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Tere tulemast Welcome
to the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church
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Piiskopi karjase kiri 2020 Armsad lugejad, koguduste esimehed, juhatuste ja nõukogu liikmed, kallid kaasmaalased! Armu teile ja rahu meie Issandalt Jeesuselt Kristuselt! Suurem osa meist oskab palvetada Meie Isa palvet, või tunnevad sellesse kogutud seitsme palve sõnu. Mõned palved on tuntud paljudele, nagu “meie igapäevast leiba anna meile tänapäev” ja “ära saada meid (mi,e) kiusatusse”. Koroonaviiruse maailmalaiuse nakatushaiguse levimise pärast on üks palvetest saanud meile eriti palavaks südame sooviks. See on “päästa meid ära kurjast.” See palve küsib abi Jumalalt, palume päästmist ja pääsemist kurjuse mõjuvõimu käest. Kristlased on palvetanud seda palvet üle kahekümne sajandi. Nad on saanud abi ja pääsu Jumalalt veriste tagakiusamiste, taudide, nagu musta surma ehk katku, sõdade ja looduse katastroofide keskel. Issanda Kristuse suur apostel Paulus loetles mitmeid kurjuse tegusid ja Jumala antud võitu nende üle: “Kui Jumal on meie poolt, kes võib olla meie vastu? Kes võib meid lahutada Kristuse armastusest? Kas viletsus, või ahastus, või tagakiusamine, või nälg, või alastiolek, või häda, või mõõk?” (Pauluse kiri roomlastele 8. peatükk, salmid 31 ja 35) Paulus loetleb kogu ristiusu kiriku ja kristlaste ning kogu inimkonna ajaloos valitsenud kurjuse tegusid. Paulus julgustab kristlasi olema kindlad palves Jumalale. Jumal kuuleb Tema poole usus pöörajate palveid: “Sest ma olen veendunud selles, et ei surm ega elu, ei inglid, ei vürstid, ei käesolev ega tulev, ei vägevad, ei kõrgus ega sügavus ega mingi muu loodu või meid lahutada Jumala armastusest, mis on Kristuses Jeesuses, meie Issandas.” (Pauluse kiri roomlastele 8. peatükk, salmid 38 ja 39) Kristlastena oleme võimelised usus ja lootuses Jumalasse seisma murede, raskuste, haiguste, taudide ja muu kurja vastu. Paulus kinnitab meid Pühakirja sõnas: “ Kes võib meid lahutada Kristuse armastusest? Kas viletsus, või ahastus?” (Roomlastele 8:35). Praegune koroonaviiruse taudi levimine üle kogu maailma tuletab meile uuesti meelde, et siin ilmas me elame kurjuse poolt tehtud kannatuste sees. Jeesus õpetab meile seda Meie Isa palves, milles me korduvalt palume, et Jumal, kui meie Taevane Isa, päästaks meid kõigest kurjast. Me palume seda iga kord, kui me palume Meie Isa palvet. Me palume päästmist kurjast sama tihti kui me palume igapäevast leiba. Jeesus, kes õpetas Meie Isa palve oma jüngritele ja ka meile jüngrite poolt kirja pandud Pühakirja Uue testamendi kaudu, teadis, et maailmas on neil ja meil ahastus (Vaata Johannese 16. peatükk , 33. salm), aga võit on Jeesusel: “Olge julged, mina olen maailma ära võitnud!” Kannatused ja kurjuse tegevus pole vähenenud, nagu praegune kroonaviiruse taudi levimine käib ka kõrgtehnoloogia saavutuste üle. Aga Jeesus Kristus on koos meiega ka tänapäeva pandeemia keskel. Kurjus kaob alles siis, kui praegune maailm lõpeb ja Jumal loob uue taeva ja uue maa. Kristus Jeesus aga teeb meie kannatused talutavaks, sest Tema ise on nüüd meiega kannatuste keskel. Tema jagab meile välja kannatamise ja vastu pidamise võime. Kõige selgemalt ja valusamalt on see nähtav ja tuntav, kui pöördme Tema poole Kolgata ristipuul. Pühakirjas on öeldud: “Sest selles, milles ta on kannatanud kiusatud olles võib ta aidata neid, keda kiusatakse.” (Kiri heebrealastele 2. peatükk, 18. salm). Vana testamendi prohvet Jesaja raamatus on kirjeldatud Jeesuse Kristuse kannatusi kurjuse käes kuid Ta kannatas neid meie vabastamiseks: “Tõepoolest võttis ta enese peale meie haigused ja kandis meie valusid! Ent teda haavati meie üleastumiste pärast, löödi meie süütegude tõttu! Karistus oli tema peal, et meil oleks rahu, ja tema vermete läbi on meile tervis tulnud!” (Jesaja 53. peatükk, 4. ja 5. salm). “Heitke kõik oma mured tema peale, sest tema peab hoolt teie eest!” (Peetruse esimene kiri, 5. peatükk, 7. salm) Kristus Jeesus kannatab ka koroonaviiruse taudi käes, et meil oleks kergem. Me usume, et Tema päästab meid ära kurjast. Mõtleme Jeesusele eesoleva kannatusnädala kestel. Mõtleme Jeesuse päästmisele ja patust vabastamisele suurel reedel ja rõõmule Tema ülestõusmise pühal. Soovin kõikidele meie kiriku ja koguduste liikmetele rahulikku ja õnnistatud Issanda Jeesuse ülestõusmispüha. Teie Issanda teenistuses E.E.L.K. Piiskop Thomas Vaga - 2020 märtsil
I am Lazarus John 11:1-4 Grace
to you and peace, from God our Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ. Today’s
Gospel lesson reveals a lot about Jesus, both as the Son of God, and
also as the human being. His divine power is revealed in raising Lazarus
from the dead, and His humanity in the sadness he shows at the death of
His friend. Today’s Gospel lesson includes the shortest passage in the
whole Bible; the 35th verse, where the Apostle John simply
writes that “Jesus wept.” That is an emotion that we can all
identify with, and we are comforted at knowing we can identify with
Jesus during this sad time. In fact, we can identify with everyone who we encounter in the reading. We most readily see ourselves in Mary and Martha – the sisters who had to see their severely sick brother die.
