The Yarah Project

Introduction

This Sunday (October 29, 2023), the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church is meditating of the theme, “Confession: Sacrament of Reconciliation with God and Humans”. Holy Confession is one of the 7 Sacraments observed in the Mar Thoma Syrian Church. There is a system of Christian living described in the traditional Christian denominations around the world. The rich tradition of practices call the faithful believer to order their life with Jesus Christ as the center of their world. The Apostle Paul noted about the Christian life-arrangement, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Rom 12:2 ESV). The Sacraments attune the faithful believer to the right doctrine/teaching about God, the right response to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the right attitude for Christian living,

The Holy Qurbana is the highest form of worship in the Mar Thoma Syrian Church. What differentiates from other forms of worship in the Church? We have “contemporary worship”, family prayers, personal prayer-time, etc. These are all acceptable worship, drawing us close to God, and strengthening our spiritual life. Yet, Holy Qurbana is seen as the “Queen of the Sacrament” because we are keeping the command of Jesus Christ to the Apostles and disciples on right worship.

• The Transforming Liturgy of the Word: The first part of the Holy Qurbana is the proclamation of the Gospel. In the Liturgy, from the Manitho of Mar Severus (O Lord Jesus Christ, born of Mary…) to the Evangelion (Gospel-reading) to the Nicene-Constantinople Creed followed by the Sermon, the faithful affirm the Gospel truth and hear the exposition of the Gospel. The transformation from listening to the Gospel is the primary and important aspect of being a follower of Lord Jesus. “So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ. (Rom 10:17 NRSV)”
• The Participation in the Holy Eucharist: As Lord Jesus commanded the Apostles, we also obey that command and celebrate the Holy Eucharist, in faith, with fear and trembling. Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” (Luke 22:19 NRSV)
• The Offering and Sacrifice: In the Holy Qurbana of the Mar Thoma Syrian Church, we emphasize the great and final sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which leads the faithful believer to offer their whole life as a pleasing sacrifice to God (no longer are the animal sacrifices acceptable to God, who has instead accepted the great atoning sacrifice of His Son, the Lord Jesus). “I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, on the basis of God’s mercy, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable act of worship. (Rom 12:1)” The Holy Eucharist is not mere bread and wine, but sanctified by God to mysteriously (that is, incomprehensible to the human mind) effect His grace in our lives, We partake of the Holy Eucharist by faith and as Lord Jesus commanded us.
• The Sacrificial Life: In the Participation in the Holy Eucharist, in which the faithful believer, having accepted the work of Jesus Christ as the complete forgiveness of their sins, earnestly prays for the renewal of their life by the work of the Holy Spirit. In the Epiclesis (the consecration of the elements of bread and wine), the Mar Thoma Syrian Church emphasizes the sanctification of the faithful believer by the Holy Spirit (“…send to us the same Holy Spirit to sanctify us and this Holy Qurbana”). Sanctification is the process of being made into the likeness of Jesus Christ. Those who accept the salvific work of Jesus Christ are “works in progress” so that one day, when we meet Him face to face, we will be made truly whole and complete, just as God intended when He created the first Adam. The sacrificial life, understood and experienced in the Holy Eucharist, commands us to a life of reconcialiation, peace and justice. The Fourth Rushma (Blessing) of the Liturgy dismisses the faithful with the intention that they serve the Lord in their daily life in humility and love for their neighbor.  “Through him, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. (Heb 13:15-16 NRSV)”

For the participation in this great gift which the Lord Jesus gave to His Church, the believer must be conscious of their human condition (fallen, weak, under the bondage of sin) but also understand the victory they have received through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. The “not-fully-realized” situation that Christians find themselves in can be hard to understand. If I am saved of my sins, why do I keep on making mistakes? Why do I sin? Why am I not perfect yet? As Apostle Paul wrote to the Church in Philippi, we have not attained the goal but we “press on, because Christ Jesus has made me his own” (Phil 3:12). Again he wrote, “ He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself. (Phil 3:21)” As the Church is not a museum of saints but rather a hospital for sinners, the traditions and practices orient us toward the fullness in Christ. We continuously pray for our transformation; we seek healing of our body and spirit and wait patiently for the complete transformation of the body in the Last Day. It is in this context that we place the Sacrament of Holy Confession. Let us consider the Sacrament in the next post. Have a blessed day!