Thomas Mor Makarios

Let God Work

At the Christian Family Conference in Austin on July 1, 2004

Dear friends, today I would like to talk to you about how we can live our life with God using a favorite story of mine-- Jesus feeding the multitude.

There was a problem!  People were hungry. Always problems arise in our lives-- both in our individual life and in our community life. At every moment in our life, we all face several problems. We use all of our resources to solve each of those problems. As soon as we solve one problem, another problem catches our sight. It seems God has placed us in the midst of problems. Each time we solve a problem, we become more skillful, and maybe that is what God expects from us.

All people face problems. But not all of them try to solve them in the same way. Here we see how Jesus’ disciples trying to solve their problem.

First of all, when a problem caught their attention, they had the willingness to discuss it among themselves, and Philip volunteered to represent them and approach Jesus with the problem. I think they were in the right track so far. They had the willingness to put their heads together and do a brainstorming. As their brainstorming failed to yield a solution, they had the openness to approach Jesus for a solution.  

Philip approached Jesus with their inability to find a solution to the problem. But he did not stop there. He also suggested a solution -- send the people away to get food. That is what most of us do when we pray. We approach God with our problems. But without waiting for an answer from God, we also suggest a solution to God. And the result...?

"You feed them!" Jesus told Philip. Philip comes with one problem, but now he returns with two. If we suggest solutions to God, our problems will only increase.

Philip went back and discussed the matter with the other disciples. They tried to solve the problem in all the different ways they could imagine. They even calculated how much money would be required to buy food for all.

Finally, they all came to Jesus and admitted their inability to solve the problem. This time they do not dare to suggest any solution. Now Jesus begins to act. God can act only when we surrender ourselves to God admitting our failure and inability. This is the first point I like to share with you.

Andrew found some food with a little boy. It seems that the little boy did not hide what he had. Most of the adults were probably hiding their food reluctant to share with others. When Jesus accepted the food from the little boy and thanked God for the food, perhaps it changed the minds of the people. They all began to take out their food, and share with others.

Many of us would think that such an interpretation belittles Jesus and the miracle he performed. We like to think in terms of Jesus miraculously creating food for all the people there.

Well, that was perhaps what happened. But this is what I think. If Jesus changed the minds of the people to share food with others, that was a greater miracle than multiplying the five loaves into five thousand. Changing the minds of people is a much greater miracle than the miracle of creating some food.

This is the second point I like to make. We often fail to discern miracles of varying degrees. Some miracles occur in physical level, but some others occur in mental and spiritual levels. It is easy to see a miracle in the physical level, but not that easy to see one in a higher level. Let us have the eyes to see God working miracles in our lives in all the levels. 

Facing Crisis with God

In a retreat in Houston on Nov 11, 2006

Retreat is the opposite of advance. It means moving backward. From what? From some of the things we usually do like talking, thinking, etc. When we stop talking for some time, we are giving a chance for God to talk to us. Today we are here to listen to God.  I am here to help you tune to God so that you can listen to God’s voice.

I want to share some thoughts about some people in the Bible who have influenced me. They all faced crises in life. Let us have a look at how they faced crises. We will see some positive examples we need to follow. We will also see a negative example we need to avoid.  

Joseph

We do not read much about this man because he was not so well-known like many others. However, I like to think of him as the savior of our savior. When our Lord’s life was in danger as a child, he is the one who saved his life by taking him to Egypt. We see him facing a great crisis in his life. He found that the girl he was going to marry was pregnant. That was a big crisis any young man would face in that cultural background. That was a culture in which such a girl would be stoned to death. Joseph had several choices before him. He could bring out the truth about her and let her die, and he could justify himself for telling the truth and for following the rules stipulated by his religion and community. However, saving the life of a girl and her baby was the first priority for him. It was a risk on his part. If they had found out what Joseph had done, he could have been condemned by his community for this act of covering up the truth, and they would have stoned him to death along with her.  It was an act of sacrifice on his part. He risked his own life to save someone’s life. It requires a lot of courage to make such a decision. That is why he is described as a just person in the Bible. We do not see him speaking anything in the Bible. But we see him acting. And through his actions, we see the goodness of his heart.  

Abraham

Abraham had to face crises nine times in his life. The first one was when God asked him to leave his hometown and go. God didn’t disclose him the destination. It was a leap of faith to the unknown, and Abraham took that leap. Abraham trusted God, and set off. That was the beginning of an adventure. He converted his life to an adventurous trip with God.  

