Savage Wolves and Perverse Doctrines

In the reading today from the book of the Acts of the Apostles, St. Paul warns us that there will be times of trouble for the Church, with attacks that will come from without and from within. The attackers will be, as he calls them, “savage wolves.” As the Church grew, and people’s lives were transformed, so that they no longer lived according to the ways of the world, but rather according to the way of life in the kingdom, those who ruled on Earth perceived the Christians as a threat to their own power and authority. They tried to suppress the Church, to silence the proclamation of the Gospel of our salvation in Jesus Christ – and when they felt it was necessary to accomplish these things, they did not hesitate to imprison, torture and even kill those who by word and by deed proclaimed their loyalty to Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

St. Paul also warns that there is another source of danger, another form of attack from these “wolves in human form.” He says that there will come people from within the Church herself who will proclaim perverse doctrines, and will seek followers for themselves, whom they will lead away from the true Faith in schism and heresy and even paganism.

One such teacher and leader was a priest named Arius. He didn’t necessarily start out with the intention of deceiving the faithful in his care; and it is possible that his start down the road to heresy began with the best of intentions: to glorify God. But the teaching he proclaimed began to make it seem as if the second Person of the Holy Trinity, the Son of God Who took on our nature and came to save us, was not quite God. The controversy this stirred up among the faithful led to a decision by his bishop to stop teaching this about the Son of God. Arius responded by fleeing from that bishop, going to another diocese, where he continued teaching as he had before. It wasn’t long before this was causing trouble again; and as others spread his teaching throughout the Church, the turmoil was spreading. The Church was in danger of being torn apart by the struggle between those who sided with Arius and those who opposed him.

At the time this problem was developing, the Emperor Constantine, who, upon becoming the Emperor, ended the persecutions of the Church with the issuance of the Edict of Milan in 313 A.D. He was laboring to unify an Empire that had been divided, and he looked to the Church to be the nucleus around which everyone could be brought together. The last thing he wanted was a division in the body to which he looked to bring unity to the realm; and so, in the year 325 A.D. he summoned the bishops of the Church to his vacation city of Nicaea, not far from his new capital in Constantinople. When they opened their deliberations, he charged them, among things, with resolving the controversy that was the result of what Arius had been teaching.

When this meeting – the first Ecumenical Council – completed its work, they had, by a unanimous vote, declared that what Arius had been teaching was a heresy. They also declared what is the true Faith in a summary form. That summary, with a small addition that was added at the Second Ecumenical Council, is used in every Divine Liturgy of the Church, and in our private prayers as well. We call it the Nicene Creed; and it teaches us about God, the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, and about the Church. This is why we mark today as the celebration of the holy Fathers of the First Council.

The warning that St. Paul gave to the Church leaders with whom he met in Ephesus is a warning that we should heed today. The attacks upon the Church have been many – there is certainly no need to explain this to those of us in the Russian Church! Other false teachers have come from within the Church; and there are some today, and there will certainly be more in the future. What, then, are we supposed to do? How do we respond to the warning St. Paul has given to us?

What we must do, brothers and sisters, is to become so familiar with the Orthodox faith, and the Orthodox way of life, that we will immediately recognize when we hear something contrary to the faith being taught or discussed. To do this, we must be reading and learning from the holy Bible, the teachings of the Fathers, and the lives of the saints. We must pray and fast; we must give from what God has given to us; we must attend the worship services of the Church as often as possible; and we must live in such a way that the life of Christ will be seen in everything that we say or do. If doing these things, if living the life of our Lord given to us when we were baptized is seen by the world as a threat – and it is being seen as a threat in many ways in this land, in this city, today – so be it. We do not seek power in this world; and we will obey the powers of this world, except when doing so will cause us to depart from being the servants of God and the disciples of Christ. We do not seek power in this world, but we do desire the overthrow of the rule of the prince of this world, the enemy of our salvation.

May God grant us the grace and wisdom and strength to grow knowledgeable in the Orthodox faith and to live the life of His kingdom in this world, to the glory of God, and the salvation of our souls!

Healing Those Born Blind

Christ is risen!

If we weren't blind, we'd be able to see signs of the presence of God all around us. If we weren't blind, we would look around in church, and see the saints and the angels gathered to worship with us. The saints have seen wondrous things. Young children, in their innocence, sometimes see angels close at hand. We might see them, too – but we can't, because we're blind.

Part of the problem is that we think we can see. The fact that we can see the material world around us using the eyes of our physical bodies fools us into thinking we are not blind. That's unfortunate: We aren't going to ask to be healed, because we don't know that something is wrong with us.

The man we meet in the reading today from the Gospel according to St. John the Theologian knows that he is blind. He knows he has a problem. His problem is solved when our Lord finds him, and gives the man his sight. The way in which this miracle is performed can teach us in several ways.

Think back to the account of the creation found in the book of Genesis. "In the beginning," it says, "God created the heavens and the earth." How does God create? He said, "Let there be light"; and suddenly there was light. Throughout the entire act of creation, God speaks into being all that exists, with one significant exception. When it comes time for the creation of humanity, God says, "Let us make man in our own image"; and rather than giving a command, as He had given to the water, that it might bring forth fish and all the creatures who live in the sea, and as He had commanded the air, that it be filled with birds and all flying creatures, and as He had commanded the earth to bring forth living creatures, in making mankind God formed Adam from the dust of the earth. In a way, we might even say that God got His hands dirty when He made us; He was actively and deliberately involved in making us who we are; and having formed a body, He breathed into it the breath of life, and man became a living soul.

Now we come back to the man born blind, and the miracle of his receiving his sight. How does our Lord Jesus Christ work this miracle? He takes once more the dust of the earth, and moistens it from His own spittle to make it a paste, which He then applies to the man's eyes. He then commands the man to go and wash away the mud in the pool at Siloam. When he obeys the command, his sight is given to him.

