Resurrection Sunday: The Lord is Risen, Alleluia

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Good Friday belonged to men; they could do what they wanted, and they did their worst – they nailed Jesus to the Cross. But Easter Sunday belonged to God. Men have no part in it, except to watch in awe and amazement at the marvelous things God was doing. Men condemned Jesus to death, but God raised Him to life.

St. Paul said, “Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father (Rom 6:4)”. The resurrection of Jesus from the dead is the manifestation of God’s power. In any battle between God and man, God will win in the end. The working of men against God is always doomed to failure; the tower of Babel will always end in confusion and defeat because it purports to work against God.

The evil actions done by men on Good Friday will always be defeated, and Easter will be the final word in the battle between good and evil. To those who are on God’s side, victory will always be theirs. By the Resurrection of Jesus, evil is overcome and death is defeated.

The disciples after the resurrection of Jesus began a new life – a life, where their sins were blotted out, and a new life in the spirit they began. Our sins are washed clean by the blood of Jesus and we can begin a new life, in the friendship and fellowship of Christ. The Resurrection of Jesus reminds us that our life extends beyond the grave.

Dear brothers and sisters, we are Resurrection people. We belong to the Risen Lord. May He grant you the most blessed and grace-filled Easter. May the Risen Lord fill your hearts and homes with His peace and joy.

Silent Saturday: When God Seems Silent

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It’s been a day since Jesus died. The Holy Bible doesn’t tell us what was it like to go through the silence of Saturday, to be in the unknown, to have doubt, fear of persecution etc. We all have been in that place. To worry about tomorrow. The why question looms in our minds. Why is God silent when bad things happen to good people?

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Maundy Thursday: Servant Leadership

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“Jesus got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.” – John 13:4-5
On the night in which He was betrayed, Jesus did one of the lowest act – He Washed His Disciple’s Feet!
Feet washing was the job of the lowest of servants. Jesus who is the supreme leader of all humbles Himself to serve others. Humility is one of the characteristics which the disciples did not have at that time. Jesus was teaching them Servant Leadership.
Servant Leadership
As Jesus comes to St. Peter to wash his feet. Peter says “Jesus, You shall never wash my feet”. Jesus’ reply comes very sharp, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”. Then St. Peter demands for more: ‘wash my hands and head also.’ The disciples had become a consumer of what Jesus had to offer. We often have become consumers of our leaders. Whatever they do for us we just seek the benefits and rewards without any work on our part. “Do for others as you would have them do for you.” – Matthew 7:12. If you enjoy the benefits and blessings of others, then be a blessing to someone else also.
Serving others is the calling of every disciple of Jesus. By this one act of washing the disciple’s feet, Jesus has called us to lead to serve others. Servant Leadership is to take the lead in the service of others.
“Leaders are born, not made.” We often consider leaders to be born great. But there are also leaders who are great because they serve. They weren’t born in palaces, or in high class society to become who they were. Some great examples would be Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, our even our very own Blessed Mother Teresa of Kolkata.
Lead by Example: Leaders are seen as those who give orders . Servants are seen as those who follow the orders of the leader. But Servant Leadership lead by example. Servant Leaders set the standard by their actions. “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. ” – John 13:15
What does it take to serve others? 1) A Heart of Willingness 2) A Heart of Humility
This Easter weekend pray to God for a heart of willingness and humility to go beyond the comfort zone.
“Jesus washes the feet of the Apostles. Are we ready to serve others like this?” – Pope Francis

Worst Easter Ever

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Worst Easter Ever! Why wouldn’t it be? Celebrating the resurrection of the Lord Jesus under Covid19 Lock-down. It seems really bad. We can’t go out to church on Holy week (Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Sunday). We can’t wear our newly bought clothing, can’t go out to a restaurant, can’t meet family and friends nor can we walk out of our homes without fear of being attacked by the virus or by the authorities of being arrested for breaking lock-down rules. This definitely must be the Worst Easter Ever! or is it?
The reason we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection cause that’s the starting point of our faith and salvation. Just as Apostle Paul says, “And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith” – 1 Corinthians 15:14.  Without Jesus’  death and resurrection our faith does not exist. We celebrate in remembrance of the first Resurrection Sunday.

