All Bible readings on Sunday, January 25th 2009
[Third Sunday after Denaha, or the Baptism of our Lord Jesus]
Points to Share:
- We need to remember as Christians we are called to understand the meaning of the Scripture ... we don't read the Bible to get all the answers of "why" and "how". When Jesus told Nicodemus that he needs to be born again, Nicodemus immediate reaction was, "How can this be?". We must always remember that all things are possible with God, even those that seem impossible to this world. There are many things which we simply have to accept and believe as Faith.
- We have to remember that all of us here are born again! We were baptized with Holy Water and prayer, and through the Sacrament of Baptism the Holy Spirit entered us and we were born again.
Most of us were children at the time of our Baptism and do not remember. But is it bad or wrong that we don't remember because we don't remember the Holy Spirit entering our bodies, or that we as individuals did not invite or accept?
To help us understand, let's think back to our actual birth ... none of us were like Benjamin Button and born as an 80 year old man. How did we grow from there and learn things? Through our parents, our brothers and sisters, our Appachans and Amachis, our teachers ...
When we are Baptized, we are born again ... spiritually. Regardless of age, we are like little babies. So the question is who will raise us? The Church!. Just like when we were a few months old, our family - the Church! - will raise us, feed us .. our parents, God parents, Sunday School teachers, Achen, alter boys, elders ... through the Church, we learn how to become a Christian.
Jesus talks in many places in the Gospel about the need to be like children to understand His teachings e.g., Mathew 18:12-4, Luke 18:15-17, etc.
The Holy Spirit within us will guide us ... if we allow. Through the Church we will know Christ and grow more like Him because of being Baptized .. being born again. We have the Holy Spirit within us.
Additional Points made by Fr. Shibu Venad during Sermon:
ReplyDelete- In the Epistle reading (1 Corinthians 3:16-4:5), St Paul reminds us that because the Holy Spirit dwells within us our bodies are like temples, and his letter urges us to not forget
- Nicodemus later becomes a noted disciple of Christ (e.g., John 19:39) and reflects his spiritual maturation and growth from this story where he seeks Christ's teaching in the cover of night.
- The proper understanding of this Scripture passage is tied to our teachings on Salvation, and we need to understand the fullness of the teachings in order to have Spiritual growth.