Children of God Becoming Good Students

 We often describe ourselves in this way.  We “dare to call upon the heavenly God as Father”, and therefore we are his children. 

As children, we have a lot to learn.  As children, we often go astray, and we need correction.  Just as with our own children, sometimes a “gentle word of correction” is insufficient to get our attention and to turn us around from the behavior that requires correction.

The Book of Proverbs is filled with instruction and ‘imagery’ related to this issue.  And as is typical for Proverbs, some of the instruction is a combination of positive with negative.  “The rod and rebuke give wisdom.  But a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.” (Prov 29:15)  And some of the instruction is just reinforcing positives.  “Correct your son and he will give you rest; yes, he will give delight to your soul.” (Prov 29:17)

Saint Paul also speaks in similar terms.  “No chastening seems to be joyful in the moment, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” (Heb 12:11)

In today’s Gospel, Jesus enters the village of Nain, and there in His compassion for His creation, seeing a young man, the only son of his mother, laying dead and being buried, we can only imagine the empathy he feels for the mother.  And so by His Word alone, He restores the young man’s life, and returns him to his mother.

What has this to do with “discipline”, or being God’s children?

If you read further in the 7th Chapter of Saint Luke, we find this incident being reported throughout Judea.  It makes it to the ears of the imprisoned Saint John the Forerunner.  In his own love for his “spiritual children”, his remaining followers, he sends them to Jesus with the question, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?”  Jesus answers their question by giving them the grace to witness His miracles.  Only then does He say, “Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the Gospel preached to them.”  Jesus gives this instruction as John had intended—not for John’s benefit, but for the benefit of John’s disciples.  They are being “taught” by God the Son, brought along as “children” in their understanding.

Jesus then chastises the Pharisees, giving them every chance to repent before it’s too late.  He says, “John came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’  The Son of Man has come both eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look—a glutton and a winebibber… But wisdom is justified by all her children.”

Children.  Yes, we need to be corrected, for we often follow the wrong path.  But don’t forget Christ’s own praise of children.  “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” (Mat 19:14)

As we consider God’s gentle means of bringing our souls into conformance to His will, consider how Chapter 7 of Saint Luke ends.  Here we find the woman anointing the Lord’s feet with oil, weeping, wiping His feet with her hair.  As she does, Simon the Pharisee in his heart judges both her and the Lord for this act.  For His part, Jesus explains to Simon the case of the creditor who forgives two unequal debts, one much greater than the other.  Simon judges rightly that the one forgiven more will love the more.  Jesus turns this on Simon, saying, “You gave me no water for My feet, no kiss, no anointing.  Since I arrived, she has not ceased to kiss My feet, to wash them with her tears, to anoint Me with her fragrant oil.  Therefore, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much.  To whom little is forgiven, these love little.”

For us, here is our lesson as children.  Love much!  Love God!  Love the Church!  Love neighbor!  Love your enemy!  Love those easy to love, and love even more those who are hardest to love.

For this is the example set for us by our Lord.  It is an example that shows us the Love of God the Father for us, His children.

The Need to Believe

 Often I go back and review past bulletins and sermons for ideas to refresh and offer anew.  In many of those reviews, one encounters words encouraging a fledgling little community to go forward, to seek the Lord’s will—in their lives, but also within this, His little local church.

Belief is at the core of this.  Let me start with an old story.

In an interview with a Russian monk, a woman asks what is from the world’s perspective a very logical and simple question.  How are we to understand the resurrection of the dead?  Such things don’t happen in the world.

We’ve heard of people who have died and been resuscitated. But that’s different from resurrection.  Resurrection by our Savior promises a new life in heaven, eternally near to Him.

The Russian monk was not even slightly put off guard by the woman’s question.  His answer was simple and direct.  If God created the world out of nothing, if God established all the laws of nature, what could be impossible to Him?  He added, Is it more difficult to resurrect life than to give it?  It’s all in what you believe.

I wonder how often we consider what we’ll encounter after we die.  It should be a component of every day of our lives.  Am I closer today to the perfection to which my Lord has called me than I was yesterday?  Have I taken steps today to reconcile myself with someone who might be at odds with me?  Have I prayed for my enemies?  And the most important question—If God calls me today, have I done everything I should have done to be ready to stand before Him?

