Defining Faith

[Luke 5:1-11]

As we always say, “Words mean something,” and when we use words, we need to make certain that the words we use explain clearly what we’re trying to say—in speech or in writing.

Faith.  If we go to Webster to see what the word means, we learn the following:

Faith:  (n) 1a) allegiance to duty or person, loyalty, “lost faith” in someone; 1b) fidelity to promises, “acting in good faith”; 2a) belief and trust in God; 2b) firm belief in something for which there is no proof; 3) something believed with especially strong conviction.

In terms of Webster, it takes him (them) to #2 to find God in the definition.

But for me, the best one is 2b).  Those of us who regularly come to church define ourselves as “faithful.”  That doesn’t mean our attendance is regular—it should be, but that’s not the major point.  Majorly, faithful means we embrace the teachings of the Church with our whole heart.  As the Lord said in last week’s Gospel, in answering the lawyer’s question about “the greatest commandment,” Jesus said, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.  This is a statement of immersive love.  Every part of our being is called to engage this love, both physical and spiritual.  This kind of faith is unwavering.  We’ll get back to that in a moment.

In today’s Gospel, we find the Lord giving St. Peter a kind of ‘test of faith’.  Jesus says to Peter, Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.  It seems like a simple request.  But the life of one who fishes for a living is difficult.  Boats and sails and nets need mending and constant attention.  There are dangers in the waters.  And it is physically draining.

Still, Jesus give Peter an ‘invitation’ to go where He is leading.  As always, Jesus does not coerce.  He asks. What is St. Peter’s response to the invitation?

We’ve worked hard all night and caught nothing… It is a statement of fact which the Lord already knew, but Peter felt the need to re-state.  Peter continues—nevertheless, at Your word I will let down the net.  In other words, if there are no fish this time, this is all on You, Lord!

This is not exactly a concrete expression of the deepest, unwavering faith!

But in this Gospel reading we find that the Lord is not going to require that demonstration of unwavering faith.  He intends to provide that which will engender such faith where it was not already.  The catch of fish is so great that their nets were breaking from the weight of the fish.  And because of this extraordinary event, what kind of faith does Peter begin to demonstrate?  He falls at the feet of Jesus.  He does not express confusion.  He does not speak of the Lord’s authority over nature.

No, Peter goes to his sins!  Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!  It is not a rejection like that which came from the people of Gadara when the Lord healed the demoniac.  Rather, it is a recognition that God in His holiness is incompatible with man and his sins.  It is a shout of repentance.

When is the last time that I demonstrated even the imperfect faith of Peter, let alone the robust repentance that comes from observing God’s grace poured out on His creation?  When have I shown that unwavering faith that the love of God for me proves Him deserving of from me?  

Let me seek to show such faith, beginning now!  As our own beloved St. Herman said, From this hour, from this minute, let us love God above all else, and seek to do His holy will.

Amen!

Love God, Love Neighbor

Increasing in Grace

The Need for Suffering

 [The following is an account from the book, "The Meaning of Suffering / Strife and Reconciliation," by Archimandrite Seraphim Aleksiev, 15-St. John the Merciful and the Woman, Pg 49.  May you find it edifying.]

The greatest mystics of the Faith have valued suffering as a sign of the great love of God, of God's thoughtful Fatherly care which we cannot fully understand while we are in this world, . but which will be seen as a blessing when viewed from the future life.

Church tradition relates that St. John the Merciful, after completing a Divine Service, once noticed that a woman was crying bitterly in a corner of the church.  He told his deacon, "Go and bring that woman, so that we can find out why she is so grieved - whether her husband has died, or her children are sick, or God has sent some other misfortune."

The deacon brought the woman to the Saint.  When St. John asked her why she was crying so inconsolably, she said, "How can I not cry, holy Father?  Three years have passed, and no sorrow has come to us.  It seems that God has forgotten us completely.  There is no sickness in the home, no ox has been lost, nor has a sheep died, and my family has begun to live carelessly.  I am afraid that we will perish because of our easy life, and that is why I am crying."  The Bishop-Saint marvelled at the answer and praised God.

In such a way the Christians of the past have considered sufferings to be sent from God and have grieved when they did not have sorrows.  If they needed trials in life so that they would not forget God and become estranged from Him, how much more necessary and saving are sufferings for us, contemporary Christians, who have sunk deeply in sins!  God would not send sorrows in this life if they did not have the power to save us from eternal sorrows in hell.

