Faith of the Church
The zeal for thy house has consumed me
By E.S. John, Australia
King David was zealously aspiring to build a Temple for God to dwell
in among the people, but was not allowed because of his hands
spilling a river of blood that was the foundation stone of erecting
an Israelite empire or kingdom, despite God was not in favor of
having a king, as the Almighty wanted to lead His flock by Judges
whom He used to choose from time to time. God's presence till the
time of King Solomon, the son of David building a permanent building
in Jerusalem was compensated by the tent of the Tabernacle that had
to be carried during their exodus journey from Egypt to
Palestine.
"They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly sanctuary;
for when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God,
saying, "see that you make everything according to the pattern which
was shown you on mountain", Heb.8: 5.
Moses made the tabernacle
according to the design given by God on Mount Sinai, while He dwelt
with Moses for giving the Ten Commandments. Brooding over the
presence of God and a permanent worshipping place for the Lord, King
David's passionate desire of building a House for the Lord and
worshipping Him sincerely found its expression in this verse,
"For zeal for thy house has consumed me, and the insults of those who
insult thee have fallen on me", Ps.69: 9.
Though there was no
methodical instructions how to worship God while giving the 10
commandments, it was implicit that how and where the worship had to
be done. Moses' five books delineate such things meticulously.
Pattern and form of worship
The Ten Commandments are the moral sides of the day to day
worshipping style of God, not the practical sides of worshipping
style or form in toto. How to set the venue for worship and what all
necessary accessories that are associated with it are all explained
in the other creeds and laws.
If there was a technological aspect of
how to make the venue and worship God in the OT period, there is also
a definite worshipping method in the NT period. Some copycat churches
propagate and multiply their numbers by dynamiting the apostolic
method of celebrating the Holy liturgy, the bloodless sacrifice, and
the first such pattern of service was written by St. James, the brother of Jesus, the name
of which is known as St. James' Thaksa. The only
difference is that the blood sacrifice is replaced by a web of
bloodless sacrifice. Hence the design of the building in a set
pattern and celebrating the sacrifice is the core element of the
worship of God.
If the High priest of the OT period was allowed to
enter the Holy of the Holies only once in a year, the NT period
priest is able to go the third holy place any time, as the veil is
torn apart by the tearing of the veil of Jerusalem temple by the
death cry of Jesus on the cross Heb.9: 1-10. "For if that first
covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion for a
second…..In speaking of a new covenant he treats the first as
obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to
vanish away", Heb.8: 7-13.
This is thus proved basically that there is a set covenant formulated
by the builders of the church. Such set rules or manuscripts though
were written was not incorporated together with the bible, the
subsequent wreckers of the early faith make it as an opportunity for
mushrooming the numbers of the sects by misinterpreting the bible,
despite the early faith is imbedded in the bible in very mysterious
ways. The biblical treasures are hidden in a subtle way for the
terrestrials, or in other words for the nominal or wayward or cultic
Christians.
We can ascribe two reasons for not maintaining the codified set rules
like that of Moses' Pentateuch for the NT Christians.
Firstly, they were under the impression that the Lord would come to collect them
during their lifetime.
Secondly, they also were not sure that bible
would be printed and truck loaded in every corner of the world or
could be presented in a match box size or in internet web, so that
everyone could read and deal it in their own way. The bible was
treated with full respect by the mainstream churches till yesterday,
but it doesn't bring any respect or acceptance by some sects that
either keeps it under their armpits or in between the thighs or
wherever they like to.
I had once two room mates, one a Marthommite
and the other a Catholic, Reeth. The Marthommite friend showed a
portion from the bible during the course of their hot arguments of
the scripture. The Reeth friend got the bible in a fury and just
threw it against the wall. There was no physical altercation because
both of them were relatives. The Catholics don't encourage or
venerate the bible reading because they give infallibility to the
Pope, whereas the extreme Protestants' infallibility approach of the
bible mislead them to their own undue destinations.
