The Fundamental Faiths
Last one for the night .. have to wake up in couple hours to take my son to Sunday School! I realized if someone came across this site it would make no sense!
The initial inspiration came during one of the many long, very often mind-numbing services of the Indian Orthodox churches that I've attended all my life. I picked up a copy of Mr. C.K. Varghese's "The Living Sacrifice", and was immediately engrossed in the words, meanings and explanations of what I lived throughout my life.
Honestly, for the first time I can remember, I finally looked forward to coming back to church the next week and seeing what I read "in action", and to think and pray about what this means ... and, more importantly, what it means to my children!
I've talked to many who just scoffed and said the Indian church will never change, but when I think of the "Fundamental Faiths" explained in the Living Sacrifice, i.e.,
The initial inspiration came during one of the many long, very often mind-numbing services of the Indian Orthodox churches that I've attended all my life. I picked up a copy of Mr. C.K. Varghese's "The Living Sacrifice", and was immediately engrossed in the words, meanings and explanations of what I lived throughout my life.
Honestly, for the first time I can remember, I finally looked forward to coming back to church the next week and seeing what I read "in action", and to think and pray about what this means ... and, more importantly, what it means to my children!
I've talked to many who just scoffed and said the Indian church will never change, but when I think of the "Fundamental Faiths" explained in the Living Sacrifice, i.e.,
- Real Presence: "There is real presence of the Lord in the brad and wine. It is not body and blood in real nature, but it is body and blood by grace"
- The leavened bread made with wheat flour: The bread used in Holy Qurbana is to be prepared only with leavened wheat flour. The book explains later that the tradition is that the bread (or "Lahamo") used in each Service is prepared with a portion of the bread used by Jesus at the Last Supper
- It should be received after mixing together: The bread and wine are to be received after mixing them together
- The bread broken to peices and then to eat: It is the sign of the Old Testament sacrifice to cut the object of sacrifices into pieces. Jesus broke the bread and gave it piece by piece.
- We should be recipeints of the bread blessed by the priest: The priest eats the bread blessed and broken into pieces and he should give part of that bread to others. The laity does not give to others the bread blessed by the priest.
It was encouraging to read that this was the foundation of the belief, and that the entire service was centered on the Holy Qurbana ("Qurbana" is from the Syriac word "Kurbono", which is used in the Syriac Bible wherever the word "sacrifice" or "offering" is used).
What I liked even further was that the direct link to St James (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_the_Just) , the 1st Bishop of Jerusalem and Brother and Apostle of Jesus who first wrote the prayers used by our Church. The Liturgy of St James is the foundation of the entire ceremony.
I felt a lot of comfort learning all this and fuels the rest of the "journey", even though not quite sure where this is leading.
Comments
In some ways when I read this, I cringe to think how naive I was ... one of the downsides of blogging! But, fundamental truth still remains. There was One Christ, and there was One Church.
Man in his arrogance and pride messed with the human organization, and the struggle is to rediscover and define what it means to be Indian, Orthodox and Christian all at the same time in a manner that pleases God. Hope is in the many Indians of all ages who have good intentions and thoughts, as well as the next generation of leaders of the Church.
God willing, we won't have to wait another generation!