Brothers and sisters, those of us who have been baptized were not merely blind. We were dead. Yet, in our baptism, we were buried with Christ in His death; and, raised up out of the water of the font, we were raised with Him Who has arisen from the grave, trampling down death by His death. So, as the blind man washed in the pool of Siloam, we have been washed in the water of baptism. We need to understand this if we are to see truly, if we are to see with new eyes, if we are to see more than just the material world, for we who are made in the image and after the likeness of God do not live only in the material world – we live in the realm of the spirits as well.

There were two parts, two activities in the healing of the man born blind. The first was the act of our Lord, Who made the dust of the earth into a paste with His spittle, and then this being put on the man's eyes. The second part was the action of the man going to the pool, and washing himself there. Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the miracle of His Incarnation, has taken for Himself a material body, made of the dust of the earth, just as we have been formed of the dust. It is the same body in which He lived, and worked miracles. It is the same body in which He Who as God cannot die, suffered death on our behalf, to set us free from death. It is the same body with which He rose from the grave to a life that has no end. It is the same body with which He ascended into heaven, and in which He is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. He shares Himself with us, in order that we might become like Him. Having been washed, we must go forth in faith we must do our part, we must live according to the way of life we learn in the Church: praying, as did our Lord Jesus Christ; fasting, as our Lord did; struggling to overcome the passions by which we are tempted to sin, as the Lord did during His forty day fast in the desert, following His baptism. We must give from all that we have, and give of ourselves, as our Lord gave Himself for us all on the Cross.

When we pray; when we fast; when we struggle; when we give; when we love; when we are humble; when we forgive – then we are doing our part, as the man born blind did his part by going to wash in Siloam's pool. By desiring and working to show the life of Christ in our own lives, we are being transformed; and one day, perhaps even in this life, we will see God, and the rich life of the spiritual world of the saints and angels who are all around us. We have already been healed. May God grant us grace, so that we may see!

Finding Our Place in the Story: Samaritans? Or Jews?

We are all familiar with the encounter our Lord has at the well where He meets the Samaritan woman, as we heard today in the reading from the Gospel according to St. John the Theologian. He asks her for water; she asks Him how it is that a Jew asks for water from a Samaritan; and through the course of the conversation our Lord reveals Himself, first by knowing her sins, and her situation, and then saying explicitly, when she has expressed a true faith in God, and that the Messiah God had promised would come, that He is the One they have been waiting for. In response, she goes into the village and urges the residents there to come and meet someone who knew all that she had ever done. As a result, many more come to believe with her that Jesus is the Messiah, the Anointed One of God.

This is the main part of the story; but the Fathers tell us that there is more to be found, if we will look for it. One aspect – the background, if you will, of this story, or its context – is the relationship between the Jews and the Samaritans, which serves as the springboard to the encounter of our Lord with the Samaritan woman. As always, we need to be alert to our own part in the story, for, when we can discern this, we are much more likely to grasp more of the lesson we are meant to derive from the holy Scriptures.

The Jews disliked, even despised, the Samaritans, and held them in contempt. The Samaritans had fallen into idolatry, but then repented, and returned to the worship of God, while claiming to have preserved the faith while the Jews had changed it while in exile in Babylon. The Jews rejected the claims of the Samaritans that they were also of the house of Israel, and had no dealings with them. Indeed, when our Lord sent His disciples out on their missionary journeys, He told them not to enter the cities of the Samaritans, but to go only to the Jews.

From this, we might think that the hatred and the rejection of the Samaritans was the right thing to do. Yet we find our Lord at a well outside a Samaritan village, and He does not hesitate to speak with a woman of that village, to lead her, and those whom she will bring to Him, to belief in Him and so to their salvation. Consider also, that the man who was on the road between Jerusalem and Jericho and was robbed and beaten and left for dead was not helped by one of his own people, but rather by the Good Samaritan. Remember that, of the ten lepers who were healed, only one returned to give thanks to the Lord, and he was a Samaritan.

St. John Chrysostom points out that whenever our Lord came to the Jews, they rejected Him; while the Gentiles, when they saw Him passing by, were drawn to Him, and asked Him to stay with them. The Jews were envious of Him, and angry; while the Gentiles believed Him, reverenced Him, and obeyed Him. When the Jews questioned our Lord, they did so to try to trick Him or to trap Him; while the Samaritan woman asks Him questions with respect, and with a desire to learn. The Jews did not want to hear Him, and tried to prevent others from coming to Him; while she, having heard, brought others to Him as well.

Do you know our place in the story? The Jews were the "chosen people" and the ones with whom God had made His covenant. The Jews were the ones to whom God had given His law. The Jews were the ones to whom the prophets were sent. The Jews were the ones who had been given the knowledge of the Messiah Who was to come and set free the people of God. Of whom can this be said today? The Church, of course! We are the ones who have been chosen by God to have His law written, not in stone, but on our hearts. We are the ones who know the prophecies, and that these have been fulfilled in Jesus Christ our Lord. We are the ones who have been given the knowledge of the way of life that transforms us from creatures on earth to citizens of the heavenly Kingdom. The Church is the new Israel; but we must beware, we must be careful not to be like the Jews, who considered themselves more worthy than others because they were the people God had chosen as His own. We must not consider ourselves better than others, but instead see only our own faults – for in this way we will be humble, rather than proud, arrogant, and prone to hating others. We must fast and pray; we must give of ourselves, and from what God has given to us. We must fight against our passions and seek to put in their place the virtues that are pleasing to God. We must, as St. John Chrysostom tells us, be like the Samaritan woman: drawing near to the Lord while being aware of our sins; we must hear what He is saying, and do what He says; and we should bring others to Him, so that they may also hear Him, and follow Him.