The beauty of the Orthodox Church is that they give infallibility to
the church that is the Body of Christ, despite the so-called
centrists' one leg in the right canoe and the left in the other one
during the cultural revolutions of the cultic Christian sects.
Nothing is more important than the number of followers each
denomination can add by hook or by crook is the war cry, so that
their power can be displayed in the different realms of socio-
economic platforms that fetch money and weight from the political
system.
There is no more real apostolic church now, Lk.18: 8; we have
venues of heterogeneous worships that consists of Pharisees,
Sadducees, zealots and Herodians who have paved the way for the
crucifixion of the Lamb. There are amalgams of heterogeneous worships
that are not a model of the early church anymore. The food that we
eat are of hybrid products; the plants we have are of crossbreed
species, the people we intermingle are of hybrid ethnicities and
races and the worship that we offer to God are not pure like Abel's
but of Cain's.
Despite the centrist church claim that its modus
operandi is the same as of the early church, the heretical elements
from the left and right have defiled it on various ways. God reveals
only fractions of mysteries to the seers from time to time, however,
all prophesies will have to be fulfilled, though everything is in the
capsule form is hidden in the scriptures.
The Holy Church
The church is holy because it is the abode of God with His children.
The journey to the church starts from the miniature church, the
family that is outwardly is a trinity, father, children and mother.
The Holy Spirit who apparently represents the mother of the Christian
family cares, nurtures and indwells within the whole members of the
family. Just as the holy Trinity is inseparable, the members of the
family are also inseparable because of them being electrified
together with the fire of love, Jn.17: 11, 21.
As the church is holy,
it is considered that each member that is the brick of the building
is also holy. Holy Catholicose means that the status or position is
treated as holy, whether the person holding the position is holy or
not.
"…you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the
household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and
prophets, Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole
structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the
Lord; in whom you also are built into it for a dwelling place of god
in the Spirit", Eph.2: 19-22; 1: 14; col.1: 17-20.
Because Jesus is the head and the flock the body, we are expected to
be holy. This symbolic holiness of each member is attained through
the sacraments that the Lord prescribed through the priesthood which
has the authority of forgiving the sins of the repenting flock. Just
as the Aaronite priesthood of the OT prescribed the imperativeness of
worship and its raiment, utensils and vestments, the items and the
venue used for the bloodless sacrifice, despite a difference in the
ingredients, also is same and sacred.
As a prelude to the bloodless
sacrifice of the New age, the eternal High priest Melchizedek( Jesus)
king of Salem brought bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High,
and He blessed Abraham, the Father of faith, Gen.14: 17-24; Heb.6: 19-
7.3. Since then as a token of his gratitude Abraham gave a tenth of
everything to God.
Because Jesus has given His Body as our bread and
drink, we offer everything and ourselves, not the tithe only, for the
service of God in our worshipping places and also among our fellow
beings. We may do such things to an extent for the temple sacrifice,
but the most important is not the sacrifice alone, but also all our
dealings that are done justly and truthfully towards God and our
brethren.
"I desire mercy, and not sacrifice, you would not have
condemned the guiltless, Mt.12: 7; Ps.50: 23.
Symptoms of the New Age
Parish Assemblies
Despite there have been sacrileges, corruptions, money games,
blasphemes and power games in our worshipping places, the modern age
that has no respect for justice, values, truth and faith is the
uncrowned monarchs of our religious venues due to the blinding of our
inner eyes. The difficulty is that these carnivorous desecrations
that have driven away the Holy Spirit from the vicinities of our
churches and monasteries are the real obstacles for our improvements.
I have either read or heard about one of our bishops who participated
in a Holy qurbana (mass) in a Byzantine Orthodox churches talked to somebody
who was in the church after the worship. A woman immediately dashed
forward and asked thirumeni (bishop) to go outside and talk because they have
the strict discipline of not speaking any personal matters or seeking
queries where they celebrate the holy mysteries. We all had such
traditions once, but they are all out of date since the beginning of
new theological encroachments. God's Holiness should be venerated
always and everywhere. But tragically the law makers have proved
themselves as law breakers.