Vinedressers

These scoundrels play an important role in today’s parable from our Lord [13th Sunday, Mat 21:33-42].  As with any parable, words are used to paint an image, and the imagery points to a reality being described, sometimes criticizing, sometimes praising, but always pointing to a truth that needs to be highlighted.  What are the ‘truths’ in today’s parable?

First, we need to understand that references such as this to ‘a vineyard’ point to the nation of Israel, for Holy Scripture is overflowing with such references.  Psalm 80:8 makes this clear:  You have brought a vine out of Egypt; You have cast out the nations and planted it. 

So, the “vineyard” is the nation of Israel.  But now, who are these ‘vinedressers’ to whom the landowner has entrusted the care of His vineyard?  First of all, let us understand a little about the use of the image of the vinedresser.

A vinedresser (or husbandman) is more than just a farmer.  To him, grapes are more than just an annual crop.  The grape vines remain with him for decades.  It is as if he comes to know each of them personally, much like a shepherd with his sheep.  He watches how a vine is developing from year to year.  He learns what each responds to and what special care each needs.  Each vine has a unique personality, and the vinedresser nurtures each according to its particular needs, pruning when necessary, fertilizing, lifting branches from the ground and tying them to a stake or trellis to protect the vine and its fruit from insects or disease.

Jesus’ use of the image of the vinedresser (the ‘owner’ in the case of today's parable) to show the relationship of the One Who loves His vines and how He desires to see that they are well cared for.

Further, Jesus elsewhere refers to Himself as the vine:  He says, I am the vine, you are the branches (John 15:5).  He uses the definite article in His description, not saying that He is “a” vine, but rather  “the” vine—the only place to which His loved ones should be attached to receive their source of sustenance.

But those who are surrogate vinedressers, ones let out to contract to care for the vines, these care little for the vines as compared with the Master vinedresser.  In the parable, these are the leaders of Israel, the scribes and Pharisees who beat His true servants and ultimately killed the Master’s Son.

In the Gospel of St. Matthew from which we read this day, it is to these men that our Lord is speaking via this parable.  Note with what loving care He continues to attempt to give these hard-hearted fiends the opportunity to repent.  Note that their hearts remain unmoved by the love He continues to show to them.

The ‘hedge’ planted by the Husbandman is the Law, with all of its ordinances, which He gave to them to protect them and to instruct them in the way of truth.  It was intended to keep them from being corrupted by other nations, an intention which they themselves rejected, preferring foreign ‘gods’ of such people to their own known God.

This chapter ends with these men recognizing that Jesus’ words are pointing to them.  As if desiring to fulfill the parable’s prophecy immediately, St. Matthew records, but when they sought to lay hands on Him, they feared the multitudes, because they took Him for a prophet.  The blindness of the evil fears retribution from people whom they judge to be simpletons, fools.

Such is human ‘wisdom’.  For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God.  For it is written, ‘He catches the wise in their own craftiness’; and again, ‘The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.’

Be Patient With Me

 [11th Sunday After Pentecost, 1Cor 9:2-12/Mat 18:23-35]

Today’s Gospel reading is a case study in human nature.

There’s an expression in some of the circles this priest/engineer works in:  “intellectual gridlock.”  The expression indicates a condition wherein all who are part of a group think similarly.  This is not an indication of positive reinforcement.  Rather, it points to one person expressing a faulty perspective, and then having others in the group (either via laziness or misplaced trust in the one voicing the opinion) adopt the faulty thinking.

Don’t tell me you haven’t seen this!  The world around us is full of it, especially within our government.

So it is with today’s servant. The "groupthink" intellectual gridlock here could be compared with the belief that you can win the lottery.  Statistics show your chance is 1 in 300 million.  But everyone who plays thinks they'll win.  Everyone doesn't!

The debt that today's servant owes to his master is no different from this "lottery-think".  It is so insurmountable an amount that begging for “time” and “patience” of the one owed to is beyond unbelievable.  No one in their right mind who is in the position of the master in this parable would ever conceive of such magnanimity.

But this is where our Lord moves us with His words.  He attempts at every turn to show us how loving, how forgiving, how patient the Father is with us, His creatures.