The Worst Easter Ever

The first Easter weekend didn’t start in celebration. The disciples of Jesus were sorrowful, some ran away in fear, while some didn’t want to associate Jesus’ name and life to that of their own. Because Jesus was a criminal. He was unjustly tried in court overnight and by morning a death sentence was given to Him. He was convicted wrongfully without evidence and was crucified next to thieves as a criminal. And his disciples would go into hiding and staying away from the authorities out of fear of being caught and crucified just like their teacher. The first Easter weekend was the worst ever, or so it seemed to everyone.
The disciples gave up hope, just like today. Coronavirus is taking away our hope. Millions of people are living in fear, not just of the virus, but also out what this lock-down means to them and their families. Some may lose their livelihood, others might lose their lives. Multiple industries are affected and millions of jobs are at stake. The world is in a pandemic.
When hope seems lost, hold on to your faith. Hope works best in the face of turmoil. We don’t hope as much when we live in good times, we don’t hope saying good times should become better times. We hope in the tension of turmoil, fear and anxiety. Our hope exists because of what Jesus achieved on that first Easter weekend. Sunday morning, the first day of the week, Jesus rose from the grave proving to the world that He is the risen Lord. Even though the disciples met and eat with Him following His resurrection, the disciples were living in hiding because that very message (Jesus’ resurrection) could get them into serious trouble and even imprisonment. His death made the way for our salvation. We have hope because of a life assured beyond the grave.
The disciples had unwavering hope in those challenging circumstances. This global pandemic isn’t the first one (neither will it be the last one), but have faith that you will survive this because of Jesus the champion who is fighting on our behalf. He is our provider and protector in these troubled times. The worst Easter ever brought to us the best gift ever. The gift of eternal life. No matter the circumstance, hold on to Jesus, cause Jesus gave us Hope.
Jesus = Hope.Your worst Easter can become a reflection of the best Easter as you commune with the Almighty, and lean in to trust on Him more.

The Adjacent Possible

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Have you ever been so close to something that you knew nothing about? To be on the cutting edge of Breakthrough. It’s only after Neil Armstrong stepped foot on the moon that we learnt that it wasn’t made of cheese. To be the very first in a long line of succession is intimidating but that’s where we raise the bar with every step. We are the beneficiaries of prayers we know nothing about. We’ve grew up in cities we didn’t build, Water we didn’t pump, food we didn’t sow but God was working long before we got on the scene.
Michael Crichton in his book Timeline says, If you were to  tell a physicist in 1899 that in 1999 (hundred years later) … That moving images that would be transmitted into homes all round the world from satellites in the sky, that bombs of unimaginable power would threatened the species, that antibiotics with abolish infectious diseases but the disease would fight back, that women would have the vote and pills to control reproduction, that millions of people will take to the air, every hour in aircrafts capable taking off and landing without human touch, that you can cross the oceans beyond the speed of sound, that microscopes will be able to see individual atoms, that people can carry telephones weighing a few grams and can speak anywhere in the world without wires and most of these miracles depended on devices the size of postage stamp which utilise new theory of quantum mechanics. And if you had said all this. That physicist would most certainly pronounce you mad.
Most of these developments could not have been predicted a hundred years ago cause back then scientific theory said they were impossible. A vast number of  things were impossible a hundred years ago, even more 200 years ago, or even more 500 years ago.
The realm of innovation is a concept called the ‘Adjacent Possible’.
The phrase was coined by a biologist named Stuart Kaufman. It’s a picture of how transformation happens. Causality is a long chain of events that happens and then there’s a domino effect which is beyond our ability to control or calculate, both with intended or unintended consequences.
Nowadays we take the air conditioning for granted, before the invention of air conditioning, the population of Florida in the United States was less than a million people (that was 80 years ago). No one wanted to live in Florida. And now millions of people now live there. I have a friend who moved there for research studies. Now Florida is the third largest state in the country, why?
Well it goes back to a foggy night in 1902, a 26 year old engineer named Willis Carrier who had an eureka moment . He wondered If he could use fog to cool a building. He patented and pitched the idea at the New York world fair in 1939. He called it the Igloo. This was science fiction eighty years ago.
Carrier now is a 12 billion dollar business. We don’t think about it much. We take it for granted because it was invented before most of us were born.
Steven Johnson says the smartest mind in the world couldn’t invent a refrigerator in the middle of the 17th century, it simply wasn’t part of the adjacent possible at the moment.
The basic principle of the Adjacent Possible is this: In any given time only a certain steps are possible.
In mathematics, you can’t go from arithmetic to calculus without having algebra, geometry and trigonometry. When you do then Calculus is the Adjacent Possible.
You’ve got to walk before you run, it’s step by step, day by day. Over time the possible gets closer and closer layer upon layer of labor of others.  The next thing you know the adjacent possible is all around us and we don’t even know it.
By the way it could be argued that the last USA election was decided by Willis Carrier. Nothing had more of an effect on the electoral college than the air conditioning. Since the advent of air conditioning the colder states lost their electoral college votes to warmer states like Florida, a swing state. So Willis Carrier didn’t just circulated air, he circulated people around his country. I don’t think that’s what he was thinking on a foggy night in 1902.
I think the  Adjacent Possible is a  wonderful picture of  faith. When the disciples first started following Jesus, they did have a category for walking on water, its called impossible? No! possible. For a man being born blind receiving his sight with just a touch, impossible? No! Possible. Feeding 5000 with 5 loaves and 2 fish, impossible? No! Possible.
The truth is when your next to Jesus you’re in the adjacent possible. You are in a realm where all things are possible. When Jesus walked out of the tomb the word impossible was removed from our dictionary.
All things are possible. It’s a mystery I fully don’t understand but I firmly believe in. And we all need this mystery. You can’t get any closer to the adjacent possible than Jesus. Stay close to Him.