Brothers and sisters, let us hear what the Fathers are teaching us. Let us be like the Samaritan woman, and draw near to God, and help others to do so as well by being transformed in thought, word, and deed. Let us worship God and honor Him, and so become citizens of His Kingdom.

Christ is risen!

Rise, Walk, and Sin No More

In the reading today from the holy Gospel according to St. John the Theologian, we hear of how a man who had sought a miracle of healing for a period of thirty-eight years was met by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who restored the paralytic to physical health and strength. If we listen carefully, we will hear two instructions – commands, really – that our Lord gave to the paralyzed man; and we will also discern the deeper impact of being restored to health.

As we consider these things, we need to recognize our own place in the story. When we recognize that this story is as much about us as it is about the man paralyzed for thirty-eight years, we will find ourselves the beneficiaries of the wondrous power and presence of our Lord; and we will hear His commands as applying to us as well. How are we involved in the story? As the man in the Gospel is physically paralyzed and cannot help himself, we are spiritually paralyzed and cannot help ourselves until we have entered the pool touched, not by an angel, but by the Holy Spirit. What pool is this? Why, the baptismal font. There, having our moral infirmities taken away, we are made whole, made clean, and given new life, just as the man who had been paralyzed received through his encounter with the Lord Jesus.

The first command given is this: "Rise, take up your bed, and walk." Although he did not know who it was that gave him this command, the paralyzed man believed, and acted upon his belief. That is to say, he had faith; and by that faith, he ceased to be weak and unable to move. Rather, he could stand, where he could not do so before; and the restoration of his strength was such that he could pick up the bed on which he had suffered, and carry it away. So, too, is given to us the opportunity to overcome the weakness of our will – the defect introduced into our being by the disobedience of Adam and Eve, our first parents. We are to rise once more to the level of having a will in agreement with, and in obedience to, the will of God; and to walk in that strength as we carry the burdens and cares of this life. But to do so, we must believe that this has, indeed, been done for us; and we must put this belief into action, in what we say, in what we do, in how we live.

The second command given is this: "Go, and sin no more, less something worse should come upon us." The Fathers teach us that there is quite often a connection between bodily suffering and sin. It is rare for someone to suffer from an illness or an injury and not to feel the physical pain arising from that illness or injury. Rarer still is the person who is pained in their spirit because of their sins; yet the damage to our souls from our sins can be so great that it can, as the Fathers say, "spill over" and affect our bodies as well. St. John Chrysostom says of the man in the Gospel today that his ailment was the result of his sins; and that he had suffered for his sins for many years. As a result of meeting our Lord, the man had been made whole; and he is told, "sin no more"; a warning that a return to his sin could well result in his paralysis returning to him, or even something worse. It is important for us to recognize that, because we will go to great lengths to relieve physical suffering, but do next to nothing to relieve the sickness and infirmity of our souls wounded by sin, that God may allow us to become ill, to call attention to our need to repent of our sins and to confess them, and to adopt a new way of living. If we do not, if we continue to live in the ways that had wounded us, we may again suffer in this life; and will most certainly suffer without hope of release in the fires of Hell in the age to come.

Finally, there is the impact of the healing upon the man who had been paralyzed. He told everyone who asked him – even those who rebuked him – what the Lord had done for him. So, too, should we always be prepared to tell anyone who asks what the Lord has done for us. Of course, those who knew the man who had been paralyzed would wonder how it was that he had been restored to strength and health, and so would be moved to ask him how such a thing had happened; while those who did not know him, but saw him carrying his bed on the Sabbath day and so rebuked him heard about the coming of the One Who is the Lord of the Sabbath. This means that we must live in such a way that those who know us, and so are aware of our sinful ways, will see us walking in a new way, and in a new strength, and so be moved to ask us how such a thing is possible. We must live according to the will of God, and the way of the Church, even when this brings us into conflict with the law of the land, or the spirit of the age. We must speak up for what is right and true and pleasing to God, even if our culture says that it is right to live contrary to what God has said – and we must be ready to give them an answer that testifies to our faith that Jesus Christ is the Lord and Savior of our lives.

This is no small task; but if we will ask God for the grace and strength to bear witness to His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and to walk in His ways, we will find power from on high to fulfill His commands. We will have the strength and the courage to rise, and to take up our beds, and walk, sinning no more, and telling all of our salvation in the One Who heals us and makes us whole: our Lord Jesus Christ, risen from the dead.

The Myrrh-bearing Women and Salvation

How often do you think about your salvation? Most of us probably don't think about it at all, except perhaps when we're doing our morning or evening prayers, or when we realize we've done something terribly wrong. When we do think about our salvation, it's probably in terms of what we have done; and of what we must do to make up for what we have done – that is to say, what we have done that is wrong, harmful, to ourselves, and to others.

Today we celebrate the myrrh-bearing women, who came to the tomb of our Lord on the morning of the third day after His death. Remember how this is counted: the day our Lord died on the Cross, great and holy Friday, is the first day. The second day, great and holy Saturday, is when His body lay in the tomb, while He Himself descended in hades to destroy the power of death and to set free the souls held captive by death, to lead them up on high. Now it is very early in the morning of the third day – Sunday – today. The women could not come on the second day, as it was the Sabbath, and what they had come to do was considered work – and no one was to work, for that day had been given by God to His people as a day of rest. So it was on the third day that they came, bearing sweet spices, with which they would anoint the Lord's dead body before wrapping Him in a winding sheet, as was the custom of the Jews.

