The Reverend John Thiagarajah Arulanantham - Devoted Father, True Pastor and sincere man of God

Sermon by the Revd. Celestine Fernando at the Memorial Service held at Christ Church Galle Face on Sunday 9th August, 1964 at 6.00 p.m.

Our world is dominated by the spirit of secularism - the spirit which leaves God out in the major crises and from major decisions of our lives. Even many so called religious people are ‘secular’ in this sense: it is true they worship God on Sundays and at other special times in private or public life but too often they ‘leave God out’ of their normal work-a-day life with its manifold problems and perplexities. God then becomes extra to them - an irrelevant extra. In fact, to them He ceases to be true God.

Human life on such conditions is understood only as a temporal and temporary reality. It is considered meaningful only in terms of its earthly existence. There is no life after death. And no need therefore to worry about those who die. So long as we live, we must eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die; and there is no need to be concerned after that. After some time we can forget about the dead; for they are no more. Today we have met together because we believe that all this understanding of human life living is not true. Both the Bible and our Christian worship at all times proclaim the Christian Gospel. The word Gospel means Good News - Good News to all - to those who live and those who die - Good News to all mankind.

But the Christian Gospel - the Good News of Christ, is a strange Gospel unlike the other Gospels of our time; it declared that at the centre of the Good News and basic to the good news is a Cross of suffering love - a life that gives as it lives - walking even through the valley of the shadow of death and fearing no evil, for, God is always with us. As Christ revealed Him, He is our only Lord and Saviour and loves us with Eternal Power and Eternal Goodness and with a love that ‘never fails’ as it cared like the Good Shepherd and shares like the Good Samaritan.

The truth that the Good news includes a Cross is difficult for most people to understand. “Unto the Jews”, says St Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians (in the 1st chapter) “it was a stumbling block and unto the Greeks foolishness”; and to conventionally religious people, and to conventionally intelligent people of all ages, it is a stumbling block and foolishness even today.

But to those who believe in the Lord Christ, it is neither a stumbling block nor foolishness, it is “the power of God and the wisdom of God”. For the Cross gives a new meaning and a new dimension to life and a richer insight into the understanding life’s perplexities in terms of a longer and deeper view of reality which is at the heart of human life. For Jesus Christ who came from God to reveal to us that life is not just a temporal or temporary affair; and that God’s children can have a quality of life which may be rightly called eternal. But

He said that they could gain this power of eternal life only if they fulfil certain conditions, as in all scholarship and in all sciences - Spiritual power, like other power, is always conditional. These conditions are not the conditions which we like or find easy, such as bearing a label Christian, getting a job in a Christian organisation, exploiting the Christian name when it is still possible, giving money to a Christian cause (when giving ourselves is so hard) or going to Church as habit or convention, when our hearts are far away from Christ. The true conditions of Christ’s power on the contrary, are basic to true human living. The involve not believing that the things that matter are just material things, worldly pleasure, social status or political success, but believing that there are deeper things in life: faith and love, loyalty and service to one’s fellow men; believing that life does not end on earth but that to him who lives in Christ and loves his fellowmen and serves Him, as Christ Himself gives the assurance, the Risen Life is real and can be experienced here and now and has the power for all our days.

Today we commemorate the life and work of the Reverend John Thiagarajah Arulanantham to whom all this was most real and whose acceptance of these eternal truths was revealed in the quiet, disciplined and lovable life he lived. Born on 13th May , 1897, and educated at St John’s College, Jaffna, he was later elected by the Church Missionary Society to a Scholarship which enabled him to graduate at Kings College, London, where he specialised in Psychology, and to study for his ordination at Ridley Hall, Cambridge. While still in England he was ordained a Deacon in 1933 and Priest in 1934 serving for a while as an assistant Curate at St May’s Church in London.