The fact that no person would ever consider forgiving such a debt remains.  But this master (who is the image of the Father) does so.  He does it so easily that the Lord’s words indicate that there was not even a second thought about it.  The servant issues a plea of repentance, and the master’s response is immediate and unbounded.  He didn’t say, “I’ll forgive half.”  He didn’t say, “I’ll give you another week.”  Our Lord’s words are few but powerful.  The master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave the debt.

Each year as we enter the Great Fast, those of us who are part of the Bulgarian Diocese greet one another with good wishes for the Fast.  In Bulgarian, the expression shared is, “Prosteno prosti.  Leki posti,” which translates to, “Forgiven—simple!  Light is the fast!”

That “Forgiven—simple!” resonates in this parable!

But we’ve spoken only of the greatly indebted servant so far.  He is for all purposes the focus of this parable, for there WAS sincerity in his plea for forgiveness. 

But his sincerity had no depth, at least not depth sufficient for him to grasp the magnitude of the blessing the master had bestowed upon him such that he would share that same magnanimity with his brother servants.  For the magnitude of the debt owed to him by his fellow servant was insignificant in comparison to what had been forgiven him by the master.  Worse yet, his fellow servant’s plea was identical to his own.  How could he not understand the relationship and “do unto others”?  And yet, he showed himself to be intellectually locked into desire for the money, for the world, for material things.  His newly granted forgiveness and freedom were recent events, but his behavior is as if they were long forgotten.  He showed no concern for spiritual matters, nor for providing from one’s own bounty to another who is in need. 

Be patient with me becomes just words, like those of a child caught in the act of doing wrong who is trying to avoid punishment.  May we never utter words in this way!

The Lord is attempting to teach us to emulate not the servant, but the Master - to be without reservation or limit forgiving of the 'debts' of others.  This is the sense of the word 'debts' within the Lord's Prayer, ....and forgive us our debts (trespassess) as we forgive our debtors.  

Let us hold in our hearts that Bulgarian greeting, and mean it with our whole heart.

Prosteno, prosti!

"Because of Your Unbelief..."

What is it truly that we believe?

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty.  Good!  That’s a required first step.  And while the Nicean Creed contains many other elements of our ‘beliefs’ (in Christ, in the Holy Spirit, in Christ’s Church, etc.), certainly there is more to our belief, especially as related to our Lord’s chastisement of those involved in the healing of the boy in today’s Gospel for their unbelief.  So, what’s missing?

There are many other instances in the Gospels in which Jesus speaks to the issue of belief.

In the parallel account of today’s reading from the Gospel of St. Mark, Jesus speaks to the father of the boy and says, If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.  Note the ‘conditions’ that our Lord applies to belief here.  Jesus does NOT say to the man, ‘All things are possible for Me.’  Clearly that would be true.  But what the Lord clearly says is that YOUR faith is required for Him to act in response to YOUR prayer of need.  Jesus further does not limit the extent of His blessing to act in response to the prayer of faith.  He says, ALL things are possible to him who believes.  ‘All’ does not exclude anything, does it?  The unstated ‘condition’ on this is that one who comes in faith with a prayerful need will not be praying for something they know to be counter to that which is of benefit to their salvation.

In the Gospel of St. Mark, we hear words from today’s father that are very important to a complete healing.  After our Lord’s admonishment toward belief, the man says to Jesus, Lord, I believe.  Help my unbelief!  What is this seemingly contradictory statement from the father saying?  He recognizes the need for belief.  In that recognition, he understands that he truly wants his son to be healed.  But as of yet he is still not sure that the level of his belief is adequate to what is required to reach the possible that our Lord is teaching him (and us) for which to strive.  How does unbelief manifest itself in our society?

A Pew Research study of those who describe themselves as “nones”, or people do not identify with any religious group, offer reasons for their lack of belief which include: don’t believe; don’t need religion; unaffiliated but religious (tell me what THAT means, please); spiritual but not religious; non-practicing.  In short, it’s easy to offer an excuse for not being committed to a particular church.  Unfortunately, these excuses also indicate disconnect from God Himself, a definition of unbelief!

But what of my own unbelief?  How does it manifest itself to my spiritual detriment?  Let me look at the question with a kind of reverse focus.  I don’t pray as often as I should.  When I do pray, my prayer is not ‘focused’.  If I truly believed (that my prayer mattered and made a difference), this would not be the case.  I put far too much emphasis on self, and far too little on the people our Lord calls me to care for—the least of His brethren.

