======================================================================== THE MYSTICAL SUPPER by K.P. Yohannan ======================================================================== Summary: This sermon emphasizes the importance of acknowledging the Lord in all aspects of life, from meals to daily activities, as a way to live a sacramental life fully set apart for God. It delves into the mystery and significance of the Holy Communion, highlighting the apostolic tradition, the symbolism behind the elements, and the transformative power of partaking in the Eucharist. The speaker shares personal experiences and reflections on forgiveness, humility, and the spiritual journey of encountering God through the sacraments. Topics: "Acknowledging God in Daily Life", "The Significance of Holy Communion" Scripture References: John 6:53, 1 Corinthians 11:23, Hebrews 11:3, Philippians 2:5, Acts 2:42, Luke 23:34, Acts 7:60, Colossians 3:2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DESCRIPTION ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This sermon emphasizes the importance of acknowledging the Lord in all aspects of life, from meals to daily activities, as a way to live a sacramental life fully set apart for God. It delves into the mystery and significance of the Holy Communion, highlighting the apostolic tradition, the symbolism behind the elements, and the transformative power of partaking in the Eucharist. The speaker shares personal experiences and reflections on forgiveness, humility, and the spiritual journey of encountering God through the sacraments. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CONTENT ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Bible says, in all your ways acknowledge the Lord. This is very good, you young people learn this now. Think about the practical side of it. You are sitting down to eat meal. Normally we all eat. But we should stop. And thank God for it. Think about it. More people die in India of starvation than any other country in the world. And how good and gracious God is providing our needs. And we need to say, Oh Lord, thank you. When you get back home. In your family prayer meeting. Before your meal. If they don't do that, you will help them to do it. Tell your mummy and daddy. We will thank God for the food before we eat. And you are driving somewhere. Say a word of prayer before you go. This is what I do. I got a small electric car. That belonged to the church. And I sit in the car. But I pause. Then I say, Lord, thank you. Watch over me. Be with me. This next seat is for you. And then I pray. And I make the sign of the cross. Then I drive. In all our ways, we must acknowledge the Lord. And this is how we learn to live a sacramental life. What is a sacramental life? It is our life completely set apart for God. Whatever it is, it is all God's. And this is the biblical theology. And that's what we want. That's the reason our church name is Believers Eastern Church. And you will hear more about it later, I hope. And today was a good day. I watched the musicians today. And Paul, Matthew and few others, they were brilliant, the music that was here. And it was wonderful. And God is raising up good people. And tonight, we are going to have a small session to talk about something very important. But before I do, I want you to stand for a second. And the person in front of you, behind you, left, right, you give them a hug. Smile, smile, smile. And say something nice. Okay, please be seated. I thank God for all these wonderful friends helping us with the video and the streaming and the sound system and the light. It's all so wonderful. And I always used to wear a rubber band on my hair. But some of my people say, don't wear it. So I take it. You see, now you see. If I put it. It's different. See now. And they say if Metropolitan do it, everybody will do it. I'm not going to do it. So tonight, I want you to use your mind very much. That is very important. Only as you use your mind and think carefully, you will understand some of these things I'm talking about. We saw a small video. And it's so inspirational. You can see the holiness, the sense, the beauty of Eucharist. How different it is from the thousands of so-called independent churches. I personally don't think they are churches at all. But the real church will understand what that priest was talking about. And I will try to give you a brief explanation about the mystery meal or the Holy Communion. Let's think about us. We all come from different tribes, different cultures. I'm from Kerala. I think they know that. And I think you know about it. If I did, I would have spoken in Hindi. When I went to North India in 1967, something terrible happened. I went to Rajasthan. And I began to eat the food. And for 2-3 weeks, I had non-stop diarrhea. So every few minutes, I was running. Where? There was no toilet. There was no toilet. Some bush. So you ask the question. Metropolitan, why do you have diarrhea? And all those Rajasthani, Marwadi nice people, they get no diarrhea. The reason is simple. All my life, I grew up eating certain different kind of food. I was never used to the dal and all the northern subji's and everything. And I eat those chapatis and the dal fry. And then I hear somebody talking from her stomach. We don't