The Works of the Lord

"I will remember the works of the Lord, surely I will remember Your wonders of old." (Psalm 77:11)
"For You, O Lord, have made me glad through Your work; I will triumph in the works of Your hands." (Psalm 92:4)
"Bless the Lord, all His works, in all places of His dominion, Bless the Lord, O my soul!" (Psalm 103:22)
"May the glory of the Lord endure forever!  May the Lord rejoice in His works!" (Psalm 104:31)
"O that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!" (Psalm 107:8)

Why this focus on "works"?  What good is the remembrance of the works of the Lord to we who live in 2011?

The works of the Lord are not static.  They did not happen once for all time, and then vanished.  The works of the Lord are dynamic.  They continue to this very day.  Those who study science in our day confirm that the sun is changing, the planets are changing, the galaxies are changing.  In several billion years, the Milky Way galaxy will "collide" with the Andromeda galaxy, creating a merged set of stars orbiting around a new galactic center.  And so even science confirms that the works of creation (which they do NOT believe in) continue to occur and will continue until man is likely to be long gone from this planet.

But God's works are not only for the heavenly bodies.  His works are for us, as well.  God came to this earth that He created, and He took on our flesh.  While dwelling here, He gave us commandments of life, ways in which we could follow His example, which leads to eternal life.  He left us with commandments that show us heaven here on earth even before we depart for that eternal life with Him.  Where God is, there is love.  Where we bring love to this, God's earth, we bring heaven to humanity, and we show that heaven is our homeland, with this being only a land in which we sojourn for a short while.

In the life of Saint Anthony the Great, there is an account of a military officer named Martinian came to Anthony's cell for help.  Martinian had a daughter who was afflicted with an evil spirit, and he knew that Saint Anthony could heal her, if only he (Martinian) could persuade him (Anthony) to help.  Martinian stood at the door to Anthony's cell, pounding upon it for a long while, with the blessed Anthony ignoring him.  Finally, Saint Anthony, still not opening the door, but peaking out through a space above it, and showing that he knew the reason for his presence, said to him, "Man, why do you call on me?  I am a man, just like you.  But if you believe in Christ, Whom I serve, then go - leave me.  According to your belief, pray to God, and your petition will come to pass." 

Hearing this, Martinian left, and in his belief, he called upon the Lord, and when he returned, he found his daughter healed of her evil spirit.

Now, Martinian was certainly helped by the prayers of the blessed Saint!  But the message that Saint Anthony gave to him is no less powerful today than it was then, and the promise of 'regeneration' - of blessed healing, or of forgiveness, or of bringing peace, or of anything that is good for our salvation - that promise is still alive today, waiting for us to call upon the Lord in faith, so that His works can be shown to be dynamic even in this very day!

As we come near to the end of the Great Fast, let us seek His will in all things.  Let us pray for the peace of the world, especially in the Middle East where trouble seems to be everywhere, and in Afghanistan, and in Iraq, and Iran, and Israel.  Let us pray for the sick and the suffering of Japan, and for the speedy resolution to their nuclear waste problems, and for an end to the post-quake/post-tsunami suffering.  But let us not forget to pray for ourselves, that the Lord will send His peace upon us, so that we might be admittedly imperfect reflections of the Holy Fathers, such as Anthony, but nonetheless be supports and guides to those around us who need desperately to hear that the Lord loves them, that He desires their hearts to be cleansed and at peace, and that He seeks all to seek Him, and thereby entry to the Kingdom.  We are His servants, but Jesus also described His Apostles as "His friends", those who knew Him, those to whom He had revealed His true nature as God.  As belonging to Him, we can hear the words of the Psalmist,

"Do not forsake the works of Your hands." (Psalm 138:8)