So today’s admonition by our Lord as He says, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you?  How long shall I bear with you?, those words are directed not only to those present on that day as the Lord returns from Mt. Tabor, but they’re equally directed at me.

Lord, heal my heart.  Conform my will to Your will.  Let me no longer be faithless and perverse, but faithful and without corruption.

Transfiguration

Sermon - 8th Sunday After Pentecost

Mat 14:14-22

Feeding the 5000

Living Fully in Christ

 As a people, we collectively think our society is moral.

As an individual, we singularly believe we live life "by the rules".

Whose "rules"?  And how do we intellectually "justify" our own particular deviations FROM those rules?

In society, we have laws.  Years ago, our legal codes were primarily based on Judeo-Christian morality - laws paralleled the content of the Ten Commandments and other teachings on morality from the Patriarchs, the Prophets, and Christ.

But that was then.  This is now.  "Townhall.com" suggests that there are at least 5000 Federal criminal laws, with an additional 10,000 to 300,000 regulations that can be enforced criminally.  That's at the Federal level.  When you get down to "locals", it gets even more absurd.  Did you know that you can be jailed in Gainesville, LA for eating fried chicken with a fork?

Do you know all the rules the world is trying to enforce upon you?  It's a foolish question, isn't it.

But when we look at our Christian faith, we don't find this level of complexity.  When the young lawyer came to Jesus he asked, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?"  Jesus answered that he must "keep the commandments," and the Lord echoed the Ten to the young man, adding at the end, "Love your neighbor as yourself."  (Mat 19:16-22)

You might say, "But Father, there certainly are others.  Jesus also said, "Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." (John 3:3)  He said, "Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you." (John 6:53)

So, there ARE more "rules".  Confess your sins.  Give alms.  Be 'the servant'.

Yes, they're there, but you KNOW them, you remember them. They are few.  Jesus said, "My yoke is easy, and My burden is light."  (Mat 11:30)  St. Paul says we are to "show the work of the Law written on their hearts, their conscience bearing witness, and their thoughts alternately accusing or excusing them." (Rom 2:15)

God's Law IS law!  All of the man-made statutes and regulations help us not at all in what must be our singular focus related to 'rules' - and that focus must be finding our way to eternal life.  Worldly laws will not help us get there!

I've observed the following in my own life.  I have lived in such a way so as to harm no others.  But I have NOT lived to help them.

I have lived to be at peace with my neighbor, but I have NOT loved him as our Lord has instructed me.

And so, I am guilty.

May our Lord find within me a truly repentant heart, one that desires with all its ability to conform it (and me) to His expectations for me.

Guide us all, Lord, to walk YOUR path, to seek YOUR will, to live as YOUR servants in all faith and love.  Help us to live fully within Your love for us.

Do You Believe?

It’s really the single-most salient question that we have to answer with respect to our whole life.  Do I believe?

Until faith is tested, it is only a concept.  I think I have faith sufficient to say that I believe.  But how can I know with certainty?

Holy Scripture is full of wisdom related to belief.

Let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. (Jam 1:6)

Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. (Mat 21:21)

Immediately the father of the child cried out, ‘I believe—help my unbelief!’ (Mark 9:24)

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. (Prov 3:5)

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Heb 11:1)

Enough? 

Our ‘belief’ is a reflection of the content of our hearts.  See the article on Page 2 from Abbot Tryphon.

When doubt comes to us, the Lord has shown us the way to reject it.

As Jesus walked to the Apostles on the turbulent sea, and Peter asked to come to Him on the water, it was doubt that caused Peter to begin to sink.  This is how doubt presents itself to us in our regular daily affairs.  God is there.  He has not moved.  He has not changed.  He is waiting for us, His children, to seek Him with our whole heart.

But when we doubt, we lose our focus on Him.  We cease to see Him directly and become distracted by the “things of this world,” noise, turmoil, troubles, illness, and any manner of that which attacks the physical.

As Peter sank into the waves of the sea, he did not lose faith—he lost focus.  He still believed.  The only ‘belief’ that he lost was in the Lord’s provision of grace to him to do the impossible.  We can find evidence of his continued (perhaps diminished) faith as St. Peter recognizes his failure and calls out to Jesus, Lord, save me!  The end of this encounter in scripture is our Lord saying to Peter, Why did you doubt?  By God’s grace, the impossible is possible. 