like it. I say, you better keep it. She said, no. We don't want it. Then you run. Why? In my culture, we have way of life. We wear certain clothes. We wish people in a different way. In India, when we wish people, we fold our hands and we do like this. When I went to Myanmar, and Japan, it's a different story. They shake hands differently. So I gave my hand and they gave me his hand and the person, he was holding his hand like this and asked, why are you doing like this? They said, no, you are so important. You are so much weight. You need two hands to hold your respect. I never heard them say that. In America, you go. They have their culture. Every tribe has their culture. The symbols, the visible things, you see what they eat, what they do, how they wear clothes, everything tells about their culture. And here in Kerala, you see the ladies wearing saree. How do they wear saree? Do you know? They wear saree. We don't. How do you do? I think in Kerala, they wear saree like this. But some place in North India, some tribal communities, they wear the saree this other way. And in Gujarat, they do that. And they look nice. And that is the way they wear their clothes. And within their culture, that is fine. And when you travel all over the world, without anyone telling you, you will know your people just by looking at them. Think about Bharat. My beloved country. We have a symbol. The flag. The flag here, and Kashmir, in Assam, in Manipur, everywhere, the same flag. You don't change it. And the national anthem. Jai Nagana Manamadhi. That's the same song. Sing, sing, sing. Childhood, we were singing it. So we have our distinctives that tells what we are, who we are, by the things we do that people can see. That's a human reality. We must understand that. Now here is one thing you need to think. God is a spirit. God is invisible. And we are visible. And so God made us in His image. What does that mean? There are qualities, the energies of God that He wanted humans to have in their life. And God made man and woman, all people for Himself. But man failed. And God, because of love, He is finding a way to restore us to Himself. And as humans, there are things we do as followers of Christ that help us to get in touch with the invisible God. For example, we make the sign of the cross. What is this? Anybody can do this. It has no meaning. But, when you do this, there are three fingers like that that represent the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. And two fingers represent the two nature of Christ God, the nature and the man. He was 100% God, 100% man when He lived on earth. He had two natures as He lived on earth. But He did not use His God powers as He lived here. Why? He came as a second Adam to live on earth as God will want the man to live. That is the reason when He was tempted all the time, He never sinned. So, when I hold my hand like this, and I do this, what I am saying, Jesus from heaven came down to earth and the one I was on the left side of God and He took me to be on His right side. And that is how we make the sign of the cross. If you are looking at me you can see here, here I do like this. But when I do that, what am I saying? Oh Jesus, my body, my soul, my spirit all belong to You. The mark of the cross is a seal. And the devil has nothing to do with me. In the book of Exodus, God told Moses take the blood of the innocent lamb and put it on the door post outside. That night the whole land the death angel will come. But when they see the blood they will pass over the blood of the lamb. And Jesus' blood is the holy blood. And this act we do is a holy act. The other day I saw a little baby girl only one year old. Her mother said pray. She is not talking. She is like all kinds of things she is doing. And then when she finished she does this. She is very hurried to pray but this she will not forget. Every one of you from now on eating meal here going anywhere there you always practice this. We have a custom when you go to church worship suppose this is a church this I do. I come into the door and I stand outside and I stop for a second and I bow my head and make the sign of the cross. Why? I say father this is where I am worshipping you. The angels and archangels are here. And your presence is here. This is not a cinema theatre. This is a holy place. You find that in the old testament. The ark of the covenant God's presence there the temple that was built the presence of God there when we gather for worship who is the audience not the preacher not the music people no the audience is only God and the holy trinity all the angels and archangels and all the saints in heaven I know about one priest it's a true story just like you saw on the video this priest was conducting a holy communion and he was facing the altar and asked it's ok if I move here it's as he was moving here to pray for the bread and the wine to sanctify and there is a prayer to the holy may the holy spirit sanctify this bread that it may become for us the body of Christ then the priest bowed his head and then in the chalice may the holy spirit sanctify the wine in this chalice that it may become for us the blood of the lord Jesus Christ and he was doing that this man I know he is not a fake his brain is real and all the sudden he said something