A TOTAL TRANSFORMATION AS THE BASIC SOURCE OF BLESSING AND CHRISTIAN SHARING 

(SERMON ON 18TH, August, 2013- HOLY COMMUNION SERVICE) 

 Prayer: Lord Jesus, who made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant and who made humbled himself and become obedient to death – Because of what you have decided to take this very nature and because of your participation and sharing life in this corrupted world, we the wicket people could gained the inexpressible blessing, a blessing that is so abundant for us. We want to thank you Lord for all the great things that you have bestowed upon us. Help us to realize once more the blessing that we received from your son, in order that we may live according to your will and may also live to be a blessing for our fellow beings. Let your ‘blessing light’ be shined upon to every one of us, we pray in Jesus name. 

The chosen texts for this evening are taken from - The book of Deut. and the gospel according to John, and before we come to the main topic, I would like to introduce these 2 texts.

  1. Deut 1: 9-11: is the introductory part of ‘recollecting story of the past’ in which Moses blessed the people of Israelites and has appointed Leaders from different tribes of Israelites.  And this parallel text is also found in Exo 18:13-26 where Jethro, father-in-Law of Moses gave advice to Moses to appoint leaders over different groups of people of Israelites.  But, since these particular 3 verses (Deu 1:9-11) do not contain such an appointment; in this evening, i will not bring out the entire proceeding story of this passage, but  will try to simply deal with the text as it has been mentioned here. 

 2. John 4: 39-42: is about Samaritans woman who told the story of Jesus to her villagers and is about how the villagers of Samaritan believed Jesus. In Verses 41&42 – “when Jesus stayed for 2 days and preached among them, they begun to here the message and believed Jesus, and said to the woman, “Now we believe, not just because of what you told us, but because we have heard him ourselves. And they continue to exclaim that – Jesus is indeed the savior of the world.” 

 Therefore, basing on these two particular texts, we will try to focus on “A Total transformation, as the basic source of Blessing and Christian Sharing”    But before we expound the chosen texts, i would like to begin my message with the story of St. Augustine of Hippo, one of the church fathers, and whom they regarded as ‘defender of the Christian faith’ by many Christian historians.  It has been said that, his life begun at Tagaste (modern Algeria) in Africa.  Though he had received a Christian upbringing, and had a devoted mother who instantaneously used to offer her prayer for her son Augustin, the early part of his life was so devastated. - He run away from her mother and had a mistress with whom he lived fifteen years.  In short, His life was not so delightful but was usually terrible. So, when he was in a perplexing condition, and had rebellious life from his own family and from God– Once, a strange voice had came to him, than the voice told him to ‘take up and read’ which Augustine took as a divine command to open the Bible and read the first thing he saw. So, he read  Romans 13:13-14 which said– “Not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and makes no provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof”.  So, the moment he read the scripture, Augustine could felt something what he never experience before. And then, from this time onward he had a new life and become a new person. Someone may say that his life was being transformed by the power of God.  The later part of his life was therefore so fantastic. Then, in return, Augustine had decided to devote his whole life and committed his life for the church and for his God who transformed his life.  Though no one knows how many people would be blessed through his new life. But at the same time what we could notice from his life is, He became one of the most prominent figures among his contemporary.  And even after his death, he was given many names. Among those renowned attributions they have given to him was ‘defender of the Christian faith’.

 Therefore, a person like him, once, who betrayed God and who refused God, would, became the sources of blessing not only for his relatives but for the church and for many people of his time.  And apart from this story, we can also recollect many interesting story, from Sadhu Sandar Singh, William Carey and from many other outstanding people. But as we are going to focus on our chosen or particular texts, we can keep all those interesting stories in our minds.  
So, if we look the Bible, there are many people, whom someone might consider them as greater than Augustine and the other well known people.  In Deut 1: 9-11, and John 4: 39-42 we could see very unique 2 persons – 

Moses and Samaritan Woman: 

1. Moses was (according to the Bible) - A slave son by birth, or adapted son. - But, grown up in the palace of Egyptian - A murderer, and who run away /flee from his people - A simple shepherd in the land of his father-in law But remarkably, he was also a person who experienced what we called it -‘transforming life’ through the specific call from God and through the call which he was unable to refuse.  The consequences of his confrontation with God, what we can see are – The people of Israelite were blessed in a way that ‘they were liberated from the slave of Egyptian. They were made free in order that, they could joyfully praise and dance before God.  Even though the people of God have gone through so many dis-loyalties from the Law of God, somehow it is possible to say that - they were blessed through the life and works of Moses. They have also experienced delightful freedom and peace from their enemies; and they have also experienced a number of miraculous works of God, while they were in the wilderness.  

 2. The second one is about the Samaritan Woman ( john 4): A woman, whose life has a lot of similarities with the story of Moses; In the early part of her life, she was…  - A deprived, disadvantaged, destitute and depressed woman. She was also the one who offered herself to accompany with many husbands or a number of men. - She was also a person, who asked Jesus “water from a living spring” for she has undergone different form of thirst and for she was in a situation of lacking something and needing to sustain her desire. But, later what we could see from her life is – she was also the one who experienced – ‘a total transformation’ (though the Scripture does not contain or provides us such an account). We found that - her experienced helped many Samaritan to here the message of Jesus and in a later part, we know that – because of her initiative, many people believed Jesus words and become the followers of Jesus. This means, the total transformation what we are talking about has taken place not only upon Samaritan woman but upon many villagers of the Samarian. They could have experienced – ‘a blessed sharing’ from a sinful person like Samaritan woman. They were blessed through a single and simple person who received and experienced Jesus.

  Lastly, as we are going to partake in this Holy Communion or as we are going to have a fellowship with one another through this table, i want to tell you one more story, the most important and interesting story that we should not avoid to acknowledge for this evening - that is – the Story of Jesus; Jesus, whom Pilate, a governor could not find his guilty, but at the same time considered him as ‘deserved to die’ by many Jewish people, religious leaders and the High Priest. He is also the one who emptied himself for me and for you, in order that we may have a transforming life. He is also the one who shed his own blood and sacrificed on behalf of you and me. And, even though, he is the son of God and is rich, but at the same time he is also the one who made himself as a servant and became poor for me and for you. 

Moreover, we can also say that - Through his sacrificial suffering, we are blessed, in a way that – we received not only eternal life, but also the grace of God, through him we also received the living hope, peace of mind and according to St. Paul, we also received – the membership of God family, as well as the citizenship of heaven. 

Again, Peter also tells us about - how we are given different immense status, a status which we never deserved to attain for a person like us especially a person like me -  I Pet 1:3-4: (Peter says) –“All praise to God, the father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his grace mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the death. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance – an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.” 

In I Pet 2:9-10: (He also further said) – “For you are a chosen people. You are royal priest, a holy nation, God very own possession. As result you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. Once you had no identity as a people. Now you are God’s people. Once you receive no mercy, now you have received God’s mercy.”

 Friends, These are the possessions which we acquired and obtained from God through the suffering and through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.  These are also the blessings that we received from God through the blood of Jesus and through the sacrificial offering of the body of Jesus Christ?
 Therefore, friends - I want to conclude my message by saying this, once, we were sinners and were included among the wicket people, before we received the grace of God. But now we were blessed and transformed through the blood and through the sacrificial offering of Jesus. So, let us remember the indescribable blessing that we received from God. And let us also remember - the blood and body of Jesus Christ which is offered and through which one could acquire and enjoy the love of God and so many blessing.  And Let this transforming life of ours, be a source of blessing for others. I believed that this must also be the true meaning of this sacrament. May God bless us through this sharing.,