As we celebrate the myrrh-bearing women, we honor the love that brought them out on a mission that was absolutely unnecessary. Why was it unnecessary? The first reason is given to us in the reading today from the Gospel according to St. Mark. Joseph of Arimathea had already wrapped the body of the Lord in fine linen. The second reason should be obvious to us today, although Joseph and the myrrh-bearers, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome did not believe what the Lord had told His disciples – that on the third day He would rise. What need is there to anoint a body and prepare it for burial when He is no longer dead?

So it is also for us. It is far too easy to think that the right thing to do – as the myrrh-bearers had sought to do what was right according to the Law – is to go through all the motions of being Orthodox. We think about how to cross ourselves, and when; when we should make a bow, and when we should make a prostration. We read the labels on foods in the store during fasting seasons, just in case the 17^th or 18^th or 23^rd ingredient is sodium caseinate, which comes from cow's milk, or gelatin, which may be from a cow's hoof. We should be careful about all these things, about every practice we learn in the Church about how to live an Orthodox life. But these things, important as they are, do not bring about the salvation of our souls. These things are the myrrh and sweet spices that we bring – but if we do not do everything for the love of God, and for His glory, than our labors are just as useless as was the effort of the myrrh-bearing women to prepare the body of our Lord for burial. We must instead examine our hearts, and bury every impulse and desire for the things of this world, so that we offer our love to God; and that we also take care to love those who are made in His image, and after His likeness – everyone on the face of the earth. When we find our hearts drawn not to power or pleasure or riches or fame, but instead to love for all, hatred for none, to humility, to patience and forgiveness and charity and worship – then have we done our duty to the Lord, then have we honored Him rightly and in truth.

Brothers and sisters, let us pray asking God for the grace to be anointed by Him with His Holy Spirit, so that we who are the Body of Christ may live in the way that honors Him with our love, and show Him living in our midst, so that those who still dwell in darkness and the shadow of death may come to Him and receive the gift of life eternal in the kingdom of heaven.

"Without Proof, I WIll Not Believe!"

At the beginning of the reading from the Gospel according to St. John the Theologian, we hear how the disciples of the Lord were gathered together with the doors locked, for fear of the Jews. Our Lord Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, appeared to them in that room, blessing them with the gift of peace. He showed them His hands and His side, where the nails had been driven through Him, and where the spear had pierced His side, with blood and water flowing out. After this we hear that the disciples were glad, when they had seen the Lord.

Remember that we who are called by His name – Christians – are told that we must follow Him. When we do so, we, too, are His disciples; and so here we are, as were they, gathered together on the first day of the week. Our Lord Jesus Christ is also here, even if we do not see Him as they did. Nor are the doors locked out of fear; indeed, the doors are open, and anyone who desires to seek Him is welcome to enter. We are not afraid; but are we truly His followers? Or are we more like Thomas, who was not with the others that day? They told him what they had seen; but he refused to believe until he had proof; until he could see the wounds, put his finger in the hole made by the nail, put his hand into the wound left where the spear had pierced.

Does anyone here today need proof? What will you do when no such proof is given to you? How easy it would be for the Lord to appear in our midst as He did that day; but even if He did, would we then believe? How often would He have to appear in order to convince us? How likely would we be to fall into deception if we required such a vision as Thomas required?

Thomas had to see in order to believe; yet our Lord told him, “Blessed are they who do not see, yet believe.” As St. Paul said, we walk by faith, and not by sight. We do this to be worthy of Him, and to be worthy of a place in His heavenly kingdom. I pray that each one of you knows and has experienced the love of God for you in Jesus Christ. I pray that each one of you is moved by that love to love Him in return, and to love Him more than you love or care for yourself, or for any power or pleasure or profit this world has to offer. I pray that each one of you be transformed by His love, to leave aside your attachments to this world, and to show Him forth in what you say, and what you do. I pray that each one of you may be humble and gentle, forgiving, and loving, so that those who need to see Christ may see Him in each one of us, and so be drawn to Him, and walk with Him in faith, with us. And if you are not yet there; if you have yet to know the love of Christ, and to feel His peace, and desire Him above all else in life, may you be blessed by Him as you do what so many have done before: seek Him in the words of holy Scripture; seek Him in the worship of the Church; seek Him in a life of prayer and fasting and giving; seek Him by laboring to overcome your passions. For He said, “Ask, and ye shall receive; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.”

Brothers and sisters, we have the testimony of those who saw Him risen from the dead – even that of Thomas, thanks be to God! We have the testimony of those before us who have endured suffering and death seeing with the eyes of faith what eyes of flesh can no longer see. Let us seek Him this day, and each day of our lives, with the sure and certain hope that we who today do not see Him clearly will be blessed to see Him, if nowhere else, in His kingdom. Let us not be faithless, but believing in the One Who has risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon us all bestowing eternal life.

"Of Thy Mystical Supper, O Son of God..."

Of Thy Mystical Supper, O Son of God, accept me today as a communicant, for I will not speak of the Mystery to Thine enemies, nor will I give Thee as kiss, as did Judas, but like the thief do I confess Thee: Remember me, O Lord, in Thy kingdom.

As our Lord spent forty days in the desert after being baptized in the Jordan River by St. John the Baptizer, fasting and praying in order to prepare Himself to accomplish His mission, so too have we, through the course of Great Lent, been called to fast and to pray, so that we, too, might be strengthened for our mission: to save our souls, and to proclaim that Jesus Christ is our Lord, risen from the dead, giving life unto all. The period of Great Lent culminated with the Resurrection of Lazarus, called forth from the tomb, alive four days after having died. As a result of this miracle, when Our Lord entered into Jerusalem, He was greeting by adoring crowds who called out to Him, "Hosanna!" But as that week went on, as the feast of the Passover drew near, things changed.