happened it is one billionth of a second it is like the curtain was pulled all the sudden he was looking the face of angels archangels and throne of god and the believers that went to heaven the saints of heaven they are all part of it and for a second he got scared he was looking at two things and first time he realized this is a mystery it is not the protestant western people talk about this is a memory no this is a mystery let me remind you something what is the greatest event in history of mankind it is the coming of Christ and his life on earth and his death on the cross and his resurrection the greatest event in history and the whole bible is about that one subject when we worship who is the audience you tell me who is the audience god is the audience why we are there to worship god we go to church not get something for us we go to church all for our worship in the early church you read in book of acts chapter 2 thousands of people became followers of Christ they were all jewish people not people like us and the jewish people had the fear of god but they became believers in Christ they understood what they were doing when Jesus said this is my body this is my blood they understood the mystery of the holy communion and so many churches don't understand it in science there is a thing called cause and effect in science there is a thing called cause and effect if a storm comes lot of coconuts will fall down mangoes will fall down if you take a stone and throw it in the lake not in our lake what happens that stone you throw in the lake or the pond will create ripples my two hands i can do all i want nothing happens but this hand sound so the cause and the effect holy communion has a effect has a mystical effect and that's what we need to take into account there is a mystery in the holy communion what is that Jesus said i am no more with you we read that in the holy scripture but i am leaving this with you in my place my body and my blood and you read about it God is invisible and now he tells us here is the blood and here is the body the two elements that represent me they are normal bread and wine but when the consecration is done we approach the throne of God and the prayers are offered the invisible get in touch with the visible and there is an effect and when we partake of the holy communion it has effect in our life Eucharist is the most important sacrament in the bible the heart of the worship is holy communion most people do not know how to conduct the holy communion most people do not know the meaning of it but when you read the scripture when you meditate on the scripture you will find thousands of jewish people who became christians they gave themselves for the study of the doctrines of apostles and partaking of the Eucharist and prayer how did they understand that they know from the story of Exodus for 400 years they were in slavery it was the picture of sin and God said Moses the way of deliverance is the blood of the lamb that's what they did the blood of the lamb the holy blood of the Lord Jesus Christ is the way of redemption no other way and that's what Jesus did and even today jewish people all over the world celebrate the Passover every year in remembrance of the deliverance they had but the deliverance was from Egypt our deliverance from sin and death think about that and Jesus the last meal with his disciples he had supper with his people and then among all the bread as I mentioned before he took one piece of bread and he consecrated that means set apart this for God to possess this is for Christ and then he broke it and he said now this is my body the same thing he did with the chalice and the wine and he said this is my blood and the Christians followed that for two thousand years one great theologian said this statement recognize what is before your eyes what is hidden will be revealed to you sometimes we think just with our mind and we celebrate it just like annual celebration Onam Holi whatever but this is called holy communion it is a holy sacrament why? it is not created by us it is given by Christ himself here is a beautiful thing I am a sinful man a little man I have so many problems but God values my life sacramental he says I made you I want you to be mine so he did something that allowed me to partake from the holy communion part of his desire now coming into my life the early orthodox fathers they struggled to understand it how do you explain it? because God said you shall not worship any other thing other than God himself and the Romans said these Christians are cannibals they are killing human beings and eating their flesh and blood but they understood something it is beyond our logic it's a mystery you read in 1 Timothy 3.16 the mystery of godliness is great that God he became flesh and he lived among us do you understand? God loves us and he wants us to know him he wants us to know him think about all the bulbs they are all lit up and the fans are rolling and it's so nice but there is no electricity what happens? did he do that? so you see we don't see the electricity but we see the effect of it God we cannot see but he became flesh why? so that he can sacrifice his life on the cross for us I heard the story about a famous doctor from Vellore Medical College it's a real story this happened