St. Paul writes, Will unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect?  Certainly not! (Rom 3:3-4)  God knows our frailty and our tendency to be swayed by the world around us.  It does not cause Him to abandon us.  In many instances those things which come upon us that test our belief are a gift FROM Him, to bring us to that point of turning back to Him, to focus on Him and NOT on the world, or the things that bring that turmoil to our lives.

So in all instances respond to the question, “Do you believe?” with a resounding, “YES, I DO believe!”  If your resolve in so doing wavers, remember the father of the young girl in Mark Chapter 9, and respond as did he: “I believe, Lord—help my unbelief!”  It’s a great prayer, confessing our weakness while simultaneously showing our dependence on the Lord for our needs.

5th Friday After Pentecost

From St. Theophan the Recluse, "Thoughts for Each Day of the Year."

Reference Rom 16:1-16/Mat 13:4-9

The parable about the sower depicts the various relationships of souls toward the word of God.  

In the first group stand those who do not heed the word at all.  They hear, but what is heard does not enter into their soul;  it lies on its surface, like the seed by the wayside.  The word does not fit within them because they have another way of thinking, other principles, other tastes.  That is why it soon disappears from memory and is forgotten, as though it had not been heard at all.

In the second group are those who hear the word willingly and receive it quickly, but do not want to bear any labor to fulfill it.  Therefore, they delight in the word - especially its promises - until a sacrifice is required.  As soon as the necessity arises to sacrifice something for faithfulness to the word, they betray it, renouncing both the word and its promises, in order to cater to their attachments.

In the third group are those who receive the word and begin to live according to it, but then give themselves over too much to the cares and the sorrows of the world, to earthly concerns which suppress all the good undertakings which had just formed under the influence of the word of God.

In the fourth group are those who receive the word with full faith and resolve to live according to its requirements, with a readiness for all sacrifices and labor, and who do not allow their heart to be tied to anything earthly.

Each of you, sit and decide which of these groups you belong to.

27Jul23-Fourth Tuesday After Pentecost

[Mat 11:16-20]  But to what shall I liken this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their companions, and saying: 'We played the flute for you, And you did not dance; We mourned to you, And you did not lament.' For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.' The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' But wisdom is justified by her children." Then He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent:

[St. Theophan on 3rd Tuesday after Pentecost]  The Lord says that we who do not hear the Gospel are like those to whom merry songs are sung, but who do not dance; to whom sad songs are sung, but who do not cry - nothing can be done with them.

We are promised the Heavenly Kingdom, most bright and joyous, but we are unmoved, as though someone else were being spoken to.  We are threatened with impartial judgment and unending torments, but we are not alarmed, as if we did not hear.  Downtrodden, we have lost all feeling of true self-preservation.  We move as ones being led directly to destruction, and have not a care for our destiny.  We have lost heart and given ourselves over to carelessness - let what happens, happen!  Such is our state!  Is this not why suicides are so frequent?  It is the fruit of modern teachings and views on man and his significance!  There is progress for you!  There is enlightenment!  

It would be better to be totally ignorant, but save your soul with fear of God than, having attained the title of an enlightened person, to perish unto the ages, never thinking for your entire life about what will happen after death.  Not a single jot shall pass from the word of God, which describes both the Heavenly Kingdom and hell - all will be as it is written.  Let everyone take this to heart as something that touches you personally; and take care for yourself, with all your strength, as long as there is time left.

Worry!

It’s an epidemic in our country, and in all likelihood throughout the world.  We worry—FAR too much, far too often.

Experts will admit that “being anxious” about things may have some positive effects.  This is NOT a statement in favor of anxiety.  But some healthy concern over things one KNOWS to be coming can lead one to a healthy level of preparation for what lays ahead.  Preparing for a job interview is one ‘positive’ example.  And if I might, preparing for confession is another, wherein focusing, being anxious to assure that I remember all I want to and need to confess, is quite healthy.  And doing so leads one to a place where, AFTER confession, that sensation of being anxious to get it right is totally washed away!

But as human beings, we allow worldly things to “eat at us.”  You know how it manifests itself.  Our mouth gets dry.  Our heart rate increases.  We become fatigued more rapidly.  Maybe we get headaches, or have trouble concentrating.  Often we get irritable.  It can lead to becoming nauseous, cold sweats, trembling of hands. 

