The Basin and The Towel!

The Basin and the Towel!

It was the special service on Maundy Thursday evening in our Bible College where I was a student more than twenty years ago.  The worship leaders desired that the congregation of students and faculty partly re-live the experience of the night before Jesus was betrayed.  There were towels and basins filled with water beside every row of seats.  The faculty were each assigned to sit in one row of seats in the chapel.  As the service proceeded, the time came for the foot washing and the faculty took the basin and the towel and started washing the feet of their students seated in their row.  To my surprise, I was seated on the same row as the Principal.  The strange feeling of my feet being washed by the Principal made me realise my unworthiness.  I can never forget the scene – the humility of the Principal as he knelt and washed my feet.  He revealed the love of Jesus not just on that night but every day of the college life.

Foot washing was an eastern custom extended as a sign of hospitality to guests.  It was the duty of the servants or slaves in the household.  Jesus turns the world of his disciples upside down as he takes the towel and the basin and washes their feet.  Peter reacted to this very naturally, initially unwilling for the Master to wash his feet, later surrendering himself completely to the extent he wanted a ‘bath’. (John 13: 1-17) It was a lesson on humility for all leaders that even though we may hold positions of authority over the others it is for the purpose of serving and not for bossing over others.

Often as leaders in our home, church, neighbourhood, workplaces, marketplaces and our country we want to get our way in doing things.  We do not care about those whose feet are dusty and may need the intimate personal touch of being cared for by the leaders above them. Foot washing has now become a ceremony in a traditional church and also used by politicians for gaining popularity.   We are called not to be spectators of the ceremony but participate in taking the towel and the basin and washing the feet of those whom we serve. 

As we meditate on the suffering, death and resurrection of our saviour and Lord Jesus, let us commit to a life of humble service for one another.                                John Amalraj

Chosen For A Purpose!

Chosen For a Purpose!

There was a shy boy who was standing in a corner even as the Sunday school teachers were assigning roles in the Christmas nativity play to the various children. This little boy has always been given the role of the multitude of angels or the group of shepherds.  Nobody thought of his talents much and he was never in the limelight.  They could not find the right match for the role of ‘Joseph’.  One of the teachers looked up and then said, “why not we try this shy boy by giving him an opportunity”.  He was chosen to play the role of ‘Joseph’ and his joy knew no bounds.  He did his best on the final day and everyone appreciated him and wondered where he was all these days.

The feeling of being chosen from among many competitors is different.  Whether in school or at a work place – being chosen for a role makes us feel very special.  The people of Israel were chosen not because they were numerous or they were the fewest of all peoples.  But it was out of God’s love that he chose them as His own people, redeeming them from slavery and blessing them (Deut 7:6-9).  God chose the Israelites that they will be a holy people and priests for the nations. Jesus when he was talking to his disciples said that he had chosen them so that they will go and bear fruit that will last (Jn 15:16)

Later Peter the apostle in his letter to the early Christian believers who were scattered due to persecution encourages them by saying that they are a chosen people and God’s special possession (1 Pet 2:9).  In a world where it is not easy to live out our faith and stand out, the only encouragement is to know that we are a ‘chosen people’.   Wherever we are we can live a life that is counter culture to our society and show that we are the ‘chosen people’. 

Jesus warns that because we are chosen and entrusted with much responsibility, much more will be asked of us (Lk 12:47-48).  God told the Israelites through Amos that even though they enjoyed the privilege of being chosen, they will not escape the punishment for their disobedience (Am 3:2).  As the chosen people of God we are called to live a life of holiness in obedience to Christ.  This is the purpose of our being chosen. This is what will bear fruit – fruit that will last.

Let us pray for one another that we as God’s chosen people will live holy lives and bear fruit for His glory!                                                        John Amalraj

Don't Hurry, Take Your Time!

Don’t Hurry, Take Your Time!

As I waited for my turn in the long line of customers, I was restless and in a hurry drawing the attention of others around me.  I was wondering why the person before me was taking so long to complete the bank transaction.   Finally my turn came and I walked up to the counter and in a hurry fumbled with my documents.  The papers fell down.  At that moment, the counter staff said “Sir, please take your time”.  I was grateful for that permission.  I took few more minutes to gather my papers and complete my transactions.   

We seem to live in a world where we are always in a hurry.  We hurry through our school days, then the university and then work.  We hurry through our different life stages from childhood, teens, youth, adulthood, marriage, parenting, middle age and old age.   Our mealtimes are also in a hurry now helped by the fast food culture but are always looking for a better diet plan.  We travel in a hurry using high speed transport and yet we end up late.  We communicate through instant technology and yet we end up missing deadlines. 

It takes time for a seed to grow, mature and bear fruit.  It takes time to heal when we are sick.  It takes time to renew our energy when we are exhausted.  The problem with those of us who are hyper active is our inability to stay still waiting for the process of growth, healing and renewal to take its time.    We expect results in a hurry.