many many years ago there was a big epidemic I am not a doctor I cannot explain everything correctly but hundreds of people are dying there is no antidote in order to save these people they need to have this antidote if you are bitten by a snake we will take you to the hospital they will give you an antidote you will recover but there thousands are dying but finally the daughter of this big doctor got the same sickness his own daughter what shall he do? they knew the only answer to find someone who had the illness and built up the antibodies in his body and take that blood and process it and make the serum and inject into the girl and the girl is dying not much time left it's a panic they are searching all over the place is there anyone anywhere? hundreds of miles finally they found one tribal boy he overcame he built antibodies and quickly they brought him to the hospital and took his blood and then they processed it and took the serum and injected it and the girl was saved think about it what is man's problem? we all are infected by satanic deception and we all have sinned we are sick that's the reason we have all the problems but to get well what do you mean get well? it is to our relationship with the father it is to come back to the father and we must be healed healed of sin and when Jesus died on the cross he poured out his blood the sinless holy blood but here is a question how can Jesus' blood be so holy? yes he was born of God what about Mary? what about the mother of God Mary? she was not born of God she was a daughter of Adam and Eve just like any one of us so how can he be born in the womb of a sinful woman or a daughter of human race and then Jesus must be sinless and pure blood I used to wonder about it I used to agonize over it I began to read the ancient fathers of the church the first two, three, four, five hundred years of the readings and they explained it why? God must have talked to them and now the scientists discovered the blood of the mother when the child is in the womb her blood never mingled with his blood the mother's blood never mingled with the baby's blood and here is the pure blood of God and he poured it out the pure antidote the blood of Christ the blood of Christ if you take the bible go from page one all the way to the end you will see the line a chain a marker that goes throughout every page the blood of Christ the crimson red line but here is a problem big problem here is the bread here is the wine how can this be the body and the blood of Christ he lived two thousand years ago how can this be do we have the power to do anything with it we don't we have no powers there are a lot of people who say they got healing power I don't have any healing power but I believe God answers prayer some years ago it's a real story maybe you heard it I'll tell it again way up in North Kerala there was a tribal woman living in a hut and she had no children but one big problem she had so much problem with her body and she went to the hospital and they took the uterus out without uterus she cannot have a baby and one day she heard me on the radio Jesus is there in your house Jesus is near you he died for you you believe him he'll forgive your sins he'll make you his child and if you are sick cry out to him he'll heal you also this poor woman I imagine a half naked tribal woman sitting in her hut and she didn't know what to do and the radio is there and she prayed to Jesus and I said if you believe put your hand where you are sick it's an act of faith and she put her hand on her stomach Jesus I don't have a baby please give me a baby I tell you something if she had come to me a week before and said to me Metropolitan my uterus is taken out please pray for me so I'll get a child you know what I'll tell her let me think about it maybe I'll pray for you later it's hard for me to think this could be possible but she she simply believed it God can recreate something that is not there a year later she had a baby how would you explain it Hallelujah Hallelujah that is our God tonight when you go out look in the sky you only see one or two galaxies maybe not even one but there are crores crores of galaxies and man cannot see it who made all of it God made it how how just saying words and everything came out of nothing that is our God that is our God and this God now lived with us and then he told I'm leaving you but here is something you need to do until I come back partake of the holy communion what happens to the bread and the wine when the priest consecrated God can do anything water can be made into wine wine can be made into water God can do anything he can raise the dead it is beyond our understanding but we know how they consecrate the elements because Saint James told us when you say those words the mystery take place the Holy Spirit come upon the elements and all of a sudden the blending of the transient take place with the eminent that is the invisible and visible blending take place but we must believe it we must understand it and this is a mystery there are lot of churches say that bread and wine it is like a coca cola and tapioca we just do this in remembrance I got photograph of my father and mother they are hanging on the wall but they died long ago their photographs are there if you go to a library