He cleansed the Temple, driving out the moneychangers, overturning their tables. He taught those who came to hear Him in parables in response to the scribes and the Pharisees, who questioned His authority to teach. In these parables, He warned the people of the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, foretold the destruction of the Temple, and told His disciples of His coming death and resurrection. Then, as He kept the Passover, He interpreted it anew for His disciples, showing them the deeper meaning, and giving them instruction to continue the feast with this new understanding.

Today, we who are called by His name -- who are His disciples, insofar as we follow Him -- are with Him and them in that upper room; for the Lord is not bound by time and space. The bread and wine presented here today are blessed by Him to be His Body and Blood, as He did that day, so long ago. We eat what they ate; we drink what they drank; and we are blessed as they were blessed.

It is sad to see that only a handful have gathered here today to take part in this Mystical Supper. Yes, the demands of the world can, and do, weigh heavily upon us. But I cannot help but recall the parable of the Wedding Feast, when the Lord of the feast saw the hall only partly filled, and so called His servants to go out into the highways and hedges, and to gather everyone in until the banquet hall was full. We are His servants; and so we must also heed the call, and bring in those who do not yet know the love of God for us in Jesus Christ, of His great mercy, nor of the forgiveness of sins, nor of the new life He desires to give to us all.

Brothers and sisters, let us keep the feast of our Lord, and take to ourselves the spiritual food and drink He gives in His Body and Blood; and let us ask God for the grace and strength we derive from these gifts to be faithful servants, and to so let the life of Christ be seen in and through us, that this "banquet hall" of the church, and every church, may be filled, to the glory of God, and the salvation of souls.

A Change of Heart; From "Hosanna!" to "Crucify Him!"

The crowds who has heard of Lazarus being raised from the dead turned out to see the One Who had raised him when He made His entry into Jerusalem. They greeted Him as they would a king, with palm branches, symbols of victory, and cries of, “Hosanna!” which, put another way, would be a cry of, “Save us!” Indeed, it was for this purpose that He had come. Their prayer for deliverance would be answered at the end of that very week; but before He had accomplished His mission on our behalf, many of those who had greeted Him with joy when He entered were in the crowd that shouted out, “Crucify Him!” What brought about this change of heart?

The question is a significant one; something each of us who stands here today holding a palm branch should ask; for we have joined them today in calling out to our Lord Jesus Christ, “Hosanna!” But when we go forth from here, back into the world, back into the demands that all the aspects of life in the world place upon us, do we, because of our sins, in effect cry out, “Crucify Him?”

Many of the people who greeted our Lord this day where hoping that a king from the royal house of King David would come to set them free – and, indeed, such a King had come. But they were looking for Him to establish an earthly kingdom. They were looking for a King who would lead them in battle against those who oppressed them, to cast out the Roman Empire from the land that God had promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They were looking for a kingdom of peace and prosperity – but they could only envision that kingdom on earth. Our Lord Jesus had come to establish His kingdom; but as He will tell Pilate, His kingdom is not of this world. Our Lord Jesus had come to lead us in battle against those who oppress us, but this was not a war against an earthly nation, but rather a battle against the demons. He came, not to cast out an earthly empire, but to lead us, a new Moses, from this world in which we are the slaves of our passions to the land of peace and prosperity God has promised to us – to dwell once more in His intimate presence in His heavenly kingdom.

They were looking for heaven on earth; and when they did not see it, many turned against Him. We, also, live in a time and culture that is seeking heaven on earth: in effect, a heaven without God, in which we are the masters, and answer to no one. This is what Lucifer, the highest of the angelic beings, sought to achieve: to overthrow God, and take His place as Lord of all. So it is, brothers and sisters, that we must examine ourselves, and guard our hearts, and with every part of our being, with every bit of our energy, we must embrace the Orthodox faith and the way of life we learn from the Church, so that we will not be deceived; so that we will not be distracted from the pursuit of heaven; and so that we will not turn our cries of “Hosanna!” into shouts of “Crucify Him!”

May God, in His mercy, give us the strength to endure, that we may remain faithful servants of His, so that He may be glorified, and we may be saved.

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St. Mary of Egypt: The Battle Against the Passions

As you have been making your journey in life to the Orthodox Church and faith, you have probably encountered in the lives of the saints miraculous things taking place: saints who, while praying, have been lifted off the face of the earth, drawn toward the heavens; saints who have walked on water; saints who have healed the sick; even saints who have raised the dead. You have probably wondered, “What has changed? Why don’t these things happen today?”

As you have taken up your cross to follow our Lord Jesus Christ, you have undoubtedly fallen short; and, as you confess your sins, you find that your confession is essentially the same as the one you previously made; and that one was like its predecessor, and so on. You have probably wondered, “Why can’t I change? Why are my sins the same today?”

We have reached the fifth Sunday in Great Lent, a day dedicated to St. Mary of Egypt. You are probably familiar with her life, which we read here in the church last Wednesday evening, with the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete. She herself tells of her youth, and how she was given over to satisfying the passions of her flesh. There was no form of sexual indulgence that she would restrain herself from practicing; and she took delight in seducing others to join her in the same. This was her way of life until she was prevented from entering a church on the day of the Elevation of the Cross. Given a gift of insight, she repented of her sins, and having faith in the protection of the Most Holy Mother of God, she went into the desert.

We live in a desert. From what I can tell, the desert in the Holy Land is very similar to what you can see and experience here, once you’ve left the city behind, and gone out into the wilderness. There’s an incredible difference between being alone out there, and our life today. Think of all the distractions available to us: movies; television; books, magazines, newspapers, theaters, to name just a few. We are seldom alone; and even when we are, we usually turn to one of the many forms of entertainment available to us, so that we do not have to confront ourselves and our situation.

