Lesson 3

Church : The Community of the Believers

  •                            When Jesus came to Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They replied tohim: “Some say John the Baptist,but others Elijah, and still othersJeremiah or one of the prophets”. Jesus asked them: “But who do yousay that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus told him,“Blessed are you, Simon son ofJonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. I tell you, you are Peter,and on this rock I will build mychurch, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give youthe keys of the Kingdom of heaven…”(Mt. 16:13-19).  
     
                                 These words of Jesus can be seen as the indication of Jesus establishing the Church The most significant aspect is the confession of Peter that Jesus is Christ is the Son of the living God.Highly pleased with Peter's divinely inspired statement, Jesusestablished his Church on the foundation stone that is Peter. So the Church is the community of those who believe and confess that Jesus is Christ and the Son of the living God

    Faith is the Response to God's Call

     

                                              Faith is man's response to the call of God, who reveals Himself. The expression of this response is a loving surrender to God. The people who listened to the speech ofthe Apostle Peter, on the day of the Pentecost, were so touched and moved that they asked the apostles, “Brothers, what Should we do?” Peter said to them: “Repent, and bebaptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins may be forgiven;and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2 : 37-38). Accepting this call, they repented and received baptism. And they were added to the community of believers who accepted, Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.

                                             The lives of our forefather Abraham and Mary, the blessed mother of Jesus, are models of faith. Abraham believed the Promise of God, although his wife was past theage of bearing and knew that, what was impossible with man was possible for God. The same is true with Mary, the Mother of Jesus Christ, who believed the message of the angel and submitted to the will of God.

                                             Faith is founded on the belief that the Word of God will be done even if it is unintelligible for the human mind In the letter to the Hebrews we read: Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Heb 11:1). What underlines this faith is a deep love-relationship with God. Moved by love we surrender our mind, intelligence and heart to God in an act of faith.

    The Community of the Believers in Jesus

     

                             Jesus is the revelation of God himself. In Jesus, God revealed Himself in a unique way to humanity And Jesus on his part, through his life, death and resurrection revealed that He was the Son of God and as such, Lord and Saviour. God confirmed this revelation by raising Jesus from the dead. In the letter to the Romans we read:“…if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”(Rom 10:9).So the Church is the community of people who accept Jesus, the revelation of God, and love Him and profess their faith in Him Jesus moved by love for his Father surrendered hislife to God on the cross. So faith consists in surrendering ourselves to the Will of God.

     

    The Basic Qualities of Faith

     

     
    1   It is man's response to God whoreveals Himself.
    2   It is the total acceptance of all that God hasrevealed.
    3   It is man's total obedience and selfsurrender.
    4   It is the awareness that it is God whoenables us to believe and strengthensus in our faith.
    5   It is the awareness that faith is both man'sresponse to God and a free gift of God.

    The Proclamation of the Gospel

    Leads to Faith

     

                                                    The proclamation of the gospel is the door through which we came into faith. St. Paul asks, Howare they to call on one in whom they have not believed?And how are they to believe in one of whom they havenever heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him?” (Rom 10:14) So we know how essential it is to preach in order to lead people to faith. The Proclamation of the Good News is the mission entrusted to the Church by the risen Saviour He told his disciples, “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation.The one who believes and is baptized will be saved…” (Mark 16:15-16) Having received this mission from Jesus, the disciples went to different parts of the world proclaiming his Word. Their preaching and witnessing ledmany to faith in Jesus. 

    Conversion, the Necessary

    Element of Faith

     

                                Listening to the Word of God should lead us to conversion of heart and faith inJesus. Jesus began his public life by calling people to repentance  “The time is fulfilled,and the kingdom of God has come near;repent and believe in the good news.” (Mk.1:15) Conversion means a change of heart. InGreek language it is called Metanoia  It literally means Return'  It is a call to return from the wrong, sinful path of life to the right path paved by this good news of salvation. Listening to the word of God should lead tothe change of heart and faith in Jesus. Those who believe in him and accept him as Lord and saviour will be saved. In fact, Church is the community of people who are saved and moving towards the fullness of this salvation.

     

    Faith Makes us One

     

                                            Christian faith has two realms: individual and social. Fundamentally, it is aparticipation in the fellowship of the Church (Ch.9). Faith is our response to God's revelation. This kind of response always leads to fellowship  “All who believed were together and had all things in common; theywould sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need.Day by day as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts.” (Acts 2: 44-46).

     

                                          It is through baptism that one enters into the fellowship of the Church. The other sacraments enhance our growth in the Church.Thus the Church is the community of people who respond to God's call in faith and live together in prayer and fellowship and sharing,being nourished by the Word of God and the
    sacraments.

    Word of God:to Read and

    Meditate 

     
    Acts 2:1-47
     

    Word of God to Remember

     

    If you confess with your lips that Jesus is
    Lord and believe in your heart that God raisedhim from the dead, you will be
    saved. (Rom : 10:9).
     
     

    Let us Pray

     

    Lord, who gave us faith in the Church
    through baptism, help us to live infellowship with others in the Church infaith and love.
     
     

    My Resolution

     

    I will not miss anyopportunity to expressmy faith in Jesus.
     
     

    Think with the Church

     
    The holy People of God shares also in Christ's prophetic office: it spreads
    abroad a living witness to him, especially by a life of faith and love and
    by offering to God a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of lips
    praising his name
     
     

    To Know the Mother Church

     

    The Mar Thoma Nazranies developed their faith, that they received from
    St. Thomas, in keeping with the cultures of the time and place. They
    developed a spirituality in accordance with Indian culture. The Oriental Syrian
    liturgy, which they followed, was developed in adaptation with the Indian
    culture. In course of time she lost many traditional values which were very
    much in keeping with Indian cultures. Today our Church, who has been given
    the status of a self governing Church (Sui juris Church), is trying to recover what
    we have lost and to adapt according to the needs of the time and culture

     

    Find out Answers

    1. What do you mean by faith?

    0

    2. How is faith reflected in the lives of Abraham, our father in faith and Mary, the Mother of Jesus?

    0

    3. Name the five attributes of faith.

    0

    4. The proclamation of the Gospel leads to faith. Explain.

    0

    5. Explain the community dimension of Christian faith

    0

    Let us Discuss

    Activity

    Let us Enlighten our Hearts

    Upload