Cathedral Chimes Dec 2024

“Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Christ the Lord”. - Luke 2:10-11

Dearly Beloved,

Greetings in the name of Christ Jesus!

Praise be to God. We were able to receive God's blessing abundantly in the month of November 2024. On each Sunday we had something special. On the first Sunday we had the privilege of hearing the word of God through the Bishop of Coimbatore, Rt. Rev. Timothy Ravinder who spoke on the importance of children's ministry and encouraged the Sunday school teachers.

Then, on the second Sunday we observed Medical Ministry Sunday. The members of our church who are in the medical field participated in the worship service and gave special numbers.

On the third Sunday, we had one day seminar on the theme: 'Knowing God's Will for My Life'. Mr. Anbu Sunderaj gave us key note addresses, Rev. Kaiser spoke on God's will in our family life and I spoke on, 'Doing God's will in and through the church'. After the talks we had a lively discussion in which many proposals to improve our church activities were discussed and approved. I seek all your support to translate those proposals into effective ministries and projects in our church.

On the fourth Sunday, our Sunday school children and the teachers participated in the worship service and gave us action songs. To encourage our children, we distributed certificates to the children through the teachers. On the same day, Rev. Leonard Baskar, a senior pastor of our Diocese spoke clearly on the sequence of events that will happen before and during the Second Coming of the Lord in a detailed manner using power point presentation. Younger Children went to the Parish Hall to know about Right-now Media, a Bible based website that reaches out to the children and young people in the church through cartoons, life- story videos and in depth Bible study videos.

In this month, let us thank God for enabling us to enter into another Christmas season, 2024. Christmas is a time to rejoice in the Lord for coming down on earth to save us. Traditionally, in certain denominations, the key people who facilitated the coming of the Lord are remembered through the lighting of the Advent candles. These people were not simply remembered, but were taken as 'Role Models' to act in our lives, in a similar way, before the coming of the Lord for the second time. Since we have another article by Mrs. Usha Rajendran which is about the origin of the Advent wreath and the candles, I would like to concentrate on how these candles remind us to prepare ourselves for the Second Coming of the Lord. Because the word 'Advent' basically refers to the Second Coming of the Lord.

For example, on the First Sunday of Advent, the first purple candle would be lit to represent the People of God who eagerly waited for the coming of a Saviour. As the Israelites longed for the 3 coming of a liberator when they suffered under the Pharaoh in Egypt, the Jews again longed for the Messiah because they were oppressed by the Gentiles during the time of Jesus. In today's world, all people who suffer due to various kinds of oppressions, sicknesses and ostracisation also long for redemption. We too await for the Second Coming of our Lord. So, we too are called to join with these people and say, “Come, Lord Jesus. We earnestly long for your second coming and for your reign on earth”.

On the Second Sunday of Advent, the second purple candle would be lit to represent the Prophets who foretold emphatically the coming of the Messiah. The most famous among them is Isaiah. Other prophets too gave definite details of his birth, his ministry, his death and resurrection, and his forthcoming universal kingdom. In the same way, we too are called to proclaim the second coming of Jesus and encourage all people to receive him in a fitting manner.

On the Third Sunday of Advent, the third candle which will be in pink colour representing John the Baptist would be lit. His mission was to prepare the way of the Lord. He did it by preparing the hearts and minds of the people calling them to repent and show their repentance in action. Likewise, we too are called to prepare the way of the Lord as we look forward to his second coming.

On the Fourth Sunday of Advent, the fourth candle in purple that stands for Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ would be lit. She was a symbol of self-surrender and obedience to God and she was able to find favour in the eyes of the Lord. We too are called to let 4 the inner fire that was in Mary be kindled in our hearts and minds, so that we too can say, “Yes” to God's will in all matters, throughout our lives until the Lord comes.

On the eve of Christmas, the center candle in white that stands for Christ, our Saviour would be lit. Jesus said, “I am the light of the World” (Jn. 8:12). At the same time, he also said, “You are the light of the world” (Mt. 5:14). So, let us make a commitment and say daily, “O God, help us to 'walk in the light as you are in the light' all through our lives” (Cf 1 Jn. 1: 7).

Wish you all a merry Christmas and a blessed New Year 2025.

God bless you all.

Yours in Christ,
T. Devaputhiran
Pastor