Monthly Newsletter of Horeb Mar Thoma Church
Message from Rev. Larry Varghese, Vicar
Dearly Beloved in Christ,
Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us… Matthew 6:12 (NLT)
Paul says, “Therefore be imitators of God.” – Eph 5:1. Peter says, “Instead, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct.” – 1 Pt 1:15.
We usually think of being Christ-like as being the Biblical mandate. But it’s interesting to ask the question: Does God act like us? When we think of forgiveness we know we are to forgive other just like God has forgiven us. Here though, intriguingly enough, we are taught to reverse idea that God will forgive us in the same manner we forgive others. Is this a mistranslation? We should note that the Lukan version can be translated as “forgive us our sins for we have forgiven the sins of others”, but Luke also quotes Jesus as saying, “Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” – Lk 6:37.
So what do we make of this idea of God acting like us? Well we should realize this isn’t something completely unusual. When Jesus spoke about judgmental attitudes he said, “For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get.” – Mt 7:2. Should we expect that God wouldn’t act this way? Do we think that God will forgive us regardless of our forgiving others? What does our attitude of unforgiveness imply about our experience of forgiveness? It should cause us to stop and think. Every time we say the Lord’s Prayer we are asking God to be like us in terms of forgiveness.
It is a frightening request for us to be making year after year. But hopefully the one who understands their own sins before God will realize the irony if they refuse to forgive someone else. Understanding that forgiveness has been achieved once and for all on the cross, we must admit that the experience of forgiveness is somehow tied to our offering of forgiveness to others. Therefore forgive, and be forgiven – not as though to earn forgiveness, but to prove our understanding of God’s forgiveness of us.
Rev. Larry Varghese.
Worship Service
Sunday School
All Sundays – 1:30 pm
Praise & Worship
All Sundays – 2:30 pm
Service Times
All Sundays – 3:00 pm
First Sunday — Holy Communion Service (English)
Second Sunday — Holy Communion Service (Malayalam)
Third Sunday — Holy Communion Service (English)
Fourth Sunday — Holy Communion Service (English)
Fifth Sunday — Divine Service (When applicable)
Lectionary
Bible Lesson Readers & Deacons
News, Events & Monthly Meetings
Parish (Edavaka) Mission
Tuesday Evening Meeting @ 7:00pm
01/13: Mr. & Mrs. Mathew Philip
01/20: Mr. & Mrs. K.M. Chacko
01/27: Mr. & Mrs. Mathew Koshy
To be held on January 18th at GGUMC following service.
Saturday, January, 24 – 4:00PM
Location: Aji and Julie Varghese
Bible Study
Friday, January 9th, 6:45 pm
Location: Vivek Abraham
Bible Study
Sunday, January 25
Location: GGUMC after Service
Birthday and Wedding Anniversary
https://www.horebmtc.org/anniversaries/