If we allow ourselves to be impacted by worry to such an extent, worse things can develop.  Immune systems become compromised.  Digestive disorders develop.  Muscle tension increases.  Perhaps short-term memory loss occurs.  In the extreme, it can lead to premature coronary artery disease, or even a heart attack. (all this from webmd.com)

Our Lord is speaking to us on this day about such issues (Mat 6:22-33).  But He doesn’t open this discussion delving first into worry.  He opens with the eye, and the eye’s being good and full of light.  What is this light that Jesus is speaking of?

It is the Light that is Christ.  St. John’s Gospel is filled with these references.  I am the Light of the world. (John 8:12, 9:5)  I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness. (John 12:46)  This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. (John 3:19)

Jesus then points to the fact that we, as a people, are double-minded, and we vacillate between Light and dark, between Good and evil.

And the excursions toward the evil lead to anxiety, to worry, and to the things that war against not just our bodies (wearing them out, wearing them down), but our spirits.

Anxiety leads to doubt, and to losing sight of what is important.  Consider the Apostle Peter when Christ came to the Apostles in the storm on the sea, and he asked the Lord to bid him to come to Him on the water.  What happened?  The world interfered with the righteous desire to go to Christ.  It threw wind and rain and water at the Apostle.  He allowed the elements to move his focus from Christ to the “noise” that surrounded him.  If he stays focused on Jesus, he comes to Him and joins him in joy.  But he saw obstacles.  And he began to worry.

Jesus explains to us how God in Trinity looks upon us, His creation.  He gives freely to us because He loves us.

What do we do?  Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Worry will disappear!

More From St. Theophan

[Today's Gospel is from Matthew 10:9-15]

The Lord also said to the Apostles that if a city does not receive them, and will not hear their words, then it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the Day of Judgment than for that city. (Mat 10:15)

And what will happen to us for our refusal to hear the words of Divine revelation?  It will be immesurably intolerable for us.  To disbelieve the truth of God after so many tangible proofs is the same as reviling the Holy Spirit and blaspheming.  And yet we are not afraid.  The Spiritists console one person, "What judgment?  We just have to be born one more time."  The scientists explain to one another, "Whom is there to judge?  Everything is made of atoms ; they'll fly apart and that will be the end of everything."  

But, friends, the hour of death is coming; these dreams will fly apart like phantoms, and we will all be faced with inexorable reality.  What then?  What wretched times we live in!  The enemy has contrived to destroy our souls.  He knows that fear of death and judgment is the strongest means for sobering up a soul, and so he makes every attempt to drive this away, and he succeeds.  But extinguish the fear of death, and fear of God will disappear.  And without the fear of God, the conscience becomes mute.  The soul becomes empty - it becomes a waterless cloud, carried about by every wind of teaching and every fit of the passions.

["Thoughts for Each Day of the Year," Tuesday, 2nd week after Pentecost, pgs 128-129]

Soul Saturday

Tomorrow (03Jun23) we will celebrate a "Soul Saturday" Liturgy in the church to pray for our departed loved ones.

St. Theophan the Recluse has this to say about this day:

No one is lazy in commemorating his own departed parents, but it is also necessary to commemorate all Orthodox Christians - and not only on this day, but at all times, in every prayer.  We ourselves will be there [among the reposed], and will need this prayer as a poor person needs a piece of bread and a glass of water.  Remember that prayer for the reposed is strong through its communality, in that it comes from the entire Church.  The Church breathes prayer.  Just as it is in nature, when during pregnancy a mother breathes and the strength she receives from this breath passes on to her child, so also in a grace-filled way the Church breathes a prayer which is shared by all, and the power of the prayer passes on to the reposed, who are held in the bosom of the Church, which is made up of the living and the dead, the militant and the triumphant.  Do not be slothful about zealously commemorating all of our departed loved ones whenever you pray.  It will be your alms for them.

See you on Soul Saturday!

Jesus' "High Priestly Prayer"

 [Article from Sunday, 28May23]

Today we commemorate the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council.  As we do so, the Holy Church gifts to us today’s Gospel reading, which is the Lord’s “High Priestly Prayer” from the Gospel of St. John, Chapter 17.

There are a couple of “Why’s?” that you are likely to be asking.