On his return to Ceylon, he became Chaplain at his old school, then Vice-Principal and, on the Revd. Henry Peto’s death, its first Ceylonese Principal which portion he held till May 1957 when he retired. In his old school he was both loved and respected and earned for himself a name as an able and respected educationist. He held high positions of President of the Ceylon Headmasters’ Conference, and President also of the North Ceylon Teachers Association. After his retirement he did no take his ease - but continued to devote himself faithfully and joyously the service of God’s Kingdom. He was Manager of St John’s Jaffna; the first Director of the Study Centre begun at the Ashram in Jaffna under ecumenical auspices - a cause very dear to his heart for he was always for the Unity of God’s Church and happy to work with other churches; then worked as Chaplain at St Thomas’ College, Gurutalawa and later acting Vicar of this Church where I had the privilege to be associated with him on several occasions. It was after a happy period of service here that he left once again to Jaffna and served his parish once again as Parish Priest of Chundikuli, where during the short period he was there, he completed the extension and renovation of the Church and organised its centenary celebrations. It was while still serving at Chundikuli that he passed away on the nearer presence of His Lord whom he served so well.

A great educationist though he was, it was not as such that I knew him. In my own mind, I shall always look on him as a faithful father of a Christian home, a true pastor to God’s children, and above all, a sincere man of God. It has been my great privilege and to know the Arulanantham family for many years. In it there was always the stamp of Christian faith and discipline, love with patience and forgiveness and true Christian joy. These are not days when even Christian homes reflect these great yet simple virtues - and we must therefore remember with gratitude one who helped to hold to them as so essential and so dear. A Christian’s first duty if he is to be a true disciple is to show forth the spirit of quietness, peace and love i.e. virtuous living in his own home. It is certainly a priest’s call and the responsibility as out ordinal reminds us. J.T.’s family life was a true witness to this call. It is my prayer that what what the father and mother of this home have taught their children and those who know them will always hold dear and pass to others as “joint heirs of the grace of life.”

Secondly, J.T. was a true pastor. Yes, I was well aware of the diffidence with which he accepted his pastoral work here at Christ Church. Somehow he was reluctant to face the round of parish visitation - even though one so kind hearted as he was need never have hesitated as he did.

Despite this, he had the essential gift of a true priest - the pastoral insight and perspective, the quiet dignity and and disciplined confidence without which all our pastoral visitation can be in vain. A true pastor cares for his people - and longs to be of help - that is why in the deepest things he has to listen so much and talk so little, and keep locked up in heart the sin and shame, the gifts and problems as well the joys of many others. J.T. was a trusted pastor in this sense; anxious to listen patiently, and to learn: and always ready to help to give generously of his mature Christian wisdom of serving young people and old at St John’s for many years.

But above all he was a man of God who lived close to his Master. Of him, certainly, it could not be said: “He was so busy doing the Lord’s work that he had no time for the Lord!” He did not go about merely professing his love for his Lord but it was reviled in his life of quiet faithfulness and strict self-discipline of his priestly life. Because he ruled himself he was able rule others and his rule of a man of God who gained his strength from a living faith and a strict obedience to what he believed and knew what his Lord required of him. And, as a man of God he was humble enough to be aware of his own sin, to confess it and to gain God’s forgiveness. And so he was richly able to share that same forgiveness with others who had sinned and give them the joy he had.

He died as he would have wished - ready to go to work at a moment’s notice when the Call came. As it was said of a fellow-Christian from a foreign land who served in Ceylon for many years and died like J.T. in harness - after retirement: “God called him and he went but did not have far to go” - to reach his Master’s presences that he may serve further in his Master’s Kingdom.

It is the call that comes to all God’s children that J.T. answered. So like the members of his own family we need not to be surprised. As members of Christ, children of God and inheritors of the children of of the Kingdom of Heaven we must give thanks to God for J.T.’s life and follow the things he held dear which the Good Book teaches us and do so believing in the truth of what our Lord Christ said on a memorable occasion when a dearly beloved friend of his had died - “ Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off; and many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him; but Mary was still in the house. Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask God, God will give it to thee. Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother will rise again. Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?” (St John 11:18-26)

Let us pray:

“We give him back to Thee, O God, who gravest him to us. Yet as Thou didst not lose him in giving, so do we not lose him by his return. Not as the world giveth, gives Thou, O lover of souls. What thou givest thou takest not away, for what is thine is ours also if we are thine. And life is eternal and love is immortal and death is only a horizon, and a horizon is nothing save the limit of our vision. Lift us up, strong Son of God, that we may see further; drop us closer to Thyself that we may know ourselves to be nearer to our loved ones who are with Thee. And while Thou dost prepare a place for a us, prepare us also for that happy place, so that where Thou art, we may be also, for evermore.”