What is God doing in the Church?

I recently participated in a Holy Qurbana when I had this thought.

Clueless!

The Holy Qurbana (Eucharist) was going on at its pace. Songs were followed by prayers followed by responses followed by songs. Some people were singing, others were not. Someone was going out of the Church, some one was coming in. Children were playing at the back. Some were making the sign of the Cross at the appropriate times, others were standing still. Some had hands folded., others had hands in their pockets. At the altar some people seemed lost in thought, some were singing along, some were fiddling with the books, while others were going through the motions. Everyone seemed to be doing their own thing; the Qurbana was going on and everyone was pretty much clueless!

The thought occurred to me. The Lord of Lords is sitting at the altar. What will the Lord be doing? Is he observing these happenings? What is He thinking? What does the Lord do during the Holy Qurbana?

Is He like the Indian King of the old movies, sitting on the throne, the centre of attraction at the scene of a performance, nodding His head in acknowledgement, accepting the prayers? Is that our idea of God?

Is this like in the setting of a Qawali or Shayari session, where the Lord is saying "Wah Wah"* at the songs we sing? Is that how we feel the Lord reacts when appeased?

All the people in the Church seemed like busybees, wanting to finish off what they were doing, so that they could get out, to do other important things in their lives. While the Lord seems to have no qualms sitting at the altar all the time. Is the Lord the only person in the Church who has a lot of time to kill?

It then dawned in me - the Lord's work never ends. 

He has been busy preparing the people, slowly prodding them to come to Church (despite all excuses they throw up). He has been continually and patiently nudging someone to repent, even though he keeps sinning instead. Maybe someone in the Church that day maybe at the door of death, maybe this is his or her last Holy Qurbana - the Lord is trying till the very last instant to save that soul. He is actively engaging the person, He is trying to make him focus, so that He may repent, so that he may have communion with the Lord, so that the Lord may enter into his weak body and try to work from within him. 

The Deceiver is always on prowl

The Lord knows the danger of the Devil waiting to devour the person, and is trying His level best to snatch him away from death. He is constantly working with each person. He is making the sacrifice at the Cross carve salvation out for every single person. Maybe someone in the Church that day has sinned a grevious sin and is unrepentant. The Devil has hardened his heart. The Lord is actively trying to melt his heart to guide him into confession and reconciliation.

Maybe someone in the Church that day is about to commit something sinful. The Lord is working hard to make him change his plans. 

Maybe someone in the Church that day has never led a life in the Lord, even though she has always been 'active' in the Church. The Lord is actively focussing on her to bring her to Himself. 

The Lord is our Advocate who is constantly trying to fortify our case, even though we usually throw it all away again and again, so that when the dark angels come at our death to ask for our soul, there is a case strong enough for the Lord to keep us, for that is why He died on the Cross, that was the reason for His suffering, to redeem our souls. And so His work continues through the ages.

All this work happens amidst all the commotion in the Church. The Lord is not measuring the length of the prayers, He is trying to find a moment within those prayers when He can touch us. He never rests, He is always working, and His work is always for us. 

Only if those who came to Church also realized how much the Lord worked each moment to help us escape death, we would perhaps have tried a little more not to hurt Him. Perhaps then, we would enjoy the Church a little more.

* Typical reaction to a Shayari session in an South East Asian setting.

Gay Marriage - HG Mar Nicholovas responds

I got a chance to attend a Parents and Couple's conference in NY last weekend and I asked a question when it was time for asking questions.