The biggest crisis he faced was when God asked him to sacrifice his own dear son, Isaac. Imagine Abraham walking with his son to Mount Moriah where he was supposed to be sacrificed. Isaac repeatedly asked him where the lamb was. Abraham couldn’t tell him the truth. Instead he said, “God will provide”.  Finally when the time came, Abraham couldn’t cover up the truth anymore – the truth that Isaac himself was the lamb.  

It seems Isaac was fashioned after his own father. He surrendered himself to the will of God, and was ready to be sacrificed.  

Let us think abut that moment when Abraham raised the knife to the sky to pierce his child’s body. According the stories in Jewish tradition, the heaven trembled at this sight. How could a mortal have such unshakable faith!

Jonah

What we have in Jonah is an example we should not follow. He also faced a crisis in his life. Unlike Joseph and Abraham, he chose not to take any risk. Here is a prophet who disobeyed the almighty! He was sleeping comfortably in a ship that was going to sink while all the non-Jewish people in it were praying to their gods. God gave him an opportunity to pray when the huge fish swallowed him. He prayed to God inside the belly of the fish. According to the Jewish stories about Jonah, he jumped right into the open mouth of the fish, and his presence in its stomach gave the fish a severe stomach-ache. Finally the fish had to throw him up to the shore to get relief from its stomach-ache.  

Peter

We all know what Judas Iscariot did to Jesus. He betrayed Jesus for some money. But there was another disciple of Jesus who betrayed Jesus much worse than Judas –Simon Peter. When he faced a crisis, he chose to save himself. He didn’t want to risk himself. Although he was given two more chances, he chose to deny Jesus all three times. Then the cock crowed, which brought him back to his senses. His eyes met his master’s eyes. He could not contain his feelings. He went out and wept bitterly.  

That was the difference between Peter and Judas. Both of them denied Jesus. Judas did not repent of it, but Peter did. Judas committed suicide, but Peter reaffirmed his faith. According to a story of Peter, from then onwards, he used to wake up every morning before the cock crows at about 5 O’ clock to shed tears for the wrong choice he took that day. He cried all life-long for his lack of courage to stand with his master in a crucial moment. At the end, he was crucified in Rome. He had a final wish: He wanted to be crucified upside down so that he could kiss the feet of his master.   

Conclusion

Friends, what kind of choices do we make in our life? In crucial situations, do we deny God, or stand with Him? Do we have the courage to take risks in life with God? Is our life an adventurous trip with God or are we comfortably sleeping inside a sinking ship? 

The Saints’ Standard

In Houston TX on Nov 12, 2006

During this Perunnal of Parumala Thirumeni, we have had a great opportunity to meditate upon what it means to be a saint, and how we can follow the footsteps of saints. I would like to share with you a few thoughts in conclusion.

What comes to my mind now is the question Peter asked our Lord: How many times should we forgive someone who offends us? Is seven times enough? According to the Jewish custom, one was supposed to forgive up to three times. If someone repeats an offence a fourth time, the offended person had the right to retaliate. Peter derived the number seven from three by doubling it and by adding one to it. The standard Peter suggested was much higher than the existing standard. However, that was not good enough for Jesus. He said the offended person has to forgive seven times seventy times.

Every society has a standard of good/moral life. We, like Peter, try to live our life a little better than the existing standard. But we need to remember that God’s standard of a good life is far higher than our standards. Parumala Thirumeni is someone who lived his life according to God’s standards.  That is why we call him a saint.

When I was a priest in Delhi, I had a young man who was willing to help me whenever I needed. However, he would go to church only two times a year. When I asked him about it he said, “My father used to go to church only one time a year, but I am going two times!” He claimed to have a standard higher than the one set by his father.  

Once I had the opportunity to give baptism to a baby in New York. After the baptism, the mother brought the baby to me, placed him on my lap, and asked me to bless the baby to become like Parumala Thirumeni. She didn’t ask me to bless the baby to become like Makarios Thirumeni because she knew that Parumala Thirumeni was someone of a much higher standard.

Parumala Thirumeni was a God-intoxicated man. People sensed God in his presence. Can we become a God-intoxicated people? Can we rise to such a high level that the world around can sense God in our life? 

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