you will find a 50 feet long panoramic history of the world and the church and everything and it is very long and it is very big it talks about from the beginning of time Adam all the way to the end these secular kingdoms Alexander the Great where he went the Roman Empire and the Greek Empire and all the big things happening in Europe and what happened in the Bible it is a huge pictorial explanation sometime I went there and I stood there from the beginning I looked at it reading it and reading it I go to the end of it but one problem something that represents 4000 years I did it in 4 minutes one problem I never entered into the events they talked about I stood outside and watched it you take a beautiful flower beautiful rose flower real flower and you smell it what a feeling you can put it behind your ear you can put it on your head but you cannot enter into the most beautiful scent that is of the rose flower but you cannot enter into the scent of the rose that you are smelling but in the Eucharist something amazing happens God's invisible life and the sacrifice becomes mine right now some people say that is not correct metropolitan because Jesus died 22000 years ago and now 2000 years later how can that be let me tell you this the bible says about Jesus the lamb that was slain before the foundation of the world before the world began he saw himself as a slave killed lamb of God that is the reason when Abraham was going to sacrifice his son and the boy said father there is a wood and there is fire but where is the animal for sacrifice and Abraham said in the Hebrew language my son God will provide himself the sacrifice you should understand that some translation in the bible is not correct but if you study that Greek or Hebrew it is Abraham saying God himself is going to become the sacrifice someday and so when we take the holy communion it is not like any food that we eat I don't take holy communion from many other churches because they don't know what they are doing and they are eating tapioca and fish curry and they eat that also but you saw on the video the believers eastern church adheres to the faith of the original orthodox fathers who were taught by the apostles about these mysteries so here is the important thing you must remember and you must help your parents understand it you must help your church members understand it and you must pray and test this and see the changes that take place in your life and Eucharist is the means of God pouring out his special grace upon his people but when about AD 500 came around there was a change in some of the people living in the west they began to interpret some of these things differently and when the reformation took place Martin Luther and Zingli and his friends they said bread and wine is a symbol but the problem they didn't understand symbol and reality becomes one in the Eucharist and there are churches that say the bread and the wine actually become the flesh and the blood of Christ believers in eastern church don't teach that why? Jesus didn't say that disciples didn't say that all Jesus said this is my body when he said that the bread didn't change when he said this is my blood the wine didn't change but mystically the Holy Spirit converted the elements into the invisible and the visible body of Christ our head cannot understand fully and this is the most amazing mystery of the Holy Communion because of the pressure to explain this rational mind the church leaders at that time some church said this actually becomes flesh and blood but the earliest orthodox fathers and the apostles this was not a symbol of Jesus body and blood and Holy Communion for them was a mystical encounter with God himself and this is the heart of worship when the church began the Christians they were still going to the temple, the Jewish temple then they recognized they worship Jesus as the Messiah they rejected them and persecutions started and Sunday the Lord's day they met for what the main thing the only thing the main thing meet Christ now you see our altar any of our churches you go you never find the preacher's pulpit in front why because no priest is immediate or between God's throne and his powers and the angels archangels no man is God's representative also told you for 400 years there was no such thing as Old Testament or New Testament the Old Testament was canonized the same time or after the New Testament was canonized but how did they do all this it was a tradition handed down Jesus told them this is how you do it and the disciples told them this is how you do it Saint John one time said I have so many things to write but I don't have the time but when I come I will tell you the rest of the things but that is not in the Bible but how do you know what he said because the church did it and it's handed down this is how we have our cultures handed down and my brothers and sisters I just want to quickly wrap up some practical aspects of this why we partake of the Eucharist one obviously it's a way of blessing the gift of Jesus giving himself to his children in John's Gospel chapter 6 Saint John said Jesus speaking unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood you have no part in me some six times he said that and that mystical union of our Lord and our weak life that needs to