If there is anything simple in all of Christianity, it is the Ordinances, which make the faith accessible to all. A classic example of a new believer is my uncle who is well past the age of reading books. He longs to know what is next after receiving Jesus Christ as His personal savior.

We have been justified--treated by God just as if we have not sinned. All our sins are washed away but we still have the predisposition to sin. How does God remove this predisposition from us and make us holy? That is, how does God engineer our sanctification? How do we cooperate with God who wants to make us holy?

To be holy means to respond appropriately to the love of God who gave up His Son so that we may have eternal life (John 3:16). Jesus said, "If you love Me, you will obey My Commandments" (John 14:15, 21, 23; 1 John 2:3-6). This principle holds good with our heavenly Father as well. He has given us Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:3-17) for us to obey. Our Lord Jesus Christ summarized those Ten and said, "Treat others the same way you want others to treat you" (Luke 6:31). When we keep Luke 6:31 we will in effect keep the Ten Commandments because the first four Commandments pertain to the love of God, and the next six pertain to the love of our other close neighbors, God being the foremost neighbor Himself. To my question, "what is the best way we can love our neighbor or the greatest dhanam (alms) we can give our neighbor," you said, "Annadhanam" (Rice Alms) because it is life giving. Your motive is excellent because there is nothing more greater than life giving food that we can offer someone. But the dhanam too can be most excellent if it gives not just life but eternal life.

Jesus said, "my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink"(John 6:55). Why is this food real food and real drink? The answer: because it gives real life--eternal life! This fact is underscored three times in verses 51, 53, 54. Does this mean we should become some kind of cannibals and eat the flesh of man and drink his blood? Does the ordinance practiced in the Church even remotely refer to the eating of man's flesh and drinking his blood? Or is there anything supernatural about it? Not at all! But rather, when Jesus Christ laid down His life for us on the stake at Calvary, we have received eternal life at the expense of His life, so to speak, at the expense of breaking (decomposing) His body --His own flesh and blood. In actuality therefore, we are living on His flesh and blood. Therefore the ordinance of Communion is symbolic. Is this a one time event? It would have been, if we never sin again. But since we accumulate sins and thus become subject to death again as we pass through time, we have to "eat" His flesh and "drink" His blood on a regular basis. What's more, the life that i live is eternal life and therefore the food that i pray and eat to live, is His flesh and blood. This is because my self has died with Christ on the stake at Calvary and the life that i live now is Christ's because He lives in me. It is no more i who live but Christ.

To put it simply, when we hand out to someone the Good News that Jesus Christ died for him or her, through a clear presentation, we have in effect given them the Dhanam of eternal-life-giving-food. For, in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:1,14). To mark the occasion of having received that food, we partake in the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ (Eucharist) symbolically. Though this ordinance is symbolic, it must be obeyed. By obeying, we proclaim the Lord's death till He comes. By obeying, we say in action that we receive the spiritual food (that is, the Word--flesh and blood) that has been preached to us and that we are willing to repent. There are however necessary prerequisites before partaking in the Eucharist as this is a coming into union with a Holy God. The prerequisite is that we should wash ourselves. In other words, we must purify ourselves. If we have not had a bath at all, we must take Baptism--a full bath. If we have already taken Baptism, we need to take only a foot-wash, as the rest of the body is clean. Again i speak symbolically, referring here to the Word which cleanses us from all sin, as in Baptism, and the accumulated sin, since the last washing, as in Foot-washing.

Therefore the Word both gives life, just as food and drink, which is symbolized by the Eucharist, and cleanses us, just as water cleanses us, which is symbolized by Baptism and Foot-washing (1 Corinthians 11:23-34; John 13:1-17; Ephesians 5:26).

My parents, Anna and myself are all engaged in bringing this Good News to as many as possible. So should you and make His joy and love complete!

Lovingly,

Caleb S. Motupalli (John 1:19-23)

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P.S.: God willing, i will write to you another time on the Sabbath. The appointment we know is on the 7th Day which we offer to the LORD as an act of worship (Leviticus 23:1-3; Exodus 20:10). So let us not offer strange fires unto the LORD. Let us set aside the traditions of men and follow the Lord wholeheartedly.

(Isaiah 52:11)