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Youth Chaplain’s Corner
Glory be to the Father, Son and Holy
Spirit - One True God Amen !
Dearly beloved in Christ,
As we enter the month of October, we give thanks to
God for His faithfulness in bringing us this far
through the year. Here in New York, the season is
changing all around us. The leaves are turning
across the Hudson Valley, the evenings are growing
cooler, and many of our youth fellowships and family fellowships will soon
make the trip upstate to pick apples and pumpkins.
Those orchards remind us that a harvest takes time. An apple tree can take
years before it bears any fruit, and every season it has to be pruned and cared
for while the farmer waits, trusting that something is happening within the tree
even when nothing can be seen.
It is much the same with us. Many of us have been praying for a long time for
a child who has drifted from the Church or for a marriage under strain. Some
of our young people are working hard to hold onto their faith at school or col-
lege, among friends who do not share it. And there are days when we wonder
whether any of it is making a difference.
St. Paul writes to the Galatians, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for
at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up" (Galatians 6:9).
That proper time is God's to decide. Paul knew this from his own ministry,
reminding the Corinthians that one person plants and another waters, but it is
God who makes it grow. 1 Corinthians 3:6.
In the same chapter, Paul encourages us to do good to all people whenever we
have the opportunity, especially to the family of believers. Galatians 6:10 This
month, perhaps there is someone who is homebound you could visit, or a
member you haven't seen in church for a while whom you could call.
Much of what we enjoy today was sown by others. I often think of the first
Mar Thoma families who came to New York. Many of them arrived as nurses
and students, worked long hospital shifts, and raised their children far from
grandparents and extended family. They gathered for worship in rented halls
and church basements and gave generously to build parishes they could only
hope their children would one day fill. We worship in those churches today
because they did not give up. In the same way, some of what we sow this year
may not bear fruit until long after us, in the lives of those who follow.
As we move through these last months of the year, let us ask ourselves: Where
have I grown weary in doing good, and where is God asking me to keep sow-
ing?
May God bless us all with patience in the waiting and joy in the harvest.
With prayers,
J. Varghese Achen
(516) 532-6115