My Lord and My God: The Mar Thoma Faith Affirmation

The belief in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is the central tenet of the Christian faith. If anyone asks a Christian to summarize their faith, this should be their response. Probably the greatest answer to the question can be found in the response of the Apostle Thomas when he realized that the risen Jesus Christ was standing before him. Eight days after the first appearance to the Apostles, Jesus appears to St. Thomas also (John 20:26). He had been skeptical of the witness of the other Apostles, but when he was told by Jesus to touch his wounds, Thomas broke down and declared, “My Lord and my God! (John 20:28). That outcry of St. Thomas should be the same that each one of us as Christians holds dear to our hearts. It is from this affirmation that we can begin our faith journey. In the Liturgy of Holy Qurbana of the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church, the reading of the Evangelion is preceded by the proclamation “In the days of Jesus Christ …. ” Within the Malayalam text, the phrase “our Lord and God” (nammude karthaavum daivavum) clearly points to the St. Thomas affirmation. Every Sunday, we confirm with the words of St. Thomas that Jesus Christ is our Lord and God. It is an affirmation of Christ’s sovereignty in our lives and in all things. In the five words of the Apostle Thomas, we can see the nature of the expected relationship between Jesus Christ and those who trust in him.

My Lord: Belonging to the Good Master

The word “Lord” was used in different ways in the ancient world. It was used to address someone of greater authority. In the parable of the weeds among the wheat, the householder is addressed as “lord” in the original Greek, or kurios (Matthew 13:27). Whenever the term is attached to Jesus, it implies a greater authority than mere human social status. Jesus once asked the Pharisees, “What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he? (Matthew 22:41-45)” They said that the Messiah is the son of David. Jesus replied by quoting Psalm 110:1 (“the Lord said to my Lord”) to point out that relationship between Yahweh and the Messiah is of a divine nature, hinting at the Trinitarian relationship. In the first centuries, other religions viewed their gods as “lords,” in an unequal master-slave relationship. However, Jesus as Lord is viewed as the “good master” (John Burnaby, The Belief of Christendom: A Commentary on the Nicene Creed, 1959). Jesus Christ is the “good master” because his exaltation came from his humility; his glory came from his obedience to the will of God the Father. As Burnaby says, “he is clothed with the Lordship, the absolute sovereignty, of God.” The Apostle Thomas recognized that Jesus Christ had authority over all things, even death. He was God, and all things were made subject under him (see 1 Corinthians 15:27). He was Lord over all things, even humans. Yet, he was the good and kind master, who has planned the best for all who belong to him.

My God: Belonging to the Sovereign

Recognizing that Jesus is not merely an authoritative rabbi or miracle-worker will cause anyone to wonder who he actually is. When the Pharisees said that Jesus was operating by the power of the demon Beelzebul, he responded, “How can Satan cast out Satan? (Mark 3:22)” When Jesus healed a blind man and the Pharisees investigated the miracle, the formerly blind man told thePharisees, “If this man were not from God he could do nothing. (John 9:33)” Jesus was not what most people or religious leaders thought he was. So who was Jesus Christ? Jesus once asked his disciples who the people think he is, and Simon Peter declared, “You are the Messiah. (Mark 8:29)” Yet when Jesus was arrested and crucified, Peter’s faith in Jesus was shattered. He thought that the Pharisees, the Romans, and Satan had won; he thought that Jesus was just another human freedom-fighter. But it took the Resurrection to change his mind. It was the same for Apostle Thomas. He was so frustrated that he decided not to be with the Apostles and had gone out to ponder these things. When he returned to them and they said they saw Jesus Christ, he would not believe them. He told them that he did not want to see a ghost; he wanted to touch the wounded human flesh of Jesus. Eight days later, Jesus appeared to them and asked him to touch his wounds. What is incredible about that encounter is that Jesus knew what Thomas said to the Apostles about touching the wounds. The risen Jesus was something different.

This leads us to some theological problems. How can Jesus Christ be God? The Jews acknowledged that no one can see God. The Lord God Yahweh once said to Moses, “You cannot see my face; for no one shall see me and live. (Exodus 33:20).” The incredible nature of the Resurrection, combined with the teachings, the healing ministry, as well as the brutal execution and crucifixion, must have touched Thomas to the point that he believed that Jesus Christ was truly God. In the Upper Room Discourse (John 14 – 17), Jesus teaches the disciples: “If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him. (John 14:7)” What Jesus had told the disciples suddenly started to become clear for them after the Resurrection. For much of their time with Jesus, they had a hard time grasping his teachings. Once the disciples began to see Jesus as having the same essence as God, his words start to make sense to them. Hence the Apostle John writes in the introduction of his account of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, “No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made it known. (John 1:18)” After the Resurrection, the disciples recognized Jesus Christ as God the Son.

“Mine”: Being the Beloved of Christ

The Apostle Thomas makes an intriguing statement about his relationship to Jesus Christ. In the original Greek, he is literally saying: “the Lord of me and the God of me.” The word “me” is a possessive pronoun, that is, it is used in place of a noun and refers to possession and belonging. Having walked three years with Jesus Christ, all the disciples had built a close relationship and friendship with him. This is why the crucifixion was so painful and confusing for them. Jesus spoke of his impending death many times, and the disciples could not make any sense of those terrible words. The Apostle Peter even tried to stop Jesus from accepting that fate. How pained must have Peter been when Jesus rebuked him with the harsh words, “Get behind me, Satan! (Mark 8:33)” The disciples love Jesus very deeply; their friendship is very strong. They know that Jesus loves them also. Again, in the Upper Room Discourse, Jesus comforts them with tender words, “I do not call you servants any longer … I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I heard from my Father.(John 15:15)” Therefore, the Apostle Thomas accepted the love of Jesus Christ, and in response, offers his life to Jesus Christ. He submits his life to Jesus Christ, the visible expression of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15). The Lord Jesus taught his disciples to pray to God with the words “Our Father.” C. S. Lewis wrote that those words simply mean “you are dressing up as Christ” (Mere Christianity, 1952). Lewis explains that through the activity of prayer, “Christ Himself, the Son of God who is man (just like you) and God (just like His Father) is actually at your side” and actively transforming you in the shape of Christ. In the act of prayer, we are becoming more and more like Christ, to the point of understanding our relationship with God in the same sense as God the Son has with God the Father within the Trinity. As God the Son is beloved of the Father and as the Son loves the Father, so too will all who trust Jesus Christ have the right to call God with the words “Abba (Father).”

A Personal Faith Conviction

Knowing that we are the beloved of Christ, expressed through His sacrifice for us and continuing concern for our lives, requires our reciprocity. He is “the God of mine” and “the Lord of mine.” As he loves me, I must love Him. The foundations of that love are in understanding the sovereignty and overwhelming presence of God in all creation as well as in one’s own life. It is both at the vastness of God as the sovereign Lord over all things, as well as the nearness of God to his most precious creation, each and every human being. Love is not an abstract concept, but expressed through the obedience and submission of Jesus Christ to the will of God the Father. Because of that humility, it was made clear to us that Jesus Christ is exalted over all things, “so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:10-11)” It took the Apostle Thomas a little bit of convincing, but once he realized who was standing in front of him, holding up wounded hands for him to examine, he made his own personal declaration of faith: my Lord and my God. This is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and it is what we are called to proclaim. Every Mar Thoma believer must make this confession and they must be able to bring this realization to those around them. That is the foundation of our faith and our responsibility as Christians.