.... as in the intro of the series this thing called "basic lessons" is a culmination of the learning that I had over the last few years as a practical class and recently a theoretical class too ....
I am starting this from the other end of the spectrum. When the people met they ate. They broke bread (means they had communion) and share food. Just imagine this (said a pastor in Para Church, Thiruvalla) one day this uncle here comes to your house and tells "hey, lets break bread and thank God for the life he has given us" ... it was bewildering, just to imagine that something like that was possible. People met together and enjoyed life. Back in Ashraya, Chennai we had started this thing called "do life together" in which people met once a week with food and drinks and everything else just to enjoy life.
This is not wrong, but eventually it leads us to live multiple lives, one that is Christian and other that is cool. And as the distance widens we feel really frustrating to move between Dr Jekyll to Mr Hyde. And even I went through the stage so much that I decided to ditch Christianity because people cared for me as long as I was kind and helpful. At that moment I felt that it was the best decision ever. But later in life when things went wrong and people cared less and the true nature of people became more evident and their ghastly intentions came to picture I was clueless. It was like i had build a city in the clouds that fell down suddenly. Nothing mattered then. My success and failure was summed up and dumped into garbage. My friends and foes never looked more alike. It was when i realised what Christ means really.
During my transition from the tower in clouds to reality and understanding Christ once again i met so many wonderful people out of which three have mentored me personally and continue to do so. Something about them were most of them were beginning a new business or have just brought a home or got a new job or left one when i met. Strange when i think about it because everyone of my mentors were struggling when i met them. But this did not stop them from feeding me. Like in one instance i was down and depressed one evening and i walked to one of my mentors house. That day was a really busy day for him and his wife and they were planning to eat cornflakes at night cause they were tired. Once i arrived the ration was less. They got some bread and some jam and some chips and we adjusted with it. It never has to matter what you eat, but the sharing made a lot of impact on me then and even now.
On another occasion i went to another mentor of mine while i was in Chennai and his wife was sick and he was in charge of the kitchen. We had all sorts of food to eat. Reheated - Recooked - tosted - fried just cause they loved to serve and i loved to eat. Of course there were times i had really good food with them too, but these were the times that i cherish. In the Bible in proverbs it says the following and it makes a lot of sense when we think about it.
The first generation Christians were called "Christians" because they had nothing else in common, they spoke about this dude who was crucified and for some reason - this was all it mattered to them. They were Arabs, Persians, Greeks, Persians, Jews, Macedonian and many more and from various trade and of various lifestyle. And they had buffets one day in Arab style, fried Lamb in Persian, Roasted Calf with Mint in Jewish Style, Fresh Cut vegetables Greek Salads all garnished with lots and lots of love ....
FYI: The early Christians in India were known as "Nazaranis" because they followed someone from Nazareth.
There were many things that the apostles did, but they had some basic stuff that they did every where and any where and this was though not a written law, it was like a "modus operandi" (way they work) ... cause they felt it was the best and they did it. Unlike many modus operandi we know of this was not so complicated.
They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers. (The Message)
I am starting this from the other end of the spectrum. When the people met they ate. They broke bread (means they had communion) and share food. Just imagine this (said a pastor in Para Church, Thiruvalla) one day this uncle here comes to your house and tells "hey, lets break bread and thank God for the life he has given us" ... it was bewildering, just to imagine that something like that was possible. People met together and enjoyed life. Back in Ashraya, Chennai we had started this thing called "do life together" in which people met once a week with food and drinks and everything else just to enjoy life. This was something similar to what they had in the early church, the members did not just meet to pray, they met to enjoy fellowship, talk about how good they feel, help one another etc. This is a hard thing to do, because we kind of feel awkward in talking about getting a promotion to a Christian without saying "God is good" and we would say to someone else "I really deserved this." - with out the God part.
This is not wrong, but eventually it leads us to live multiple lives, one that is Christian and other that is cool. And as the distance widens we feel really frustrating to move between Dr Jekyll to Mr Hyde. And even I went through the stage so much that I decided to ditch Christianity because people cared for me as long as I was kind and helpful. At that moment I felt that it was the best decision ever. But later in life when things went wrong and people cared less and the true nature of people became more evident and their ghastly intentions came to picture I was clueless. It was like i had build a city in the clouds that fell down suddenly. Nothing mattered then. My success and failure was summed up and dumped into garbage. My friends and foes never looked more alike. It was when i realised what Christ means really.
A bowl of vegetables with someone you love is better than steak with someone you hate.
In Churches sometimes during Christmas or New Year we have something called a "Love Feast" ...Isn't this all about the first Church??
FYI: The early Christians in India were known as "Nazaranis" because they followed someone from Nazareth.
Question : How ready are we to break the cycle of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde?
Question : Are we ready to open our fridges when we open doors?
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