This is not how it was for St. Mary. No food, apart from what she could find in the desert; no clothing, as what she had worn when she fled to the desert turned to rags and fell away; no forms of entertainment to ease any boredom or to fill the empty hours; and no one to talk to except God Himself. So it was that she found her desires returning to her again and again, the urge to return to the way of life she had practiced prior to coming to the Cross. She fought these temptations with prayer, unceasing prayer, striking herself on her breast while recalling the vow she had made to the Theotokos; or falling prostrate on the ground with tears and prayer for the temptation to pass away – and not ceasing to weep and pray, even if it meant remaining where she was for a day and a night, until the desire to sin had departed from her, replaced by the peace of God, the calm after a storm.

Who among us has done such battle against the passions? Think of how difficult it is for most of us to keep a simple rule of prayer, taking a few minutes during the day to be with God, to open to Him our hearts and minds. Think of how difficult it is to keep the fast; and how we will indulge ourselves with the glorious Pascha of our Lord. Think of how difficult it is for us to take a portion of what God has entrusted to us in material prosperity and give it away for the work of the church and to help those in need. Rather than confronting ourselves with the asceticism needed for us to become the masters of our passions, rather than the slave of our desires, we do not run to the desert: we run to those things that take our attention away from the kingdom of heaven, and bind ourselves ever more tightly to this world, and to our comfort and ease here.

We are about to start the final week of Great Lent this year. By the grace of God, there is still time for us to take steps toward the transformation of our being, to become a bit more ascetic in our life, to venture just a bit into the desert, leaving the world behind and drawing closer to God. Let us fast; let us pray; and let us ask God to accomplish our transformation from who we are today to being more and more in the likeness of His Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Holy mother Mary, pray for us!

Deny Yourself, Take Up Your Cross, and Follow Me

(3rd Sunday of Great Lent) (Mark 8:34b-9:1)

At the end of today’s reading from the Gospel according to St. Mark, our Lord says, “There are some who will not taste death until they have seen the Kingdom of God come with power.” The fathers tell us He is speaking of Peter, James, and John, who saw Him shining with the uncreated light of His glory on the mount of Transfiguration. At the time of His incarnation, leading to His Passion, and to Pascha, His victory, where He tramples down death by death on our behalf, He appeared to be nothing more than just a man. When He comes again, He will come in glory – He will not be mistaken for anyone else, He will not appear to be anything more than just a man. At that time, He will come to judge the living and the dead – each one of us will appear before Him to give an account of our lives, of all we have said and done, and of all we have failed to say or do. The righteous will enter into the joy of the reward the Lord has prepared for them; the unrighteous will depart into suffering. No one, the fathers tell us, will be sent to hell. Rather, it is the weight of our own sins, unconfessed and unrepented, that will keep us from rising to be in the presence of God.

There is a way for us to follow that will lead us into the kingdom of heaven, into the paradise of the presence of God. That is the way of the Cross; and we do well to consider it as we come to this, the midpoint in our journey through Great Lent, the Sunday of the Veneration of the Precious Cross. The Cross is where the victory was obtained for us; and the Cross is the way we must go to leave this world behind, and enter into the Kingdom of God. “Whoever would follow Me,” our Lord says, “must deny himself, and take up his Cross.”

What does it mean to deny ourselves? Blessed Theophylact writes that we can learn what it means to deny ourselves by considering what it means to deny another. What do we tend to do when we see the suffering of another person? Do we intervene? Or do we go our way, and say nothing? To deny ourselves is to say nothing when it is us who are suffering – to consider ourselves as to be of no value in this world, and so to endure whatever comes our way in this world without protest, without complaint.

What does it mean to take up our Cross? It means to be willing to suffer, even die, for Christ. At some times, and in some places, this means a martyr’s death. Yet even when it is not a literal death, we are called to be willing to endure the ridicule and rejection of a “social” death – to be cut off from those who live in the world around us because we choose to follow the way of life we have been blessed to receive in the Church, rather than to live according to the ways permitted in the world. We are meant to be witnesses to Christ, to show Him present in the world because He is living in us – and so we live according to holiness, and not the way of the world, the flesh, and the devil.

“Before Thy Cross, we bow down to Thee in worship, O Master; and Thy holy Resurrection, we glorify.” Grant us grace, O Lord, that we may not deny Thee, but may deny ourselves, and take up the Cross of holiness, and make the journey through Great Lent to Thy glorious Pascha, and so be found worthy, in Thy mercy, to enter into Thy kingdom. Let us glorify Thee in word and deed, so that our souls may be saved; and we may bear witness to others, that they also may be saved.

Physical and Spiritual Illness

(2nd Sunday of Great Lent) (Mark 2:1-12)

In today’s reading from the Gospel according to St. Mark, we hear of the healing of a man who is sick with palsy; a condition that may refer to being paralyzed, with weakened muscles and possible tremors. He is all of us: paralyzed by sins, weakened by worldly thoughts and ways of life, and unsteady in all our ways.

When everything is going well, it is easy for us to live the Orthodox way of life. Praying is not a burden. It is easy to fast. We are generous with alms. We are not troubled by our sinful desires. But when the going gets tough, such as when we are sick, things are different. It’s difficult to pray. Fasting becomes a challenge. We don’t think of others, only of ourselves. We often indulge our weaknesses, using our sickness as an excuse.

The fathers teach us that we find out who we truly are in times of temptation and adversity, such as being ill. We are pushed by circumstances, challenged, and so reveal who we are. In the case of the man sick of the palsy, we might suppose that he realized his condition, and asked to be brought to the Lord for His help. If we are wise, we will do the same whenever we find ourselves in difficult circumstances.

