Simple Invitations

 In today’s Gospel reading (John 1:43-51), we learn a lot about how our Lord “grew” His Church, via the calling of the Apostles.

We as Orthodox Christians speak often about how it is that we might share this faith with others.  Some speak of plans to go outside the building with outreach programs.  Some speak about garnering attention via news articles or advertisements.  Some propose “door-to-door” evangelism.

While there’s nothing wrong with any plan to engage others in our faith, it’s most often the personal testimony of one of us whose faith has changed our life that speaks to someone who is seeking a change in their life.

In the verses preceding today’s Gospel, we find Jesus receiving baptism from St. John, who testifies, “This is the Son of God.”  From this, the Forerunner speaks with his disciples (these were John and Andrew) and says to them, Behold the Lamb of God.  St. John records this:  They heard him (St. John) speak, and they followed Jesus.  Our Lord confronts the two, asking What do you seek?  They don’t answer the question directly, but ask only, Rabbi, where are You staying?  And the first invitation from our Lord is given—Come and see.

As a result of this encounter with the Lord, Andrew goes to his brother Peter and testifies, We have found the Messiah!  John records that Andrew brought Peter to Jesus, who calls him by name and then gives him the new name, Cephas, or “a rock.”

On the following day Jesus goes to Galilee and finds Philip, to whom He issues a second invitation, Follow Me.  Philip then goes and finds Nathaniel, giving him essentially the same message that Andrew gave to Peter.  We know Nathaniel’s famous saying, Can anything good come out of Nazareth?  Now, it is Philip who issues the invitation, Come and see.

In a few brief and simple encounters, we find Peter, John, Andrew, and Nathaniel gathered into the fold of the ranks of the Apostles, all by two or three word invitations!  They come not by command, but voluntarily.  They come not coerced by things of the world, but by heartfelt longing for God to fulfill His promise to His people, a longing founded in their own pursuit of understanding Holy Scripture.

Note that these first five Apostles become bonded to our Lord not by door-to-door efforts, nor by advertising, nor by things worldly.  They come by personal testimony—first of the Forerunner, then of those sent by him, a founding that is confirmed by our Lord’s two invitation phrases: Follow Me and Come and see.

As we encounter people who need to find our Lord in their lives, what better pattern to adopt that that which is shown us by our Lord and His closest Apostles?

Jesus seals the attachment of Nathaniel when, brought by Philip to see the Lord, He says to Nathaniel, Behold, and Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit.  Nathaniel is confused about how Jesus knows him, to which the Lord replies, Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.  Nathaniel knowing where he was and how impossible it is that Jesus should know this confesses, Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!  It is a confession of faith not yet firmly rooted, which teaches us that in coming to the faith, there is no “instant formula” for accepting Holy Orthodoxy.  It takes Peter three more years with the Lord to confess, You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God, a confession similar to Nathaniel’s, but at that time one more firmly rooted in a faith that has been established on the rock of what has been witnessed about truly Who Jesus is.

Let us be inviting to all who seek to find their path to salvation in Holy Orthodoxy.  And let us offer to them the same heartfelt invitations.  Follow Him as we attempt to do.  And, with us, Come and see.

Glory to Jesus Christ!

Remembering His Holiness Patriarch Neofit

 After a long illness, His Holiness Patriarch Neofit fell asleep in the Lord this past Wednesday, 13Mar24.  May his memory be eternal!  Bog da Prosti!

The Holy Synod published the following statement:  “We call on all Orthodox Christians to address their sincere prayer together with the holy Orthodox Church to the all-merciful God to put to rest the soul of our dear Patriarch in the kingdom of God—in the celestial spheres of the righteous and place him among the chosen ones on the right, where with the heavenly hosts he will praise God in eternity with a pleasant voice.”

His Holiness’ health worsened late last year and he remained under medical care at the Military Medical Academy.  All who were familiar with his condition continued to pray for his health until this news shook us all.

Born Simeon Nikolov in Sofia on 15Oct45, His Holiness graduated from the Theological Seminary in Sofia.  His theological specialty (church singing) developed at the Moscow Theological Academy, from which he returned in 1973 when he taught and became conductor of the student choir at the Academy.

He was tonsured a monk in 1975 and given the name Neophyte by His Holiness Patriarch Maxim (of blessed memory) at the Troyan Monastery.

In 1989 he became rector of the Theological Academy, and two years later he became the first dean of the restored Theological Faculty at Sofia University, St. Kliment Ohridski.  Later he became the chief secretary of the Holy Synod and chairman of the board of trustees of the St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral.

In 1994 he was canonically confirmed as Metropolitan of the Dorostol-Cherven Diocese.  When the diocese was divided in half, he headed the Ruse Diocese.

In 2008 he was bestowed the title “doctor honoris causa” of the Sofia University for overall contribution to the development of spirituality at Sofia University and for his active participation in the restoration of the Faculty of Theology.  Two years later he was awarded by the President of Bulgaria the “Order of St. Cyril and Methodius”, the award stating that is was given “for his particularly significant merits for the development of the Theological Academy “St. Kliment Ohridski”, for his contribution to the development of scientific and educational ties and relationships between Eastern and Western Christians and on the occasion of his 65th birthday.”

On 24Feb13, Neophyte was elected Patriarch of Bulgaria and Metropolitan of Sofia, and was enthroned on that same day in St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral.

During his lifetime, His Holiness was known for being a tolerant and calm leader, and a zealous defender of Christian values, as well as for being an advocate for the introduction of “religion” in Bulgarian schools.

May His Holiness’ memory be eternal!  Bog da Prosti!

 

 

I Tremble at the Fearful Day of Judgment

Today’s Gospel (Mat 25:31-46) presents us with what our Lord gifts to us as prophecy related to His return, His ‘Second Coming.’

