A Christmas Thought

Christmas Thought…

Today,when we sing the universal Christmas hymn “Silent Night Holy Night”, at the depth of our hearts, we realize the  turmoil of human pain. Elsewhere in this nation, for parents, grandparents, sisters, brothers, teachers and friends, nights are not silent. Sounds of gunshots terrify the families in Newtown, Connecticut. Sights of blood pool horrify the little toddlers. As the President lamented in his press release at White House, immediately after the tragedy at the Sandy Hook Elementary School, “ our hearts are broken today”, we feel in our minds and hearts the brokenness and trauma of  “ being the innocence of childhood is torn away and , the dreams and hopes of those little ones being massacred.” We see, sometimes, the forces that tried to stop the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ into this world, find place and prominence in the contemporary scenario. The Herodian aberrations of human power, might, weapon and arrogance manifests violently and despotically at our neighborhoods. Certainly the nights that followed the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem was not silent as we sing. We hear the cry of the innocent families victimized by the butchery of  King Herod. Here again, we mourn the savagery of a Herodian fox mind. Some of us may rationalize the motifs of the killer as a victim of child abuse, drug abuse, single parenting or dysfunctional family. My ears are deaf for such evaluations, at least for little while because my heart moves with the tiny little ones whose lives have been fatally played and untimely ended.  We have heard the cry of Christmas at our neighborhood. More than the celebrations and festivities ,light display and ornaments, cakes and wine, Santa and felis nevida,   it is these cries of Christmas makes the message of God’s love in Incarnation relevant to our life situations. It is high time that we take break from the chorales of “Silent Nights” or “holiness of Silent Nights” and begin to act on the value of Silent Nights and sacramantality of the Holiness of Silent Nights. At Christmas, God is born in to our neighborhood to be broken; breaking His life at Christmas and Calvary to heal the wounds of sin and to be broken with the broken and mourning. Before me conclude, let me cite from Howard Thurman, a civil right activist Theologian and mentor of Rev.Martin Luther King Jr., he writes about Christmas;

“When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flock,
The work of Christmas begins:

To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among brothers,
To make music in the heart.”

Rev.Joseph Samuel

News Letter- December 2012

From the Vicar

When there is pain in the offering….blessed be your name.

Beth Geckenberger, in her book “Reckless Faith” describes an incident of two brothers in her orphanage struggling with a toy.

Two brothers. One remote control car. One holds the control, other the car. And at the top of their lungs, each is screaming his own claim over their new toy.

At first, she tries to reason with them, though it is hard to follow her logic over the noise of their ruckus. Then she resorts to threats. It makes her feel temporally powerful, but ultimately it’s ineffective. Then she acts uninterested-but the fight continues.

Finally she says to the brothers, “ What you can’t share, you can’t have”, and she takes the car and the remote and walks away.

What we can’t share, we can’t keep for long. This story brings us to the fact and meaning of Christmas. Christmas means different things to different people. For some of us Christmas is a cause for distress rather than delight, because it charge your credit/debit card more on spending.   In fact, our distress and discouragement and sometimes even depression are generally indications that we have turned away from what the season really ought to be about. Each year we have the opportunity to behold God’s glory as it was manifested to us in the incarnation of Christ, but if we’re not thinking along those lines then we’ll miss what God has for us. In the event of Christmas or Incarnation or at the birth of Jesus the pain of offering is radically engraved, for it is God coming down to the human form and conditions to share the nature and its vulnerability in its true sense. In fact the glory of God is reveled in humility. Consider the humility of the incarnation itself, the second person of the Trinity, the eternal Son of God, taking on humanity with all of its limitations, with all of its pain and sorrow and suffering. Listen to how Paul describes it:“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9)

What does that mean, “he became poor”? It means that he gave up his honor and glory, he let go of his position, he relinquished all of the riches of heaven, in order to become one of us, in order to save us from our sins. He gave up that glory in order to become a human baby. Not even an adult. That would be humility enough, to give up the glory of heaven to become a man. But instead he became a helpless little infant. The sovereign Lord of creation, had now become the very picture of weakness and powerlessness and inability – a little baby. Not even a royal baby, not the son of a king; not a wealthy baby, the son of money and privilege. But instead, a peasant child born to poverty and want, raised in very humble circumstances. Surrounded not by God’s holy angels and the glory of heaven, but instead surrounded by sinful, fallen human beings and a stinking, dirty barn.

Just as Jesus humbled himself by becoming a helpless human infant, just as he humbled himself by honoring and obeying his parents, and ultimately, as he humbled himself by dying on the cross for our sins; so we are to humble ourselves in our relationships with one another. Jesus was willing to give up the privileges of deity in order to become one of us, in order to give his life for our sins. In the same way, we are to follow Christ’s example, and respond to one another in humility. That’s where unity comes from.

