Vicar's Message

Dearly beloved in Christ,

Greetings in the name of the Triune God

We celebrate this year’s Christmas also in a context of complexities and uncertainties. A tryst with the pandemic has affected life in its entirety including that of the church. Like in every crisis we tried to see the tremendous opportunity to live the gospel besides the pain and agony of the suffering masses and Christmas should open our eyes afresh in our seeking and serving the Saviour of the world. As we celebrate Christmas in the midst of this pandemic, we have to understand that Jesus was born in Bethlehem in the midst of so many complexities

Firstly, Jesus, the prince of peace was born to liberate the people from the corrupt structures and restore them to the wholeness of life. The Gospel of St. Luke 2:1- 14 lucidly depicts that the angels announced the good news to the shepherds who were considered as ‘the outsiders,’ lowly, despised, liars and thieves and the unclean in those days. But the good news was brought to them because God has shown grace, favour and compassion to liberate them from the constructed and imposed character and identity and give them a space to lead a dignified life in its fullness. Despite Jesus was not given a space to lay his head, he strived hard and sacrificed life to find a space for the despised and rejected ones. The church, the body of Christ is called to embrace the refugees and rejected ones and allocate a room for them to live as human beings who are also created in the image of God.

Secondly, as hopelessness, uncertainty and turmoil prevail in the lives of the refugees and vulnerable, God assures shalom in order to establish the reign of justice and equality.

Thirdly, the birth of Jesus, the Messiah makes the rejected and despised as the announcers or the channels of peace. As the thorny corona pandemic time reveals the importance of ‘space’ either in private or public arenas, it is high time for the church to become a channel of space and peace. May this Christmas bring joy, peace and hope in these troubled times of terror, violence and uncertainty and enable us to embrace the revolutionary legacy of Jesus, the prince of peace.

I wish that we all may experience the birth of this wonderful Saviour in our hearts and homes so that we will have a merry Christmas and blessed new year.

Rev Binu J Varghese