be healed we receive the grace through the Holy Communion secondly this has the promise of eternal life that's what Jesus said those who eat my flesh and drink my blood they are partaking of eternal life that is the promise he made number three this is the way we abide with the Lord this morning I showed the mannequin how do we continually constantly stay with the Lord he said Jesus you died for me I remember you you rose again and thank you his life is in us number four this is the way God's grace is poured into our life God's grace is sufficient for all our needs the next point the partaking of the Holy Communion it is restoration of relationship with the Father because we acknowledge why Jesus died also with others love one another as I have loved you hold the commandment of God in this love God love others how can I do it I don't have the strength I need electricity for the bulb to light up so Eucharist is a means the changes take place without me knowing relationship restored with the Father and humanity another thing Isaiah 53 it says when Jesus died on the cross he shed his blood his body was broken he took our infirmities he took our pain he took our sickness and by his stripes we are healed it's a way of experiencing new beginnings in our life and number seven it is the ultimate act of worship when we go to church we go there not to meet the priest not to meet all the singing people not to meet the great prophet we go there to meet the lord Jesus he is the one worthy of all worship so when we have the liturgical worship it is not man saying anything he wants all the prayers go from eternity past to eternity future it's a journey we make in this journey the cross of our lord is the most important thing it is through the cross we are forgiven we are healed we overcome death we are saved That is the mystery of the Eucharist. The symbol and the reality becomes one. I pray you understand it. But how do you practically do some of those things? I want to show some of this to you practically. We have just a few minutes. Would you all stand for a second? And stretch your hand. So no one will be sleeping. And say something nice to someone. Okay please be seated. Now you all need to be quiet. Now you need to understand there is a bread here and chalice but none of these are consecrated. This is only to show you how we believers in Eastern Church, based on the first century, we conduct our worship service. And one other thing is this. This is like a plate called paten that holds the bread. This is the chalice that holds the wine. But something else you need to see. In the first century, thousands of people from everywhere were coming to Christ. A lot of people started teaching false doctrines. And they understood the power, mystery of the Holy Communion. For us we don't understand that fully. For the people then, it was like the Ark of the Covenant. That God actually comes here. And all kind of people wanted to do this thing. So the Apostles and the Church Fathers, called the Orthodox Fathers, they decided. It is written in the historical document. They devised a thing called Tablita. Now this is made of wood. Now on this you will read this. Glory be to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit consecrates this Tablita to the hands of Metropolitan, that's my name, of the Believer's Church. And this is given to St. Thomas Believer's Church Cathedral, August 15, 2015. When you turn it over, you will find the cross. English writing also there. And also writing in Syriac. That is the Aramaic, the original language Jesus spoke. And it says here, for the peace and building of the Holy Church of God. Glory be to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. In the year of our Lord, 2015, for St. Thomas Believer's Church Cathedral, this Tablita has been consecrated by the Holy Spirit. And Metropolitan's signature. And it is consecrated with the Holy Muron. That Muron comes in the first century. It is not something that we cook up. And you know why it is? When the Bishop gave this to someone, this was the proof that he was a good man. That he was authorized to conduct Holy Communion. Sometimes it was a piece of cloth. Sometimes it was a piece of stone. This way, the apostolic teachings was maintained without false teaching. We call it apostolic tradition. So this cloth that goes over the table. There is a pouch here, it is sitting in there. And the bread and the wine sits on that. Why? This Tablita starts in the first century. And when this is blessed, this is as good as it was done by the apostles. And when the priest says blessings for the people. He is supposed to take the part of his clothes. And make sure it touches the Tablita. And say, peace be with you all. Why? I am not having the authority to do whatever I want. I am doing it in the authority of the apostles. This is called apostolic succession. And then, there are times before we handle these things. The priest prays silently. Oh God, I am an unworthy servant. Please cleanse me to serve you. And serve your people. And then, one of the assisting priests comes. I take the water as a symbol. And pour it on my hand. And I wipe it. And prayers go on. Then you see the clothes we wear. All the clothes have different meanings. For example, this red cassock. This