A WORD FROM OUR PASTOR
Loving Ourselves: In today’s Gospel Jesus says “Love one another as I have loved you” (John 13:35). Jesus teaches us that the true test of discipleship is to love other people in the same way that he has loved us, with sacrificial, unconditional, agápe love. To start loving others we need to love ourselves first. Let us learn to love ourselves so that we may learn to love each other. How do we learn to cherish others and care for them if we have never learned to do the same for ourselves? We can become whole and holy only when we learn to love ourselves properly, acknowledging the presence of the Triune God in our souls, making our bodies the “temple of the Holy Spirit.” Only those persons who are fully convinced that they are themselves lovable because God has loved them and so brought them into being can reach out comfortably and unconditionally to love those who themselves cannot love but can only hurt and hate and destroy. It is through constant love-centered interaction with God and each other that the "new earth, the new Heaven and the new Jerusalem" can begin to come into existence.
This Is An Arab Bus: The Reverend Timothy J. Kennedy tells of traveling by bus throughout Israel one summer. On one part of the journey, the bus driver placed a big white sign by the passenger side windshield. Since it was in Arabic, Kennedy asked their guide to translate. The sign said, "This is an Arab bus, owned and operated by Arabs. Please do not throw stones." When they got close to Tel Aviv, the driver pulled another sign from behind his seat, and replaced the first sign in the windshield. Since it was in Hebrew, Kennedy asked their guide to translate again. The new sign said, "This is a Jewish bus, owned and operated by Israelis. Please do not throw stones." How do you tell the difference between an Arab bus and a Jewish bus? A big plastic sign in the windshield. How do we identify a Christian? Its not by a sign or our name but by our daily deeds of kindness, deeds of love, deeds of generosity, deeds of forgiveness etc.
Church Picnic: The two biggest fund raisers for our Church are the Picnic and the Reverse Raffle Dinner. In two weeks we will have our Church Picnic. The income from the Revere Raffle and the Picnic helps us to meet our budget especially in June and July when the collections are tentatively low. Thanks to Stephanie Oller, the chairman of the Picnic Committee for her wonderful leadership. We need a lot of help at the Picnic and I can see it’s usually the same people that help with Church events/fundraisers. I request that you to help with the picnic and make it a successful one. The biggest income comes from the raffle and I encourage you if you haven’t yet sold your ticket please sell them soon.
The Shepherd and the Economist: A man in an Armani suit, Ferragamo shoes, the latest Polarized sunglasses and a tightly knotted power tie emerges from his shiny silver BMW, approaches a shepherd guarding his flock, and proposes a wager: "Will you give me one of your sheep, if I can tell you the exact number in this flock?" The shepherd accepts. "973," says the man. The shepherd, astonished at the accuracy, says, "I'm a man of my word; take the sheep you have won." The man picks a sheep and begins to walk away. "Wait," cries the shepherd, "Let me have a chance to get even. Will you return my animal if I tell what your job is?” "Sure," replies the man. "You are an economist for a government think-tank," says the shepherd. "Amazing!" responds the man, "How did you deduce that?” "Well," says the shepherd, “you drove into my field uninvited. You asked me to pay you for information I already know, answered questions I haven’t asked, and you know nothing about my business. Now put down my dog; it is not a sheep!”
God’s blessings,
Fr. Suneesh Mathew
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