Number one—Why is this passage referred to as the Lord’s High Priestly Prayer?  In John 14, Jesus begins to teach His beloved Apostles what is about to happen.  He tells them plainly about His departure, that they “know the way” to where He is going, and He blesses them, granting peace.  In Chapter 15 He teaches them to “remain in Him”, to love one another, and that the world would hate them, as it hated Him.  In Chapter 16 He promises them that the Holy Spirit will come to them, “to guide you in all truth.”

It is in Chapter 17 that the High Priestly Prayer takes place.  St. John makes it abundantly clear that this IS prayer by beginning the chapter with the words, “Jesus spoke these words, lifted His eyes to heaven, and said…”

Within the prayer, the Lord prays that the Father will glorify Him, that in so doing He may glorify the Father.  He prays for eternal life for those who have followed Him.  He attests to the Father that these men have in fact “believed that You sent Me.”  He says clearly, “I pray for them,” and then asks the Father to keep them, not in an earthly fashion, but a heavenly one, “that they may be one as We are one.”  This is a prayer for ultimate unity for mankind through the Holy Trinity!

Number two—Why is this passage selected on a day that commemorates the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council?

There are so many connections between our Lord’s High Priestly Prayer and the continuation, the eternal support of His Bride, the Church, that they cannot be ignored.

Perhaps some of these, not being stated with specificity, might be ignored in such a review, but when pondering the Lord’s more eternal meaning, they become obvious.

Verse 8:  “I have given them the words which You have given Me; and they received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You.”

Verse 11:  “Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You.  Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as we are one.”

Verse 15: “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.”

Verse 17: "Sanctify them by Your truth.  Your word is truth."

Verse 20: "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word;”

Verse 21: “that they may all be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they may also be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.”

The Holy Church was under attack by those who would pervert the faith, teaching heresy about the person of Jesus Christ.  His Body, His Bride, the Church, needed the unity and spiritual guidance that this prayer, prayed centuries before, would bring to preserve His Church—for all time.  The Apolytikion from Vespers says it this way:

Come you assemblies of Orthodoxy, celebrating with worship and faith the feast of the Holy Fathers.  They came to Nicea from throughout the world, and in their wisdom and piety they refuted Arius, dispelling the impious belief which he invented.  They banished him by decree of the Council of the Holy Catholic Church, teaching all to confess that Christ is the Son of God, consubstantial and coeternal with the Father before eternity, accurately defining the Canon of Faith.  Let us follow their divine doctrines and worship Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the Trinity on in essence, and undivided!

Christ is Ascended!!!

Our Father

Christ is Risen!

We are blessed to have access to many very profitable Orthodox publications via the Internet.

For some time now, we've been a recipient of a daily e-mail service entitled "Orthodox Quote of the Day."  A young man named Adam publishes the service, and within it is a daily quote from one of the Holy Fathers, to boost us all spiritually.  His side purpose in publishing the information is to request donations for building a church at Holy Cross Monastery in West Virginia.  If you're moved to donate, you can do so here:

https://www.holycross.org/pages/new-church?ref=oqotd

In this day's mailing was a quote from Metropolitan Gregory (Postnikov) of St. Petersburg.  Please read carefully his instructive words to us:

[On the Lord's Prayer] if God is the Father of every human, then there is no doubt that every man, whoever he may be, is my brother, and every woman or girl is my sister; con­sequently I behaved very foolishly if I treated some people as strangers, and did not find them deserving of even a glance or word , or considered them the kind of people to whom I do not owe any love. I acted very foolishly, and I must correct myself, otherwise I must not dare to pray using this Lord's Prayer, and therefore, must not consider myself as belonging to the number of true children of the Father God.

Operative words for a sinful priest?

I acted very foolishly.

I must correct myself.

I dare not pray the Lord's Prayer until I correct myself.

Perhaps you're thinking the same thing.  It's fascinating that we have such words (the text of the Lord's Prayer) as part of the fabric of who we are as Christians, and yet we so very seldom pause to ponder exactly what we're saying, what we're praying, and the obvious implications (obvious - once pointed out to us by someone with such clear vision as Metropolitan Gregory) of how we're "mouthing" the words with our tongues, but not "meaning" the words with our hearts!  How many times in each day do we pray the Lord's Prayer, and still not have it change us???

Thank you, Adam, for your ministry.  Today is just one example of how your efforts impact those of us out here who read them daily!

In our Risen Lord,

FrB

Sermon - Sunday of the Blind Man

 

Sermon - Sunday of the Samaritan Women