His words are clear.  There can be no misinterpretation. 

When the Son of Man comes in His glory…  Not “if”, but when.  Not this time in humility, but in His glory.  With all power.  With all authority.

And all the holy angels with Him… Jesus has been very careful to explain to His Apostles (and thru them to us) that His return will not be something that can be overlooked, misconstrued, or misrepresented.  During the week of the Publican and Pharisee in the Gospel readings from Mark Chapter 13 Jesus says to them if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘Look, He is there!’ do not believe it.  If each of us has a guardian angel, and the total population of the earth since creation is estimated to be over 100 billion, and there are additional other myriads of angels whom God has created for other purposes, then when Jesus returns with ALL the angels, it will indeed be something not to be misconstrued!

All the nations will be gathered before Him… Not some, all.  Not from today, but from all time.  All will stand for judgment.

He will separate them one from another… He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left… Sheep are docile animals, willing to follow their Shepherd unconditionally.  Goats are stubborn, independent, and not easily or willingly led.  It prompts the question to myself, “What can I do to change myself from being a goat to becoming a sheep?”

Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you blessed of My  Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world… This is the first mention of “King” - but it shows Jesus for Who He is, and it shows His ‘status’ at His return!  The description gives no relative size of the gatherings of sheep and goats.  Based on our Lord’s sayings (For many are called, but few are chosen…) we can imagine that there are far more goats than sheep!  To those whom the Lord calls the blessed of My Father, He speaks to the fact that the heavenly realms were created for this day, and have been in the ready from the foundation of the world, or more precisely, from the time of creation.

Counter to this blessing given to the sheep, the Lord says Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels… This ‘depart’ is different from others in scripture.  St. Simeon’s prayer uses the English word ‘depart’, but St. Simeon's 'depart' is different from the 'depart' in the Greek from Matthew 25.  St. Simeon's depart means ‘dismiss’.  In today's Gospel, with this depart there’s a finality with the word, which translates to ‘travel’ or ‘remove’.  In short, it carries the meaning of “Leave forever!”

 These will go away into everlasting punishment…  Here’s the proof of this absolute removal.  Like a figurative goat, these have been stubborn, refusing to be led by a loving Master, and in fact rejecting Him at every turn.  Removal from His eternal presence is the sentence for this cursed state.

But the righteous (will be received) into eternal life… Like the figurative sheep, these have always followed the Lord’s voice, and in showing their heartfelt desire to live accordingly, this is the blessing bestowed upon them.

Lord, as we together traverse the days of the Great Fast, let us seek to change our hearts to conform to Your Holy Will.  The Aposticha for this day says it all:  O Good Shepherd, deprive me not of a place at Your right hand in Your great mercy.

May this Great Fast lead us all ever toward the Kingdom, and placement at His right hand! 

Coming Home

 Today’s Gospel (Luke 15:11-32) is a gift from our Lord that paints a picture, an “icon”, of how much the Father truly loves us.

Stop for a moment and think of that love shown for you from your parents.  Some of us still live within that love.  Some of us had that love from one or the other parent for far too short a time.  Some of us have lived to ripe old ages and can now experience that love only in memories.

I fall into this later category.  The memories of packing up the old station wagon with five kids for a four hour trip, pretty much every second week remain with us.  That task might seem daunting, but there was never any reservation about making that trip leaving Friday night and returning after Church on Sunday.  It was always worth it to feel the warmth of the embraces when we arrived, the love in the conversation while we were there.  And it was well worth the education—mom and dad never stopped being teachers to us.

As we read today’s parable of the Prodigal, we can imagine in his mind the thoughts present as he left the Father.  “I’m going to go out and conquer the world!”, only to have this untamed bravado quickly quashed by the real world. 

It was not just that he didn’t prosper, the Prodigal allowed the temptations of the world to lay hold of him, to entice him into great sin, to sap all the positives taught to him by his Father and cause him to wallow in the mud with common swine, to literally come to a point of starvation as he fed animals that the Jews saw as unclean.

It was this complete collapse of the world around him that brought the Prodigal to that place where he finally could find true repentance.  And so he commits to “going home” - not to a Father any longer, for he sees himself as totally unworthy to be called by that title after how he has chosen to live away from that love.  He now looks to his Father as an employer—one who won’t have him feeding pigs, but who in return will treat him with some level of dignity.  He asks to be a servant of one whom he knows has respect even for those  who are His servants!

But the Father has other plans!  The Father is not caught off guard by the Prodigal’s return.  He is watching, waiting for him to come home.  And when His son does return, He allows him only enough time to offer his message of repentance, but the Father stops the son’s discourse short, not allowing him to ask to become a servant.  What do we find in the Father’s demeanor? 

First:  He’s My son!  Second:  I love him unconditionally.  Third: I prove that love with my running to meet him.  Fourth: I prove that love by embracing him.  Fifth:  I prove that love by kissing him.

When I go back to those long four hour drives, I’m reminded of the warmth of each and every arrival.  Both father and mother came out to meet us.  There were hugs exchanged between two parents and all seven of us exiting the car.  And it all ended with kisses all around before entering the house to celebrate.  There was no fatted calf, but there was feasting and much joy.

Today’s Parable is our Lord’s way of showing us truly how much the Father loves us.  In this world, a parent’s love is perhaps as close we can get to that of our heavenly Father.  And if we still (years later) can feel that parental love, the hugs, the kisses, and if all those memories are as vivid as they are, memories gifted by imperfect human love, how much more intense, more glorious, more wonderful is the love that our Lord shows us to be the definition of who the Father really is?

Let us all begin to prepare our repentant message to Him.  Lord knows we’re all on the path to meet Him soon.  All of us are on our way home.  And He, with all love, is waiting.