May 2011
May 2011
Dearly beloved in Christ,
After a very long time of Lent including last seven days as Passion week, closing with world wide Easter celebrations we have entered into the month of May starting with Mayday!
First, being Sunday it is Metropolitan's Day. This had been started by Most Rev. Dr.Juhanon Mar Thoma Metropolitan(Mar Thoma XVIII). He was the Head of the Mar Thoma Church from 1947-1976 who gave leadership to the Church and at the same time actively participated in social and political arena. He is remembered for providing the Church with the motto "Lighted to Lighten". The Church must be interested where human life is interested was his motto.
Realizing the pain of a family without a house of their own, he introduced the idea of building houses for the poor and providing land for the landless even in 1949. His concern for the poor(which we see in Mat.25) and the needy in the society found expression in action. He started the project to provide land for the landless and house for the house less; I suppose Acharya Vinoba Bhave got inspiration from our Thirumeni that he undertook this project on national scale. In 1967 before moving to the new residence built for the Metropolitan(known as Poolatheen), he made it a point to present a house to a poor homeless TB patient who was a Hindu. This was done and the key of the house was handed over simultaneously with the dedication of the house for the Metropolitan. The project of the Church for providing at least 100 houses per year to the poor irrespective of their religion and caste was started on the occasion-it has been achieving more than its aim in the past 18 years.
The Government of Kerala followed this example and started a scheme to build hundred thousand houses with Government resources program. This we continue and for that the collection is raised every year.
In this month I want to introduce a voluntary missionary who is known as Karimpil Cheriachen. He hailed from Kallooppara. He was a farmer and the same time a merchant who would collect jaggery "Sharkara"- a coarse, dark sugar, product from the juice of sugarcane- from local villagers and go to Alleppey to sell it. If the profit will be more than what he expected, he will share it with the farmers before he will purchase his next commodity! It is said, the jaggery Cheriachen will present to the merchants will accept even without weighing it. Whatever he would say as weight, without any doubt would be accepted and added to the mass!
He honoured his work as of Paul who was a maker of tent for his living. May 1st is May day. This is International workers' day. This is a public holy day in many countries. The idea of a "Workers' holy day" began in Australia in 1856.
Karimpil Cheriachen's son Rev. K.C. Thomas was well known to me: his son Mahesh(Rev Thomas Cherian) was a regular camper in the Children's Special Service Mission(CSSM) when I was a missioner in it.
Karimpil Cherian is as ordinary as we are: can we be as ordinary as he was; in witnessing the Lord in our all day life as faithful and true?
May God bless you, with prayers,
Rev. V. T. John