I asked: Today in the secular society we have a lot of discussions about gay and straight relationships. What is the Church's understanding about these? How does the Church approach these issues?
Who is a gay? Is this a disease? If so, can it be remedied? Or is it an orientation with which certain people are born? If so, how does the Church preach and teach Christ in such a society where people are of this orientation? What if one of our daughters or sons tomorrow opened out to us that they were gay?..etc"

HG Zachariah Mar Nicholovas

I was not actually expecting any real answer, because I knew the general approach of the people in this regard (of hushing around it, of playing the ostrich, of using some sarcasm to avoid the core issue, etc). All I wanted was to raise the issue, so that there was some kind of awareness going on, because I felt this question might become something for the parents and couples in our
Church to address in the years to come. I was surprised when I really got something to take back as a response. So here I share (I have paraphrased the response, for clarity purposes. What follows below is not the response itself but my understanding of the essence of the response, which I have elaborated adding my own words for illustration and emphasis and am using Thirumeni's name with permission):
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Our Diocesan Metropolitan, most respected and beloved Zachariah Mar Nicholovas was taking the questions. His Grace started with a disclaimer not to consider the response as any 'official stand' of the Church because the church's opinion was only evolving, the issue itself was quite complex and the discussion was something very new to our society.

Thirumeni explained his thoughts by clarifying the difference between 'being a gay' person and 'practising as a gay'. A common school of thought that has evolved so far seems to be that when someone is a gay, he or she is like that by orientation (meaning, he\she is created like that).If at all it can be considered a disease, it must be something like a genetic disorder or so. Being a gay in this manner, is in itself, not a problem. The issue that the Church has to deal with is the issue of a gay practising same-sex relationship and of acknowledging a gay marriage.

Obviously any extra marital relationship is not condoned by the Church. As for the issue of gay marriage itself - for the Church, one of the primary purposes of marriage is 'procreation'. Without any blame or ill feeling towards those couples who are unable to have children of their own after marriage, we have to see this primary purpose behind marriage as 'for procreation'. That is where the
Church has issue with a gay marriage - where procreation is never in the picture.



Procreation - a primary purpose of marriage

In a civil society, there are issues of benefits being denied when the couple is  gay - like the ability to file for joint tax returns etc, which has economic implications. These are the issues the civil courts have to deal with when they decide on matters concerning granting legal status to gay marriages. The Church does not bestow any such benefits to the couple.

So the Church is sympathetic towards the gay individual oriented that way, the Church loves him or her as Her own and is dutibound to work for salvation of such an individual like anyone else's, but the Church has a problem being the central figure in a wedding where procreation is not even a possibility. The Church is still struggling with this question in the light of modern scientific debates and scientific explorations in the subject matter. On the one side there is the traditional understanding and on the other side is the Church's pastoral responsibility  to these children of Hers.

The Church once believed the earth was flat

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I applaud Thirumeni for taking the question and for responding sincerely. I feel the Church needs to take this further, ponder over such issues in prayer and develop this thought process. The knowledgable persons in this issue - in the theological, psychological, medical, sociological fields and in all such related arenas must contribute to help the Church in how she develops Her stand. The reason I feel this is important is - we need to be able to honestly answer our children as a Church, unambiguously and in one voice, whenever they ask. Because if we cannot satisfy them, in this information age, they will seek the answers elsewhere, and they will get many different versions of the answers from outside, and we may not like what they learn from outside. So, when they ask the

Let the Spirit reveal the path

Church, the Church must be there with an answer, not a diplomatic response to evade the question, but a genuine, sincere and honest answer, which the Holy Spirit has revealed to Her. For that to happen, the Church must take up the issue in prayer and contemplation, patiently try to understand the issue, and listen to the Holy Spirit's response, even if that response may not always be to our liking.

Sincerely
Mathew Samuel,
Albany, NY

 (Nichololovos Thirumeni's views have been published on this article with permission)

The Church cares for everyone

P.S.: This topic has been talking points in various forums in other Christian circles, including in different Orthodox Churches. The Indian courts have discussed the issue, as we are well aware. While responding to the issue, kindly stay focussed on the issue and not on the personalities. We need constructive debates, discussions, prayers and bold decisions; may our contributions in ICON
and elsewhere become instruments of change, if change is needed,and of conviction, if change is to be opposed, but in all cases, always only for the glory of the Lord and His Church.