waiting for the risen Lord; if so they did not disappointed on Pentecost festival. “ALL of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.”

Holy Spirit is a word misunderstood by many Christian denominations today. Some have taken monopoly on the God’s Spirit. Charismatic Movement talks about Holy Spirit as their monopoly. On the other hand organized Christian denominations gave little or no importance to the word Holy Spirit or the presence of God. Certainly Holy Spirit is the presence of the God Almighty. Holy Spirit is not only a power by which God once upon a time intervened in the world, God’s Sprit or Holy Spirit is also the power and the force by which God intervenes constantly in new ways in the present world and makes God self knowable to us.

There are two important things we should know about this passage. After the resurrection, he appeared to them in Holy Spirit. Disciples returned to Jerusalem with great joy. Joy not because Jesus was gone from them but they knew that he was with them forever. As members of the Christian church we can also have a great joy that the ascended Jesus was not gone from the world, he was with the disciples, with us, with the church and with the world forever. We read that promise in Matthew 28:20 “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Second important thing about this passage is that the ascension of Jesus together with the Pentecost day gave us hope of the Second Coming. There is no need to speculate about how and when it will happen because Jesus Himself said that not even He knew the day and the hour when the Son of Man would come. But we need to strive for the coming of that day and to make ourselves ready for it, knowing that God has a plan for the world, mankind and for each one of us even in our daily life.

The risen God was no ghost or hallucination; the risen God is real. Christianity is a historical fact and we as Christian are waiting for that risen Christ. While we are waiting, it is also our duty to be His witness in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. As Christians it is not only a time to wait for God but also a time to work for God because the most priceless thing is waiting for us in heaven. The book of Acts tells us that the Church carries on the life of Christ. So it is our duty as Christians, to carry out the message of Jesus Christ.

May God almighty help each one of us to attain that joy of hope for the world to come and to be His witness to the end of the earth. Amen.

Grace and Peace,

Fr. Mathew P. Idicula

Easter

“Wish you all a very happy Easter.”
"He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples.” (Matthew 28: 6,7), Matthew 28:1-10

After forty days in Lent and a week of sufferings Easter day is finally here. Today we are going to rejoice because our Lord Jesus Christ is raised from the dead. Resurrection day is the most important day in the Christian religion. There is no Christianity without the resurrection. Risen God is the witness of Christian faith. Without an empty tomb there is no faith and no God and there is no salvation. Empty tomb is the witness of Christian faith.

Today’s gospel reading is about the empty tomb. The story of the woman at the tomb is narrated by all the gospel writers. Today we have heard Matthew’s story of the empty tomb. Those ladies, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were the first to receive the news of the empty tomb; news of the Risen Christ. They were with him all the way. When all the so called faithful brave men were disappeared these ladies stood by him everywhere. Knowing fully the consequences they had been there at the cross. They had been there when He was laid in the tomb again they were there in the early hours of the morning.

And now they are receiving their reward; they were the first to receive the news of the Risen Lord. They were the first in the world who were confronted with the joy of the empty tomb; joy of the Risen Lord. For their faithfulness along with the joy they were also given great responsibilities. Let us examine them very briefly.

They were the first to be given the responsibility to believe. As we know these things were beyond belief. Too good to be true yet they were given the great responsibility to believe. The angel reminds them of the promise of Jesus, and confronted them with the empty tomb; his every word is a summons to believe. Yet it is a fact that there are many who feel that the promises of Christ are too good to be true.

We know Peter denied him three times. Judas betrayed him. Thomas did not believe the resurrection until he physically felt it. We did not see any of his close disciples with him in this difficult time. All of them were unfaithful. They were all afraid and may be they did not even believe it. These ladies had been with him every where. They were also at the tomb first. They were also the first to be given the responsibility to believe. Without them believing how can they convince others?

How many times we come across this empty tomb in our life? How many times our Lord had comforted us; consoled us? How many times we have seen the joy of the empty tomb? Yet are we able to believe? When we had the opportunity and responsibility did we believe? These women had been given the responsibility to believe because they were faithful in their mission? We must be faithful in our mission.

Secondly; they were given the responsibility to share. When they themselves have discovered the fact of the risen Christ, their first duty is to proclaim it to all to share it with other. “Go tell!” is the first command given to them by the angel of the Lord.

It was the responsibility of these ladies to share the good news of the Risen Lord. As Christians we are given the responsibility in this world to share this good news of gospel. It is our duty to be His witness in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. The book of Acts tells us that the Church carries on the life of Christ. We are given the responsibility to share as members of the body of Christ. We must examine ourselves. Are we faithful in our mission?

Thirdly, they were urged to rejoice. First they were given the responsibility to believe, then they were to share only then they were urged to rejoice. The word the risen Christ met them was “rejoice”. The people who met the risen Lord must live for ever in the joy of the presence of Him; they were urged to rejoice. Nothing in this world can part them from the risen Lord any more. These women were faithful in their mission. They overcame all the challenges. They stood by him all the way in spite of all their troubles. Now they have their reward. They were urged to rejoice.

After forty days in lent in this final week of lent: We see different images of Christ.

On Palm Sunday, we saw a courageous Christ entering Jerusalem in spite of all the troubles waiting for him there. On Maundy Thursday, we saw a humble Christ washing the apostles’ feet, fully knowing that he is the king of king. On Good Friday, we saw a crucified Christ suffering on behalf of us, taking our sorrows and pains so that we will have eternal life. Today we have seen that empty tomb; the risen Christ triumphant against the powers of evil and death and promise of eternal life beyond. Are you able to believe? Are you able to share and are you able to rejoice like the women at the tomb?

Life in this world is in the midst of sufferings. Life in this world we will always come across many Passion Weeks. In the midst of the gloom and doom of daily life, in the midst of unpredictability and uncertainty of this world, in the midst of the dreams that faded and the hopes that drooped we will see this Passion Week. We are urged to believe the good news, urged to share the good news and finally urged to rejoice in the good news of gospel.

While we are preparing for Easter day we must also examine ourselves. What is Lenten season to us; how is resurrection related to our personal life? Is it merely a ritual every year in our church or it is a reality in our life? Can we see within our hearts and mind that our Lord Jesus Christ died for us and he is raised from the dead. Are we able to witness Christ in our personal life? Are you able to believe? Are you able to share and are you able to rejoice like the women at the tomb?

God’s promise on this Easter day we heard from the book of prophet Ezekiel. A new heart and a new spirit (Ezekiel 36:24-28) God promised to restore Israel not only physically; but also spiritually. God would give them a new heart for following him and put his spirit within them to transform them and empower them to do his will.

The new covenant was promised to be fulfilled in Christ. No matter how impure our life is now God offers us a fresh start. If we accept God’s promise, we can have our sins washed away, receive a new heart for God, and have his spirit within us. This is a new start. May the Lord of the impossible awaken our faith.

May God bless you all. Amen.

Fr. Matthew P. Idicula.

“Bless the Lord, O my soul and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits.” (Psalm 103: 1-2)