Our Lord does not immediately heal the man; but rather, forgives his sins. We don’t usually like to consider this, but there is usually a connection between our physical state and our spiritual condition; and when we are ill spiritually, we may find this causing physical illness as well. Of course, we should always be considering how we live, and confessing and repenting when we find that we have sinned; and we should give thanks to God for the difficult circumstances that show us who we are, and how much work we each still have to do to become the person God wants us to be.

When the man sick of the palsy is healed in his body, our Lord tells him to take up his bed and walk. By doing so, the man shows that he has truly been healed; and, we are meant to know, that his sins were, indeed, forgiven. So it is with us. When we have examined our lives, and repented of, and confessed, our sins, the promise of God is that our sins, also, are forgiven. Trusting in the mercy of God, we, also, should take up our beds and walk – that is to say, we should also show, in deeds as well as in words, that we have been changed, that our souls have been healed. There should be something different in who we are, and in what we say and do, after we have repented and confessed. If there is nothing different, we need to ask ourselves whether we truly have repented, whether we have confessed everything – and again, if we find anything, repent, and confess – and be different.

As we journey through this time of Great Lent, this season of preparation for the celebration of our Lord’s Pascha, His triumph over death on our behalf, let us ask God for His grace to see our illnesses and our weaknesses and our wickedness; let us ask for grace to repent and confess; let us ask Him to forgive and heal us; and let us then take up the labor of living the life of Christ for all to see, to the glory of God, and the salvation of our souls.

Made in the Image of God

(The Sunday of Orthodoxy) (John 1:43-51)

Today, the first Sunday of Great Lent, we celebrate the Sunday of Orthodoxy. If we were at our cathedral in San Francisco, after the Divine Liturgy we could see the “Anathema” service. Here, amid prayers for the protection of the Church, the restoration of those who have departed from the Truth she declares into heresy, and the conversion of the unbelievers, are recalled the many false teachings, and teachers, that the Church has encountered in her existence. After each false belief has been mentioned, the people cry, “Anathema!” as the bishop who is presiding makes a dramatic gesture with the dikhiri and trikhiri – the two- and three-stemmed candles he holds, with which he usually gives a blessing to the faithful. On this day, however, he turns them down and away as the “anathema” is proclaimed – signifying that the Church rejects the false teaching described, and excommunicates those who support that lie in place of the Truth.

The remembrance of this day as the “Sunday of Orthodoxy” began with the end of the 7^th Ecumenical Council. It was at this Council that the Iconoclastic heresy was anathematized. It was the decision of this Council that the veneration of icons was not a violation of the Second Commandment that God had given to us on Mount Sinai through the holy prophet Moses.

In all probability, many (if not all) of us who have come to the Orthodox Church and Faith from a Protestant background had to wrestle with the question of icons. This was certainly true in my own journey to the Faith. God has said, “Thou shalt not make unto thyself any graven image or likeness.” We hear from the prophets and the apostles and the fathers of those who “worship the created, rather than the Creator.” We know that there have been, and are today, those who ascribe mystical powers to clan totems and animals, such as the Bear, the Lion, and so on. We know that the Egyptians worshipped beings – “gods,” as far as they were concerned – who had human bodies with animal heads: a hawk, a jackal, and so on. Even the Israelites, while Moses was on the mountain of God receiving the Ten Commandments, made for themselves an idol of a golden calf to worship. We live in a material existence; and the temptation is always there for us to confuse the material for the spiritual – and so, ultimately, to worship the creation. Indeed, when we sin – which is to say, when we choose to do our own will, rather than what God has willed for us – we can truly be said to be worshipping ourselves – a form of self-idolatry.

How is it, then, that the Church could say that it is not only possible, but even, in a way, necessary, to venerate the icons? Doesn’t this, in effect, violate the Second Commandment?

In her wisdom – which we trust is guided by the Holy Spirit of God – the Church at the 7^th Ecumenical Council noted that, by becoming incarnate, God had made Himself known to us. No longer was it impossible to truly and faithfully portray an image of God, as envisioned in the Commandment – for now God was with us; and He had been seen by us, had moved about in our midst as one of us, a bearer of human being. The icons bear witness to the reality of the Incarnation of the Second Person of the Trinity in the flesh; the icons tell us that Christ was truly God and truly human – and to believe otherwise is anathema. When we grasp this teaching, we are better equipped to grasp the teaching of St. Athanasios the Great, who said, “He became as we are, in order that we may become as He is.” And there is more.

The simple application of pigment to wood that we call an icon is not the most important part of the gift we have received from the Fathers of the 7^th Council. We need to recall that humanity is created in the image and after the likeness of God. So not only are we meant to venerate the icons we see in the Church, and in our homes – we are meant to venerate the saints who are depicted there, for they, also, by the quality of their lives, bear witness to Christ, Who is God in the flesh, come to us to bring us to Him. Not only are we meant to venerate the saints who are celebrated – we are meant to venerate each other, for we, also, are made in the image of God; and we who have been baptized and chrismated bear the likeness of Christ. We are all icons; we all are able to show Christ to the world, for He dwells in us, and desires that we live in Him.

Would you spit on an icon? How, then, can you have contempt for another human being, who is an icon of Christ? Would you defile an icon? How, then, can you defile yourself by your sins, you who are an icon of Christ? As we bow down before the icons of the saints, out of respect for the testimony of their lives, and out of love for them whose love for our Lord is so great that it took them from earth into the deeper reality of the heavenly life, so, too, we should humble ourselves to all around us, thinking the best of them, and the least of ourselves. We should care for them and for their needs, for when we reach out in love to help another, we have the opportunity to do so for our Lord as well.