Christmas is certainly not a time to show up the glory of our money and power. The message of Christmas cannot be communicated in electric display. The message of God’s love can be transmitted only through the attitude of humility and sharing in our lives. It is season for all of us to serve others in love. Serving one another isn’t just a duty or an obligation. It’s a great privilege. It’s a privilege to serve God’s people with the resources and abilities He gave us.  There’s a difference between serving out of duty and obligation, and serving out of love and humility. If you’re just serving out of duty, you’re serving at your convenience. You make yourself available according to your schedule. But if you’re serving out of humility, you serve at the other person’s convenience, according to their need.

When there is pain in sharing….blessed be your name.

All the weekends in December is busy and lot of carols coming up. We request your prayerful participation.

With Prayers,

Rev.Joseph Samuel.

Website Reloaded

www.chicagocsichurch.org

Ecumenical Christmas Carol

The Ecumenical Christmas Carol will be held on Saturday the 8^th December 5pm at the Main East High School, Desplaines. Our Choir will be presenting two songs, one in Malayalam and the other in English. All are welcome.

General Body Meeting

The General Body Meeting to elect the Executive Committee (Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer) will be held on Sunday the 9^th December immediately after the service. All your prayerful participation is requested.

Chicago CSI Christmas Carol

We host the Chicago CSI Christmas Carol on Saturday the 15^th December 5.30pm at the main sanctuary of the St.Mary’s Episcopal Church. The 6 CSI churches in Chicago will be coming together to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus. Dinner will be served.  All are welcome.

St.Mark’s Christmas Carol Service

We have our Christmas Carol Service on Saturday the 22^nd December 6.30pm. Our choir will be presenting special Christmas carols. Rev.Biju P Simon, the Assistant Vicar of the Chicago Mar Thoma Church will be the chief guest of the event. Dinner will be served.

Youth Sunday

Sunday the 23^rd December.

Christmas Service

Tuesday the 25^th December 9.00am at our Church

Watch Night Service

Monday the 31^st December 10pm- Testimony Service

11.30pm- Covenant Holy Communion Service

Fasting Prayers

Wednesdays 10am at the Church

Saturdays 10.30am

Almanac

12/02   1^st Sunday in Advent

“Celebration of Good News”

Holy Communion in Malayalam

Genesis 18:1-15

Psalm 146

Hebrews 2:1-10

Luke 1:39-56

12/09   2^nd Sunday in Advent

Bible Sunday- “Word of God: Light of the World”

Holy Communion in English

Genesis 1:2-2:4

Psalm 119: 105-112

Hebrews 4:10-13

John 8:12-20

12/16   3^rd Sunday in Advent

“Deliverance from the Bondage of Sin”

Holy Communion in Malayalam

Isaiah 40:1-11

Psalm 51

Revelation 2:12-17

Mark 1:1-18

12/23   4^th Sunday in Advent

“Maranatha- Come, Lord Jesus”

Youth Sunday

Jeremiah 23: 1-8

Psalm 96

Revelation 22:6-21

John 14: 8-14

12/25  Christmas

“Celebrate Grace and Truth”

Holy Communion in Malayalam

Micah 5:2-4

Psalm 19

1Timothy 1:14-17

John 1:1-14

12/30   1^st Sunday after Christmas

“Warmth and Love in the family”

Holy Communion in English

Genesis 27:1-29

Psalm 127

1John 2:7-17

Luke 15:11-32

12/31   Year Ending Service

“The Lord is our Help and Redeemer”