Today’s Gospel lays at our feet the commandment, Do unto others…  Before we look into our own standing with respect to this commandment, we must first recognize a couple of things.  First—God has the power to do as He wills.  Next—He always wills for us that which is best for our salvation, that which will secure a place for us near to Him for eternity.  This is why He chose to take on my flesh.  This is why He voluntarily chose to die on the Cross for us.  This is why He resurrected Himself first from the dead, that I and you and all who believe might be able to follow where He has gone first.

“Knowing” that I believe is therefore essential to my place in eternity.  How do I “know”?

Most assuredly I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. (John 6:53)

We are all here today to make this commandment of our Lord the central part of our week.  Today we eat His Body, we drink His Blood, and He faithfully carries us through the coming 6 days to be strengthened once again by Him.

All because I Believe.

Remember that little community we began this piece with?

On any given Sunday as we began, attendance at Liturgy would be around 20 people.

Ten years later, amongst a group of faithful, Liturgy would be attended by about 25 people.

Now ten further years later, amongst a group of faithful, Liturgies are attended by 45 or more people.  We prayed for a building, and to the faithful the Lord granted one.  We prayed for growth, and amongst the faithful the Lord has blessed that request.  He has blessed it to the extent that we’re looking for ways to reconfigure our worship space to make it more comfortable for larger groups of faithful.

How is all this possible?  I don’t know!  What I know is that together we believe, and in that firm faith, the Lord has blessed us beyond our wildest expectations of only a few years ago.

Think of what more He can accomplish in a little place like St. Herman’s—if only we continue to believe!  Because with Him, all things are possible.

The Lukan Jump

 No, it’s not some veiled Star Wars reference.  It has everything to do with when the Liturgical calendar of the Church begins to read Gospel lessons from the Gospel of Saint Luke.  And we find ourselves in the middle of it this week!

So let’s first look at what Gospels are read when during the Liturgical year.

Things begin with Pascha.  John 1:1 starts the cycle of Gospels for the year on the day of Pascha.  We continue to read from the Gospel of Saint John from Pascha until the Liturgy of Pentecost.

Starting with the Monday after Pentecost we begin to read from the Gospel of Saint Matthew.  His Gospel is setup for readings for up to as many as seventeen weeks from this point forward.  From the twelfth week forward, it is read on Saturdays and Sundays, while the Gospel of St. Mark is read on the weekdays.

And now comes “the Lukan Jump”!

Beginning with the Monday after the Sunday after the Feast of the Elevation of the Cross we read from the Gospel of Saint Luke.  Why the reference to “jump”?  Because the number of weeks between Pentecost and the Elevation of the Cross is dependent on the date of Pascha,  This number of weeks is different from year to year, longer when Pascha is “early”, shorter when it is “late”.  The seventeen weeks of Matthew already mentioned is the LONGEST distance possible between the Feasts.  When the calendar finds the distance shorter, gospel readings from St. Matthew are “jumped over” in deference to reading from the Gospel of St. Luke.  More on that in a moment.

Finally, with the exception of the Sunday of Orthodoxy, the Gospel of St. Mark is read during the season of the Great Fast on Saturdays and Sundays.

Based on all of the above, many people assume that the Lukan Jump is related to the Feast of the Elevation of the Cross. 

In fact, this is not the case.

The Elevation of the Cross falls on the “Fixed Calendar” of the Church, each year on September 14th.  In close proximity to this date is September 23rd, the Feast of the Conception of the Forerunner and Baptist John.  Since this event is best recorded in the Gospel of Saint Luke (Luke 3:23-4:1), we “jump” to the Gospel of Saint Luke with this Feast and continue in St. Luke until we approach the Great Fast the following spring.

On your calendars, the Sundays of the Gospel of St. Matthew are simply referred to as “The N^th Sunday After Pentecost,” with N being the number of weeks following Pentecost.

When you look at your calendars starting with September, this same numbering is retained, and it in fact dictates which Tone of the Week is to be used, and also which Epistle is to be read (there’s no “jump” for Epistles!).  But you’ll also see that beyond “Sunday N After Pentecost,” there will also be a note, “Y^th Luke”, indicating which of the nineteen gospels of Luke is to be read in any given week. 

Make sense?

Now you can wax profound with your Orthodox friends about when, where, and why the various Gospels are read throughout the Ecclesiastical year.

Glory to Jesus Christ!