speaks of the blood of Christ. Although also the martyrs of Christ. Tens of thousands of martyrs of faith. And I remember them. Because the Bible says. We must follow in the footsteps of the people of faith that went before us. Also says the chameleon of the saints. In the first century. When people were baptized. When water was put on them. They have to confess the creed. And one of the sentences I believe in the communion of the saints. And when we wear this. For special services. This means. God you cleanse me. But I'm still an unworthy servant. That's what the Bible says. After twenty years of preaching. Apostle Paul said. I'm the chief of sinners. And we always remain. For the mercy of God. And your bishops. And your priests. We are human beings. And so this is a visible expression. Of our standing before God. And for the people of God. And all you see on this cloth. It all has different beautiful meanings. Now the question is this. How do you take the Holy Communion? I got one minute left. When people come to kneel down to take the Holy Communion. How do you take the Holy Communion? When people come to kneel down to take the Holy Communion. If I'm giving the Holy Communion. Somebody will be. They'll be holding that. And I will take the element. And the consecrated bread. And I will take. And I'll dip it in the wine. And I'll dip it in the wine. And give it to him. And say this is the body. And the blood of our Lord. And by kneeling. And his humility. And making the sign of the cross. He's accepting the reality of what Jesus did. And after taking it. And after bowing his head. Then you go to the next person. And do the same. And the priest will say. The body of Christ was broken for you. And his blood was shed. Come and take it with thanksgiving. And remember how much he loved you. Our journey is a spiritual journey. It is the western theology. That divided spiritual and physical. That's the most dangerous thing. Jesus said. If you don't praise God. These rocks will do it. And the sun and moon and stars. They are worshipping God. When you look at our brothers. Hindus. Muslims. All kinds of religions. There are people in Christianity. They are all devils. They go to hell. I want nothing to do with them. But you read in Hebrews chapter 11. In the first chapter. In the old times. God spoke through all people. In so many ways. But in the last days. He has spoken to us through his son. The Lord Jesus Christ. Must I hate all the people? Did Jesus do that? See this is. When you take Jesus into your life. Without you knowing. Your life changes. I can testify to that. It happened to me. So what do I do? This is a very bad confession. I was a difficult man. I used to argue. And I wanted to kill someone. He got scared. Don't be afraid. I will not kill you. I was very angry. It was very difficult for me to forgive people. So many people betrayed me. They said things about me that is not true. They think all the properties belong to me. I don't even own one coconut. But people say all kinds of stupid things about me. And I used to hate them. And I used to get very angry. And I wanted to do Karate. But then. 15 years ago. I began to read about the orthodox fathers. And I found out something wonderful. You know what I found out? For God. He doesn't work with my time. And space and matter. Time and space and matter is only for us. Peter denied Jesus. He was a terrible man. But after some time. He became the great apostle. The leader of the church. What happened? Here he was very bad. That's all I can see. I must kill him. But after some time. He is a saint. How God does it? So I. Learned I must love all people. I must hold nothing against anyone. Even the worst people against me. I must believe. God is big. And He can change them. And I must not hate them. How that is? When I began to take the Holy Communion. The way it is in the Bible. Taking Jesus into my life. It became very real. That's what the Bible says. Let this mind be new. That was in Christ Jesus. He was humble. He was forgiving. He said. Father they don't know what they are doing. Please forgive them. Saint Stephen was like that. They don't know what they are doing. All the disciples were murdered. Except Saint John. They all said. Father forgive them. For they do not know what they are doing. This is Christ spirit. This is how the church will become like Jesus. So this mystery meal. We must take it with understanding. And one of the requirement is. Not only you believe in Jesus. But also you take baptism to become part of the church. That is the ecclesiastical tradition we have. Baptism don't save you. Baptism is for you to become part of the church. It is like circumcision in the old testament. And I am so glad for the hundreds of you. That have done it. And God give you the privilege. That no one leave this place. Without taking holy communion at least one time. This is your Vatican. This is your Synod. May the Lord bless you. And watch over you. And one thing I want you to know. I love you. ======================================================================== Video: https://sermonindex2.b-cdn.net/8TJdhu1JLSc.mp4 Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/kp-yohannan/the-mystical-supper/ ========================================================================