Sermon delivered at the funeral service of Rev. Dr. K. C. Abraham in St. Mark's Cathedral, Bangalore, 14 June 2016
We are here to celebrate a life well lived for the glory of God. KC was a senior friend to me before I married his sister. He and I grew up to what we had become through the Youth Movement of the Central Kerala Diocese of the Church of South India. He was handsome, bright and full of promises in worldly terms. He was a student of Mathematics who did his Bachelor of Science with distinction. But, about 60 years ago, he accepted the commission of Christ as found in John Ch. 21 “take care of my sheep.” KC accepted this specific call to become a shepherd.
KC may have achieved many covetable positions and laurels in life. But first and foremost, he was a good shepherd following the great shepherd of the sheep, Jesus Christ. The Bible is rich with imagery of the shepherd. Yahweh is referred to as a shepherd in Psalm 23: “God is my Shepherd, I shall not want”. Jesus describes himself as the good shepherd who would lay down his life for the sheep. Jesus also narrates the parable of the lost sheep and also comments on his mission as one of leaving behind the ninety nine in the open and seeking after the lost one till he finds it. Jesus also insists on the apostolic ministry as one of taking care of the sheep. KC, the young man, never thought of positions and honors, when he accepted the call to follow Christ as a pastor in the Church of South India in the Central Kerala Diocese.