Image courtesy of Christiansunite.com “Lord,
if you had only been here...” How often have we thought this, not
just at the loss of a loved one, but whenever we’ve faced a difficult
situation? It’s natural for us to ask this question – to wonder what
would have happened if God had only stepped in and changed the course of
things. Whether this worldwide pandemic that is affecting billions of
people from all corners of life, or a personal hardship that a single
individual must face, people often turn to God and wonder whether He
could have gotten involved earlier to steer the situation in a different
direction. We’re all like Mary and Martha, thinking “if only…” It’s
important to note that this doesn’t come from a lack of faith. I
don’t think anyone can question the faith that Mary and Martha had.
They were rock solid in the faith they had in God, and in the faith they
had in Jesus. Martha
says, “I know that
he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” She was sure
of it. The women didn’t lack the faith to understand why their brother
died. But
this feeling of second guessing – of asking “if only” – comes
from something else: it often come from not understanding the
plans that God has for our lives. “Did
I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”
Jesus teaches us. God will reveal His glory, even when we are
having a difficult time seeing it right now. And
often it comes down to a matter of perspective. We can look at our
current worldwide situation with the corona virus and think to
ourselves: “how hopeless this is. More and more people are getting
sick, and people are dying. And far too many people are suffering
economically and losing their jobs…” But
we can also look at how God’s grace and love has become
visible. It’s in the countless hours that healthcare workers are
putting in to help those who are affected, working on the front lines
and risking their own health just to be there for others. It’s in the
numerous restaurants who, despite most likely losing business due to
having to close their dining rooms, are happily donating meals to
food-pantries and to health workers. It’s visible in the volunteers at
churches around the world who continue to make sandwiches and meals for
soup kitchens. The list of opportunities for us to carry on the ministry
of Jesus is endless, even in this time of social distancing and seeming
separation. And even if we can’t feel like we can head out into the
world to help, we can show God’s love in our life by even simply
picking up the phone and reaching out to someone and reminding them that
God is with us. When we rise to action as a family of faith, even in our
darkest hour, the Glory of God shines in this world! And
in that action, we are like His disciples, who followed Jesus no matter
where He went. They were even ready to go back to a place where the
people wanted to kill Jesus – where they had tried to stone Him. Yet
the disciples put the work of the Gospel ahead of everything else and
followed Him. When we live like them and put the Gospel of Christ first,
we too can learn that there is nothing that we can’t do for the sake
of the One who gave Himself for us. Yet
sometimes sadness still finds us, and we see find ourselves in Lazarus.
We might be ill, whether physically, mentally or even spiritually. We
may not feel like there is any hope. We feel like we are failing, and it
doesn’t feel like Jesus is nearby. We don’t know where to turn. But
we can take comfort in the words of St. Paul, who reminds us that even
though we are here on earth, the Spirit of God lives in us if we only
believe in Him. And if the Spirit of God lives in us, then He who raised
Christ from the dead will also raise us up. And
Christ doesn’t just give us victory over death. He gives us victory
over life! Even when we are troubled and are feeling overwhelmed, we
take comfort in knowing that Jesus lived a life just like ours. He, too,
faced the troubles and hardships of everyday life, the fear and sadness
at the loss of a dear friend, and even more so He faced persecution and
death at the hands of those who hated Him. Yet He overcame the hardships
with a loving heart, he comforted the sad with his words of peace, and
He even forgave those who nailed Him to the cross. Even in that hour,
Jesus saw the Glory of God in action, as the Gift of Easter was given to
us through His death and resurrection. We,
like Lazarus, Mary, Martha, and the disciples can put our faith in Him,
knowing that whatever we face in this world, Jesus is nearby. He’s
ready and willing to help, and is calling us by name to see His glory.
Amen Pastor Markus Vaga - March 29th, 2020
This
page was lasted edited April 01, 2020
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