When I was a young adult, I remember to
have witnessed an episode that brought the local Congress party
members into the church for a branch meeting due to the unexpected
raining, but immediately was stopped by a Marxist Communist member of
the church. It sounded as if God belonged to the Congress party.
General Body Meetings
In my youth days we used to have meetings in the parish assembly
halls, but all these auditoriums now are for food caterings and
public theatres that bring money and popularity for the church. In
such a scenario, the parish meetings have become a part of the Holy
of the Holies, claiming that the sacrosanct meetings are a part of
our worship; thus the church has become a place of these meetings and
a fortress for the vicar for inducing scare tactics, saying that the
parish meetings are all part of the worship. The clergy that
attribute holiness to these meetings inject fear into the minds of
the devotees, so that the vicar and his cronies can do anything that
they want.
The fear of God has vanished away from the clergy and the
so-called believers, as they think that a decorated church and
celebrating festivities in a grand and elaborate way conjure up God
for their own advantages. They pre-plan all what they want to decide
and the meetings are stage managed in tune with their previous
arrangements; hence a sane person tremble to go for a General Body
meeting that usually propagate holy hooliganism.
The inside of the place also where holy credentials and puja indispensability are kept
are lately decorated like pagan worship places, like electric
decorations, colorful frills or thoranams (decorations) that block the Heavenly
luminosities and decorated Christmas trees with Christmas gifts and
the raiment of Christmas father who give gifts benevolently and
taking photos and displaying the valuable roles of each self-assumed
heroes in sports, camps, choir and many other public and social
activities, making an impressions that the `holy' cosmetics are
venerated where the golden urn holding the manna, Aaron's rod that
budded, the tables of the covenant and the mercy seat were placed
once, Heb.9: 1-5.
In spite of claiming that the church is holy, all sorts of cheap
jokes and vulgarities, character assassinations that make acrimonious
scenes are the usual pattern of these meetings. A determined minority
that hijacks the vulnerable ones by threats and false statements
bring many of them to their knees. They pervert the truth
deliberately by twisting with sugar-coated statements. The audited
Accounts are many times proven to be a procession of falsities and a
procession of fraudulent super computer gimmicks that could tarnish
the genuineness of certain individuals and elect their own bravados
for running the parish affairs. Such scenarios are artificially
created, so that they could do defame certain persons.
The religious Ministers' ejaculations these days are that let the senior people
retire, like in the days of King Rehoboam, and the youngsters take
charge of the parish for better management, making a false veil that
the computer is a Heavenly invention. The Computer technologies are
helpful, provided the data that are fed are not falsified.
Many of today's clergy, together with their associates, doesn't
hesitate to go to any extent and prowl upon the innocent ones by
pointing out their victim's personal, family and social dealings that
seemingly create a black aura, as if they were all angels of light.
Many priests hire the youth and electrify them with all sort of new
versions of modern spirituality and religiosity. This type of
political and real estate spirituality has really sedated the church
that sends out the committed youths and their family members to the
periphery or to the other religious wolves of charismatic venues.
If the fear of the Lord has disappeared from the clergy and the flock,
who can salvage the shpherdless flock. Litigations, scuffling,
feuding and conflicts are the outcome of such acrimonious situations
which have struck the last nail on the coffin of the Apostolic
churches. Personal gratification that mortifies the body of Christ is
the last sign of the doomsday religiosity.
Righteousness of God
God is a righteous Judge, Ps.7.
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of thy throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before
thee, Ps.89: 14; 7: 11.