A Leap of Faith

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Another month comes to an end, Ten more months till the year ends. For me 2016 is speeding by. Someone asked me today, what is my expectations for this year? My reply, “All Things New”. New experiences, new friendship, new adventure, new joys, but also new tears, new sorrows, new detours, new hardships, new challenges. But through it the best thing is I learned new life lessons.
Today marks an important anchor point in the passage of time. It’s the 29th of February, a leap year. A date which comes every four years. As I look back into the last four years, to the things I’ve learned and experienced, the challenges, the opportunities, the friendships and the memories. It has all been a well crafted plan by the Master of the Universe. I’ve grown from what I was to what He wants me to be. Every experience, every moment was a well orchestrated plan where I learned to be better everyday. I’ve learned to trust in Him more everyday. What I’ve realised that none of this would have been possible if I wasn’t willing to take a leap of faith.
Today as I mediate on the future of my life, I’m perplex by the same thought: Leap of faith. What does it mean for me? New challenges which will break me to make me. Yes I’m fearful of what lies, the leap into the unknown. Fear is an acronym, False Evidence Appearing Real. Honestly there is nothing to fear. What the last four years has taught me one big thing – Faith. I am committed to grow more in faith and in all things.
To grow more I must be ready to get stretched more. As the old saying goes, no pain, no gain. Bodybuilders understand this better than anybody. An unused muscle if left will become useless and eventually will require amputation. But to better use that same muscle, it needs to be fit. Fitness requires both practice and pain.
The next four years presents an uncharted time line for my life. Where, if I start today I can maximise my potential tomorrow. Personally I have a calling and a resolution which I hope to achieve with God’s help.
2 months flew by, 4 years will flash by. I realise, it’s time which gives urgency to my resolution waiting to be achieved. My available time is diminishing, my urgency to reach the goal is ever-increasing. 2020 starts today…I must take a leap of faith everyday to be all that God planned for me, I will not settle for the ordinary, I will take a leap of faith.

The Great Power Struggle

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The word ‘POWER’ is made up of just five letters but the weight and the strength this word carries is felt most by those who either use it or are under authority of someone who posses it in immense quantity.

But power, in more ways than another becomes abusive or healthy in the hands of those who use it. How is this possible? Well, history has given us examples of people who were able to deliver either good or bad results from the use of power that had been given to them.

One such example can be Hitler. The power that he wielded did not only shape the entire nation of Germany and the world tragically, but the power of one person’s words and actions to try and eliminate and entire race of a certain community showed what great authority and might, it might bring out of one person’s ideas and ideologies. It not only shaped a new generation of people’s views but in time to follow, it posed a threat to see any leadership of such standard, what could be brought about with such actions and their kind of thinking and acts that were carried out. Read more

The Power of a Whisper

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**Phone Ringing** +3754 calling… – I answer: Hello Papa.

That’s a phone call I receive few times a week. My dad works in a foreign country, and he uses some VOIP (voice over internet phone) number. Every time the number changes to something new. In fact it even shows other foreign phone code numbers. One time I got a call from Belgium. But it was my dad calling from the gulf. Has it happened to you? You receive a phone call from a random number, but you know it isn’t a tele-caller trying to sell something. It’s a person you know! Read more

#TheXmasStory: Why Were The Wise-men So Wise?

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year…It’s that season once again – The house cleaning begins, the cake making starts, and who can forget the Holiday shopping. All this just for that one special day in our calender called Christmas. When we mention Christmas to little children their eyes light up with joy because they sense, Mom and Dad  along with relatives will definitely have gifts to give. Everyone associates Christmas with gifts and new things. But more often than not the reason for the season is lost.

The Christmas story has been told and retold over a years with newer variations to the story. Today I’d like to bring focus into the lives of the Wise-men and their journey.

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The Unsung Heroes of Everyday

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In the 21st century life is so fast paced with the advent of technology, mass media and communication, most of our time is taken up with entertainment and socialising. Other times is just plain old hard work or studies or even family time and household chores. We are just passing each day so fast that we don’t even realise it – Half the year of 2014 has passed us by.

This is my attempt in slowing things down – Taking notice of people around us whom we would hardly notice. But thank God for them as they make our lives a smooth ride. Read more