Holy Qurbana Celebrant: His Grace The Most Rev. Dr. Theodosius Mar Thoma Metropolitan 
Metropolitan with Sunday School Students 
Holy Qurbana Celebrant: His Grace The Most Rev. Dr. Theodosius Mar Thoma Metropolitan 
Old Westbury Garden Visit BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD (PSALM 46: 1 – 11)
Dear all, Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.We are entering the last quarter months of 2023. We thank God for making it this far. Detailed information about various programs of the parish for the next three months is published in this newsletter. I look forward to everyone’s prayerful presence and cooperation.
Here I am sharing a short meditation:
Psalm 46, written by the sons of Korah, the chief musicians in the Jerusalem temple, says that God is the refuge and the strength of the people. The Psalm concludes with the lines, ‘Be still and know that I am God.’ What does it mean?
Firstly, allow God to work: The Gospel according to Mark 4: 35 - 41 portrays an extremely busy day for Jesus, a day when He was healing people, casting out demons, and speaking, after which, He may have been exhausted and overwhelmed. He requested a boat for a bit of respite and quiet. On the journey, a huge storm rolled in. The disciples became afraid of their lives. They looked to Jesus for help and found him fast asleep from exhaustion. They were terrified because of the storm and woke him up. Jesus got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace, Be Still!” The storm and the huge waves stopped immediately.
Secondly, allow God to speak: How often do we ask God for everything, but we don’t stop to listen or to be still? Moreover, our attitude changes. We think that when we speak, others should hear. So, people use high-syllable loudspeakers and horns. The act of being still and getting quiet becomes more of a challenge in our hectic world. The world asks us to be busy. God asks us to be still so that we can receive love, peace, and guidance.
Thirdly, allow God to be the Center: We must learn to quiet our fearful and anxious thoughts, just as Jesus calmed the sea. Jesus immediately asked the question to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Have you so little faith?” In these days, quieting the mind requires lot of effort. When we have fearful and anxious thoughts that are raging within us like a violent storm, do as Jesus did. We need to silence those thoughts by allowing God to be the center of
our boat so that we know who God in our lives is.
Our life is becoming more mechanical, because of our busy schedules. But God is knocking at the doors of our lives. If we allow Him to come in, we can have fellowship with Him. Moreover, he who abides in Him will bear more fruit.
With love and prayers,
Shaji Achen