There is not absolute truth or justice in our
parish decision- making venues. Cronyism from the top to the bottom
is the order of the day. Truth is mooted and falsity reigns because
of power struggle of a minority that craves in grabbing the power
like that of Absalom. The judge allows a lobbying minority to make
sway everything in line with the vandalisers, making God as an alien
to our hierarchical spiritual order.
As it has become a Sunday club
that fosters for thriving the business interests and cosmetic
celebrations of rituals and festivities, all our meetings should take
place in the church halls, not within the church, due to the
desecration of the holy name of God.
We used to have nercha (offerings),
oblations, during the festival days; this is now replaced with
catering food and pompous decorations and music in the style of
political platforms and elections.
Parish or Hierarchical Elections
The church or parish has become a duplicate of the political system
that horse trade for power and position in an unethical and monstrous
way in countries which go in tune with the culture and background set-
up of the particular nation in question. The carnivorous taste of
power that whet jealousy and head weight is as old as Cain and Abel.
It is a sad situation that the body of Christ also has become a prey
of political black magic. This sort of election propaganda and group
polarization that wipeout all our moral and religious fervor has
proven to be a deadlock for the progress of spiritual life and its
cultivation.
Unity of mind in Christian love is the salt and butter
of our breathing; if that is infringed upon without any moral values,
it is a sign of degradation of religion which used to impart
spiritual knowledge to an extent to its followers.
The clergy and laity work together for this spiritual suicide that
devastates our inner strength and moral fibre. Borrow the good side
of the voting system, because we have already assimilated within the
gamut of the political hierarchy, but don't become a carbon copy of
the secular mechanism that is not allowed to stimulate religiosity or
godly appetite because political system is devoid of spirituality of
any particular religion, as there are different religions and castes
and ways of worships.
Morality and religiosity are the common
denominators of religion and politics, not any faith or creed of any
religion. Our day to day running of the parish with this sort of an
amalgam of anything heterogeneous is not a healthy climate for
inculcating human relationship that is the grease of our sound
existence. We borrow any filth that can help the money-making venture
for the parish and also bring glory for ourselves. Instead of
religion becoming a role model and educating the secular system, it
is a pity that religion has become an identical twin of the ruling
hierarchy.
The religious places have become a copycat culture of
business enterprises and eating and drinking merriment cafes that
also is authenticated by inappropriate biblical verses that sound
like `devil quoting the bible', the reason for youth and women power
to be highlighted and edified, Is.3: 12.
If we follow Jesus, we have to fight against, firstly, the leaven of
the Pharisees, Sadducees, Zealots and Herodians, then, secondly only
against the invading Caesar. We become a prey of Caesar when there is
disunity among us. But it is certain that one who girds with the
weapons of this formula, one will lose his head.
Jesus whipped out such business zealots that encouraged these sorts of soul-killing
trades from the Temple ramparts during the last week of His
crucifixion. The cosmetic piety that hides a multitude of sins for
the sake of satisfying the lust of the flush, though one knows the
normal way of religious life, is the art of the people with the
leavened bread, Mt.16: 11. Jesus sold off His life for the last crime
He did by evicting the Shylocks from the Temple.
Hatching any plot,
saying blatant lies and pulling the legs of the fellow worshippers is
a style of our parishes or church meetings during these days of money-
harvesting turbulence. But it is only a tip of the iceberg, what is
underneath below has no measure or weight or depth. In such an
adverse climate, it is better to stop such elections and go back to
the culture of the early church that used to select people by casting
lots, Acts.1: 26. No more time left to waste our spiritual resources
that cannot be enhanced in this age of apostasy.
Zeal for the House of the Lord
The real seal and zeal is the holiness of the Lord who broods in His
House for giving the spirit of the Spirit of God. One has to serve
the Lord with complete zeal and passion that sheds light everywhere
around. The church and its hierarchy should swim against the social
currents and save those who are lost in the social intercourse of the
spirits, pagans, fanatics, agnostics, atheists, humanists and
spiritual perverts.
