On behalf of the Chicago-based Mar Toma (St. Thomas) Parish, I would like to share the remarkable and historic night for the Mother Church of the East that occured last night.
Holy Place & Time: Our Beloved Bishop Mar Bawai Soro celebrated Christmas Mass (Shaharta), Monday, (12/24/07) in comprehendible Modern Aramaic (Leeshana Khata) at the Mar Odisho Ancient Church of the East in Chicago at 8:00pm in front of an anxious and excited crowd that had overflowed the church compound. Those who even arrived early were directed to the basement for a simulcast of the Mass which eventually shared the same occupancy predicament as the hall.
Those who have subscribed to the heavenly messages of truth, justice, peace, love, forgiveness, unity, and reform for our Blessed Mother Church of the East had flocked to Mar Odisho from all nearby cities and faraway suburbs. Tangible unity and movement was not only witnessed in the travel and the massive attendance of these unity and reform adherents in a lightly publicized Mass at a sister church, but in their donations (dwekhwateh). Donations of both monetary form and their will to become official members at the occasion of worshiping the birth of Our Savior, Our Lord Jesus Christ!
Christmas Decrees and Hope: Bishop Dr. Mar Bawai Soro relayed the expressions and goodwill decrees of both Patriarchs of the Churches of the East; Chaldean Rite and Old Calendar. H.H. Mar Emmanuel Delly had spoken with Mar Bawai earlier and asked him to deliver his wishes and prayers of healthiness, success, and unity for his Bishop’s flock. Following such great news and hope from our sister Chaldean church, Mar Bawai revealed that H.H. Mar Addai also had asked Mar Bawai to deliver a similar hopeful message for those celebrating New Calendar Christmas. He also added that H.H. Mar Addai is currently in Canada and is scheduled to visit the U.S. where the Ancient Church Patriarch is looking forward to and will commence unity and reform meetings. Glory be to God for these tangible acts of unity!The title for the sermon that I coined was “Accepting Christ: The Path of Change, Humbleness, and Love.” It is only appropriate to dedicate an entire new thread to this empowering and inspirational sermon where Bishop Mar Bawai emphasized the birth of Christ as a time for donations, not just of gifts and Christmas cards, but of our hearts and love to Christ and others in His name. He also touched upon acceptance of Christ translates to change, taking earthly risks for Christ, being a pipeline from God to others, loving is unifying and showcasing our love for Christ, and other life-changing themes. Await to be enlivened.
Bishop Mar Bawai ended both his sermon and Mass in heavy emphasis of our people in our homeland, Bet-Nahrain. That our donation this year is to love, pray, and work tirelessly to ease their sufferings and propagate not temporary quick-fixes, but long-term solutions for them as well as our Nation.