Isaiah 55:6-13

Psalm 121

2Corinthians 13:5-13

John 12:35-36

Birthdays

12/01   Deri Christudas

12/6     Susy Cherian

12/7     Soma Lukose

12/7     Ryan Thomas

12/8     Danny Kurien

12/9     Mathew Prabha

12/15   Anna Devid

12/17   Ethan John Mathew

12/20   Tony Thomas

12/20   Sayona John

12/21   Anil Philip

12/24   Diana Oommen

12/30   Hannah Annie George

12/31   Susan Thomas

Wedding Anniversary

12/27   Soma & Joe Lukose

12/29   Sheela & T A Joseph

News Letter/November2012

From the Vicar

Dear All,

Spanish philosopher George Santayana famously stated the great truth that: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it". One of the greatest mistakes God's people the Jews made was to forget who they were, lose their sense of identity as the covenant people of God and gradually drift from living their lives the way God intended to.  God had said to them:"Be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery." Leviticus 6: 12. This happened not once, but time and time again. The writer to the Hebrews included a warning in the letter for New Testament believers not to make the same mistake. But here we are today in need of being reminded. 'What does the Lord require of you?' (Micah 6:8) The prophet Micah came from the city of Moresheth which is near Gath, about 30 miles from Jerusalem. He was a contemporary of Isaiah and his book is of a somewhat similar style. The prophet's name means "Who is like God?" and this forms the theme of his prophecy well. Micah describes not only what God is like, but how people can be God-like. The prophet Micah had in view both the Assyrian and Babylonian invasions. Micah sees a vivid picture of the destruction that will come about of the people, beginning with their rulers and reaching unto the women and the children. Judgment was coming because the people of God were no longer living as the people of God. Instead there was corruption, oppression, bribery, and injustice. And the people were not able to see that something had gone radically wrong. What had gone wrong was they had neglected their relationship with the Lord -- so much so that their heart's affections had been overtaken by other things. A change in behavior would be the inevitable outcome of returning to a meaningful relationship with the Lord. We all know the vitality of being restored to relationship God and the essential changes to happen in our life. However, we all feel powerless to change. Then God redraw the map of our lives. “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God”.(Micah 6:8).

Micah had a special concern for justice, primarily because he saw so little of it. 
What God requires of us is that we do what is right and fair in our relationships with other people. Justice involves the sense of a standard of equality among people. It is being honest in our relationships.  There is an old saying, “honesty is the best policy.” But for the Christian, that slogan should be, “honesty is the ONLY policy.” Because this is a consistent theme in all of Scripture, that we are called to be people of fairness and integrity in all our dealings. We must settle it deep in our hearts to be a people of integrity, and be on guard in the battle to “act justly.” The second thing that God requires of us is that we “love mercy.” We are also to fill our hearts with compassion and kindness toward one another. The Hebrew word that Micah uses here is translated as “mercy,” is a rich one, used variously as mercy, tender mercies, loving kindness, steadfast love. Notice also that the requirement here is not that we HAVE mercy, but that we are to LOVE mercy. There is a big difference between the two. One way of describing the difference is to say that we don’t just do acts of kindness from a sense of obedience or compulsion, but we do them out of love. The third expectation Micah shares is that God expects us to have a right relationship with Him – with God Himself. That right relationship with God always begins with humility, not arrogance. God expects us to walk humbly with Him. Easy task. But it is hard to make a reality. We are arrogant. We are proud. We tend to think that God’s role is to make us happy, to serve us, to answer our prayers. But it is we who are to serve and glorify God. 

It is as we are renewed in our relationship with God that we not only remember who we are but we also take on the divine nature. The people in Micah's day were not the first to ask 'What does the Lord require?' Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?" Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent." (John 6:28-29). Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" And Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:37-38).

As prepare yet another season of Advent, let us all remember our Lord and start renewing our relationship with God.

Many important events are coming up in November and we request all your prayerful participation in the life of the church.

With Prayers,

Rev.Joseph Samuel.

World Sunday School Day (Sunday, Nov.4^th)

The Sunday School teachers and students will lead the worship. There will be special presentations by the children.

CSI-Mar Thoma Unity Sunday (Sunday, Nov.11^th )

We are celebrating the CSI-CNI-Mar Thoma Unity Sunday on Sunday the 11^th November 10.30am at the Chicago Mar Thoma Church, Desplaines. This time, we will follow the Mar Thoma Liturgy and our Vicar will lead the service. Please pray for the service.

Thanksgiving Sunday

Sunday the 25^th November 10.30am.

Christmas Carol Rounds

We are planning to have the carol rounds during the Thanksgiving weekend. The detailed scheduled will be informed latter.

Family Retreat

We have scheduled the annual get together and retreat of our families and youth for November31-December 2, 2012 at the AWANA CENTRE at Streamwood. This intimation is sent out for everyone to be available for this event by scheduling your personal/family Calendar. Rev. Binu T John, CSI Congregation of Hudsonvalley, will be leader of the retreat.

Fasting Prayer

Wednesdays 10am at Church

Cottage Prayer

11/03   Saturday 6.30pm R/o Moncy Thomas, 8994, Kennedy Dr, #1G, Desplaines

11/10   Saturday 6.30pm R/o Lovy George

11/17   Saturday 6.30pm R/o Joe Lukose

Ecumenical Carol Service

Saturday 8^th December 5pm at Main East High School, Desplaines

Change of Address

Moncy Thomas, 8994 Kennedy Dr, #1G, Desplaines, IL.

Almanac

11/04   World Sunday School Day (English)

            Christian Education: Grow in Wisdom

Deuteronomy 6:1-9

Psalm 40:1-8

Romans 12:1-4

Luke 2:42-52

11/11   CSI-Mar Thoma Unity Sunday (Malayalam)

            Unity Sunday

Micah 6:1-8

Psalm 106:1-12

2Corinthians 4:7-15

Luke 10:1-9

11/18   25^th Sunday After Pentecost

Numbers 27:1-11

Psalm 48: 8-14

Acts 12: 12-17

Mark 10:13-16

11/25   Thanks Giving Sunday

            Preparing for the Advent of Lord

1Chronicles 24:1-19

Psalm 115

Hebrews 5:1-10

Luke 1:8-23