When Jesus drove out all these Temple adulterers,
the apostles were thrilled by the psalmist's zeal for the House of
the Lord, Jn.2: 15. "Jesus entered the temple of God and drove out
all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables
of the money changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. He
said to them, "It is written, `My house shall be called a house of
prayer'; but you make it a den of robbers", Mt.21: 12-13.
It has really been denigrated as a place of robbery because we have
killed the real spirit of worship. We made it unholy through the
vanity celebrations and business interests that bring money and
pervert the true spirit of chaste faith. Those who intend to go to
hell after their death should celebrate their birthdays and wedding
anniversaries and other pagan celebrations in this life because we
don't get another chance as there is no room for any enjoyments in
the place where wailings and gnashing of teeth are our inheritance.
We bury the dead with musical bands and long funeral processions
because we also celebrate together at the same time their birth
celebrations by angels and the faithful departed ones in Heaven where
their virginity continue in luminous gaiety and mirth for ever.
One who longs to have an eternal birthday should abstain from all sorts
of superfluous enjoyments here. The contemporary writers of Jesus
wrote that Jesus never laughed in His life because of His
overburdening with the sins of humanity. Instead of sharing and
working for the emancipation of the afflicted ones we celebrate in
the church all such banalities that are lately imported into our
spirituality menu.
While we celebrate such ephemeral prayers after the worship that ask
for a happy exit from this plane, is it necessary to pray for a merry
birthday when Jesus' birth, death, resurrection and ascension that
carved each individual's salvation is assured, provided we also move
in that orbit? Have our clergy that say "wish you a happy birthday
after the Holy Eucharist" condescended down to the level of street
merry makers who sing Hurray, `He is a jolly good fellow'?
Female and gay clergy that are added to the list of abominations of desolation
of the Holy Spirit are the final -day saga of the end of the dying
planet that is benumbed by climate change, global warming and other
geriatric symptoms, Mt.24: 15. The list for the abominations of
desolation of the Spirit of God is vast and unending. The first sign
of the final day scenario of finishing of this planet is a sign of
the real estate spirituality of the knocking off time of this
planet. "…there will not left here one stone upon another, that will
not be thrown down", mt.24: 1-2.
Real Estate Spirituality
There is no Holies or Holy of the Holies now. This is about the
forewarning of the demolition of the Jerusalem temple that was built
in high splendor of elegance and captivation by depositing gold in
between the bricks.
It took 46 years for building the third Temple
for the Jews, whereas for Christ only three days. Our body is the
temple of worship; clean it up first before we start our worship in
the church, Cor.3. If we want to keep the temple clean, cleanse our
body, mind and spirit.
We also face the same old scenario now; but
we are demolishing the church buildings and build big mansions for
renovations sake and better modern look, destroying the design and
antique architecture of the gothic structure. This mania for real
estate spirituality is a contagious disease because of competitions
and craving for fashions and cosmetic appearance and also for
personal gains. Look or appearance is a sign of modernity and
snobbery that we can't help it due to the minting of excess fossil
money by hook or by crook.
The same dubious time of Jesus has already blossomed now. Only a slim
minority care for the physical or worshipping purity or holiness of
the House of the Lord. Only the bishops were allowed to sit in the
Basilica or they were only empowered to bless the devotee with a
cross in the bygone days, but things have changed dramatically
because of the crossbreed theology from the four quarters of the
world.
Just as the Jewish hierarchy earned good name and high-profile
status by the desecration of the Lord's House, the super-tech era
that consumed all the higher values of life and spirituality is
thriving by defiling the Holy name of God and His House, highlighting
that the church hierarchies are the gatekeepers of Heaven for any
Nick and Harry.
But for believers, it is a testing time of
uncertainties and multiplicities of standards. Those who live ahead
of their times in today's carnivorous world, are put under immense
pressures, torments and tortures by the Judases who do anything for
30 silver coins.
"Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe", Jn.20: 29.
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