God is never in a hurry.  He takes time to do His work in us.  Although he can at times do miracles that produces instant results, the normal way God works is by taking time.  God created time and space.  He works from an eternal perspective. God took 40 years to prepare Moses in the wilderness to be the leader of His people.  God took another 40 years to shape the Hebrew slaves in the wilderness to become His chosen people who will enter the Promised Land.  Paul encourages us that he is confident that God who began a good work in us will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (Phil 1:6).  James exhorts us that the testing of our faith produces perseverance.   Let perseverance finish its work so that we may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (Jam 1:3-4)

Pray that God’s spirit will empower us with faith and perseverance to run the race marked out for us!                                                                                  John Amalraj

In God’s Time – Everything is Beautiful!

We were waiting for another colleague to arrive before we can start our scheduled meeting.  He was very late.  The moment he arrived in the room, he noticed the disappointment on all our faces and our unspoken judgement of “You are guilty of being late”.   Being on time has become a modern day virtue.  It is rude to be late for anything.  But my colleague apologised and explained the reasons for his delay.  He then challenged our attitudes to waiting and judging others.  As we wait we become restless, impatient and angry.  Waiting is a spiritual exercise and the scripture exhorts us to wait for the Lord. 

Diane Ball and her husband were driving in a car on their way to a meeting where she was to be the speaker.  Unfortunately, they got delayed and during that long drive, Diane heard the melody and the words ring in her ears and a song came into being.  It was an inspiration by the Holy Spirit that turned the words of the scripture into a beautiful song “In His Time…” (Ecclesiastes 3:11).  There is always a purpose behind the delays which we understand much later. 

The sisters knew that if only Jesus was present when their brother Lazarus was sick, it would have been different.  Even after sending a SOS message, Jesus did not turn up.  Lazarus died.  He was buried.  After another four long days, Jesus arrived in response to the message. More than anger, the sisters displayed their anguish at the turn of the events but at the same time trusting in Jesus to do the impossible.  Jesus was moved to tears and Lazarus was raised back to life to the glory of God (John 11).   

It was the sun and moon that determined times, seasons and years as God created (Genesis 1:11). Later on man-made devices have been used to measure and track time from hour glass, water clock, sun dials, candle clock, mercury based clocks to the present mechanical, pendulum, atomic and digital devices etc.  We are now driven by these devices rather than by the timing set by God.

God’s timing is different from our understanding of time.  A day is like a thousand years and thousand years are like a day for the Lord. (2 Peter 3:7-9).  We need to pray along with the psalmist “teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12) and learn to wait for God’s time.  May each new day remind us that God will make everything beautiful in His time! John Amalraj

No One Knows-not even the Son!

The door bell rang late in the evening and when I opened the door, I was surprised to see a group of pre-teens all with fancy dresses greeting me “Happy Halloween” and asking for treats.  Acting in ignorance, I struck up a conversation with the little ones to find out what they knew about ‘Halloween”.  They said that they got all their information from ‘Google’.  They wondered why I was unaware of this special day.  Finally I gave them some chocolates to send them away.  The word spread and soon we had two more groups of kids from our gated community visiting us for chocolates. 

Knowledge is power. There were days when astrologers ruled supreme because they claimed to know the future. Today our mobile devices keep us abreast of what is happening around the world within seconds including the weather and traffic updates – even though at times the prediction mislead us.  We rarely go outside our home without our devices in the fear that we may miss any ‘breaking news’.  We want to know and know more.

Recently, an elderly friend in church asked me ‘Do you believe Jesus is coming back soon?’ Whenever there is a natural or man-made disaster or out-break of a war or riot, we start to wonder about the second coming of Jesus. Especially, when we are no longer in control of what is happening in our lives and in the world that we expect the end times.  Jesus’ disciples were perturbed at the comments made by him on the destruction of the temple and the end days.  They wanted to know more. They wanted more precise information so that they can be prepared.  But Jesus said ““But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Matt 24:36). We often assume that Jesus knows everything.  But he himself acknowledges that there is one thing he does not know – i.e. about his own second coming.  One thing is sure, whether we will have our mobile devices or not – none of us will miss Jesus’ second coming as it will be visible to all like a lightening, with signs in the heavens and a trumpet call.  (Matt 24: 27-31)

It is never easy for us to live without knowing what is going to happen the next year, the next month, the next day or even the next hour.   Learning to trust God without knowing the future is an important step in our faith life. We have the Scripture to know about the future events. We need not depend on astrologers, prophets or mobile devices.  We can study the scripture to understand the times and learn to be watchful.  Let us be prepared like the early Christians praying “Marana tha – Come Lord Jesus”! (I Cor.16:22)  John Amalraj