Dear Families of the Mar Thoma Church of New Jersey, Randolph,

          Welcome to 2016! Let us praise God for every experience, blessing, and challenge we had in the previous year. I ask you to evaluate this past year; look at the places you’ve done well, and also areas of your life which require improvement. “Yet, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.” (Isaiah 64:8, NRSV). God is our creator; we are the creation. We are part of the created order, yet we are imperfect due to sin, and we fall short of the glory of God. Let us understand that we are always in a process of changing and transformation. Let us do the same for our spiritual life and our relationship with the Lord, and let us commit our lives into the Lord’s keeping as we enter this new year.

Moving into the year 2016, let us focus on leading a sacramental life. The word of God affirms the importance of humanity, and God’s purpose for us. God desires us to live a life with him, being part of His plan of salvation (I Tim 2:4). To do so, our life needs to be set apart for His purpose. The faith that is have is nourished and affirmed through our prayers, songs, worship, fellowship, bible study, witness, & sacraments. We know sacraments to be rites in our church which help to cause growth in our spiritual life. They can also be defined as: visible sign of an invisible grace. The Mar Thoma Church has seven: Baptism, Confirmation, Confession, Holy Qurbana, Marriage, Ordination, & Unction. It is important to meditate (particularly the first 5) on the sacraments we have participated in by asking the following questions to ourselves:

1.     1.    Baptism: Being baptized Christians, are we fulfilling our Baptismal covenant? As parents/godparents, are we fulfilling the oath we  have taking on behalf of our children, assuring that we will raise our children in the faith? (Acts 2:39; Deut 6:4-9)

     2.   Confirmation: We have been anointed with the Holy Muron, a Syriac-symbol for the Holy Spirit. Do we rely on and respond to the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives? Are the fruits of the spirit seen in our lives? (Galatians 5:22-23)

     3.    Confession: Are we living a life of confession:- affirmation of faith & admitting our wrongdoing, and moving towards transformation by the power of the Holy Spirit? (1 John 1:8-9

     4.    Marriage: Are we affirming the sanctity of family life in the conversations, fellowship, actions, and decisions we have in our family? Do we have regular family prayer? (Gen 2:22-24, Eph.5, Mark 10:6-9

      5.   HolyQurbana: Are we offering our lives as a living sacrifice to the Lord, just as He gave His life for us on the cross? (Romans 12:1)

The New Year is marked by celebrations in the eyes of the world. Let us truly celebrate the new year, by renewing our commitment, and living a sacramental life.

May the grace of the Triune God be with you all, especially in this New Year.

                                                        Yours in Christ,

 12/17/2015                                                   Rev. Dennis Abraham

 Philadelphia                                              Youth Chaplain