Nehemiah 2:11-18    Psalms 101
1Peter 2:13-17    Luke 3:7-14

Verse for meditation: Produce fruit in keeping with repentance (Luke 3:8)

God who created all the nations in the world planned every mankind to live in liberty and mutual respect. He also gave responsibility to mankind for fulfilling this mandate. When we work in tune with this insight, God's kingdom which is the kingdom of righteousness, justice, truth, morality, mercy and mutual care and share will be emerged. Our nation became a Republic in 1950. The amount of hardship, sacrifice and suffering put forth gained momentum. Let us remember the great personalities like social activists, Freedom fighters, Nation Builders who fought for the freedom. Many Christian Leaders and Missionaries like Dr. E. Stanley Jones, the Methodist Missionary, Mr. K.T. Paul, Gen. Secretary NMS etc, who had worked for India's freedom also should be remembered on this occasion. Meanwhile, we are also aware about the challenges ahead of us even after 66 years of Independence. Democracy is by far moving in a big dangerous scenario. Today, the issues which we face in our nation are multifaceted - terrorism, corruption, political violence, fundamentalism, communalism, suicide, family disorientation, violation of human rights and so on. The church has to assimilate its roles to address the social issues primarily.
'Nation building' is a significant concept which is being wildly discussed among the social scientists now-a-days. Nation-building is a formative concept which drives the process of constructing or structuring a national identity, using the power of the State. This process aims at the unification of the people within the state so that it remains politically stable and viable in the long run. Nation-building can involve the use of propaganda or major infrastructure development to foster social harmony and economic growth.
Every citizen should be involved in nation building. In this scenario, an attempt has been made to look into the need of the church to pray so that it can produce nation building architects, keeping in mind - the importance of maintaining the Rules and Regulations of the country and the significance of the transformed personal behaviour by every individual.

1. Pray for the Nation Neh. 2:11-18

Prayer is the path to seek the solution for all the problems and the way to learn in trusting in God. When Nehemiah heard about the destruction of Jerusalem he cried to God. He received energy and strategy to reconstruct the wall of Jerusalem from that prayer (Neh.1:1-11). Every citizen is involved in nation building from childhood to his death. The great heroes in the Bible like Nehemiah, Ezra, Zechariah, Haggai etc. were builders of the nation. Wall construction of Jerusalem by Nehemiah is well-known. He has faced many challenges courageously by his prayer and wise strategies. We may not be able to correct the whole nation but we can do what we can. At least, we can pray in our family prayer time, in Fellowships and in Church for the Rulers of our nation and for the peace of our country (1Ti. 2:1-5, Ps. 122:6). Nehemiah testified about his mission : “ the hand of my God had been gracious upon me, and also the words that the king had spoken to me. Then they said, “Let us start building!” So they committed themselves to the common good (Ne.2:18). When we pray, we also will be aware of our responsibilities and will feel that we are empowered to fulfill our task. 

2. Obey the Authority 1 Pet.2: 13-17

Obeying the laws, rules and regulations of the country is very important for our welfare and protection of individual rights. Spirituality is not beyond the law. That is what our Master taught:”Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar” (Mk.12:13-17). Apostles not only taught the spiritual side, but also the social concern of the church. “For the Lord’s sake accept the authority of every human institution …. Fear God. Honour the emperor” (1Pet.2:17). Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God (Rom13:1). Therefore whoever resists the authority resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment (Rom.13:2). Thus, by obeying the authorities instituted by God, we can be the part of the nation building.

3. Transformation in attitude for Nation building Lk.3:7-14

Repentance is one of the key components recorded in the Bible. Different interpretations had been given for this theme now and then even from the dispensation of Old Testament prophets. Similarly John the Baptist also started his ministry with the preaching of repentance. The religious people of Judea who only knew the interpretation of repentance as ‘turn to YHWH’ asked to him: “What should we do?” Here, John gave a new meaning for repentance – ‘change of attitude’ is repentance.  His audience contained three types of people. First is the crowd. Crowd means an unorganized group without any headship that means, common man in the society. For them, repentance is sharing in their daily life – “whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise” (Lk.3:11). The second group in the audience was tax collectors. The main income of the country was tax, the major revenue. For the tax collectors, repentance was this – “collect no more than the amount prescribed for you” (Lk.3: 13). A transformed life in the financial matters is very imperative. The third group was soldiers, i.e., the law and order. Their transformation is “do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages” (Lk.3:14). Corruption and violence should be avoided – this is the transformation for soldiers. Thus, John the Baptist gave message for repentance and its interpretation according to the context of the people. In a nutshell, he focused in their day to day practical life. Jesus Christ who came after John also taught in the same line of thought. A transformed practical life in our everyday life has a pivotal role in nation building.

Prayer

Almighty God, who dwells with us in this land and whose eyes are always upon us, we pray that You give us a passion to rise and build our nation, to grant us the wisdom to use our freedom responsibly, to fear God, to honour the authorities, to respect everyone, to share our resources, to remain contented. So that, our nation would see a new order where justice and truth shall prevail. Through Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever more. Amen.
Humor
•    People were excited in Lenin’s speech. “Will you give one factory to the nation those who have two”? “Yes we are ready” they responded. “Will you give one estate to the nation those who have two”? “Yes we will do” they shouted. Their enthusiasm increased. “Will you contribute one ox to the nation those who have two”? – They got up and left the place. Because they had two oxen.

•    Mathew and Antony went to the bar to drink. They removed their shirts in the bar when they enjoyed drinking. As usual, they started fighting when they were drunk. Antony challenged Mathew and left the bar and went out. But when he wore the shirt, he wore it upside down. On his way he fell down on the road side and could not get up. Mathew came on that way after some time. When he saw his friend, he was moved and helped Antony to get up. At once he noted, alas! Mathew’s head is upside down. He didn’t wait then. Suddenly he forcibly turned Antony’s head to the side where the buttons of the shirt were.