Brothers and sisters, let us ask God for His grace, that we may faithfully bear, and show to the world, Christ in us, our hope of glory. Let us humble ourselves in veneration of the image of God in all; and let us love one another, as Christ loved us, and give o ourselves as He gave Himself, an offering and sacrifice to God. If we will do so, we will receive the unending love and blessing of God; not only for ourselves, but for others, as well. If we will do so, Orthodoxy will triumph in our lives; and to the glory of God.

Forgiveness Sunday and Great Lent

(Sunday of the Casting Out of Adam) (Matthew 6:14-21)

Today is the last Sunday before Great Lent, the period of preparation for the celebration of the Pascha of our Lord, and of our being set free from the death we have earned as a result of our sins. On this Sunday in the church year, we are called to remember that Adam and Eve were cast out of Paradise because they chose to follow their own will and so disobeyed God, rather than submitting their will to the will of God in obedience to Him. Every time we choose the way of sin over the way of righteousness, we repeat the sin of our first parents; and so we also are denied a life in the presence of God.

Even so, God does not abandon us. He calls us to return to Him, to confess our sins, and to ask His help to transform our lives, so that we do not continue on the way that our first parents chose, but rather to return to the way of obedience to His will, and to walk in His ways, doing what is good and pleasing to God, loving and caring for all who are made in His image, tending to His world as His stewards, and seeking humility and righteousness on our part. In short, we are called to show forth in our lives the life of our Lord Jesus Christ, given to us in Holy Baptism, empowered by the Holy Spirit in chrismation, fed an nurtured in us by the Holy Mysteries of the Body and Blood of our Lord, and by the words of the Holy Scriptures, and the teachings of the holy Fathers, and the lives of the saints. Our Lord Jesus Christ, Who humbled Himself to take on our nature, and Who lived in obedience to the will of God, and was righteous in all things, having been abused in word and deed, as He was dying on the Cross, forgave His tormentors – and all of us who stand with them every time we sin – and so we also mark this day, and the entry into the journey of Great Lent, by forgiving others, and asking forgiveness of each other – making this also “Forgiveness Sunday.”

The “journey” on which we are about to embark takes place in time and space, as we seek to turn aside from worldly pleasures and pursuits, and use our time to pray, and worship, and study the Bible and the teachings of the Church. In doing so, we must keep in mind the truth that the world is not our home. We need to remember that the people of God who had been set free from their slavery in Egypt, and were being led to the Promised Land, looked back with longing on the things they had enjoyed in their life of captivity, and even desired to return to them, rather than completing the journey on which God Himself was leading them. We who have been set free, not merely from slavery, but from death itself, may also be tempted to turn our attention to the desires of our flesh, and the pleasures and comforts of this world. But let us be strong, brothers and sisters, and fix our resolve to make the journey, and, whenever we find ourselves growing weak in that resolve, call upon God for grace and strength, and renew our commitment, and increase our labors to be less ourselves, and more and more the people God desires us to be – bearers of the likeness of His beloved Son, and fellow laborers with Him Who saves us.

This world is not our home; and the emptiness that follows each and every time we obtain what we have desired in this world tells us that we must seek fulfillment not in our passions and in our earthly life, but in the way of life of the Kingdom of Heaven. Let us lay aside all earthly cares; let us remember the love of God that saves us; let us seek to deepen that love within ourselves; and in that love, let us seek to keep a holy Lent – to the glory of God, and the salvation of our souls.

Love and the Last Judgment

(Sunday of the Last Judgment) (Matthew 25:31-46)

Two weeks ago, on the Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee, we saw a contrast between pride, the source of all other sins, and humility, by which we struggle against our sins, and find the way to forgive others. Last Sunday, the repentance of the Prodigal Son, with his humility, is contrasted with the righteousness of the elder son, who hardens his heart against his brother who had misused the gifts he had been given, indulging himself in satisfying his passions according to the ways of the world. We also saw the forgiving love of the father, who rejoiced when his son, who had been lost to the world, returned; and that love which led him to go to his other son. He spoke to him to assure him that he, too, was loved, and would also obtain a blessing – and the father pleaded with him to forgive his brother for the sake of the love the father had for him.

Now, we see why it is so important for us to understand these contrasting choices and ways of life, and to make our own choices as to how we will live accordingly. Our Lord tells how it will be on the great and terrible Day of the Lord, when we are all called to account for our choices, and the way we have lived. The way of pride and hardness of heart will lead to being placed among those who are told they are cursed, and will spend eternity in the fire that has been prepared for the devil and his angels; the way of humility and forgiveness, the way of love, will lead to an eternity of blessed communion with God and the saints.

Here’s something to think about: Each of us has a ministry to perform. What is that ministry? While each of us has been given different gifts and abilities – as was the prodigal son – we all have something in common. Every Orthodox Christian has been given the life of Jesus Christ, risen from the dead. It is not something we deserve, even if we were without sin – and, of course, we are not. It is not something we can earn – it is a free gift given to us by God, Who loves each one of us, has called each one of us into being, and calls each one of us to share our lives in a relationship of love with Him. He also desires that this relationship of love never end; and, I am sure, if it was up to God alone, there would be no one placed on the left hand, to depart into eternal fire and torment – His love for us is that great. No, it is up to us, each one of us, to choose. What must we choose? To fulfill our ministry. What is that ministry? To show forth in our own lives the life of Christ, planted in us by the grace of God in baptism.

Our Lord Jesus Christ lived without sin; so when we seek to do the same, we show Him forth to all the world. We have the life of the Church to strengthen and guide us, to help us to achieve success on this path. Our Lord Jesus Christ was obedient to the will of the Father. He endured the insults and abuse hurled at Him without anger, without hatred, without resentment. His love for us is so great that He suffered all these things, and death on the Cross, and the darkness of the tomb, to save us from death, and make possible life without end in the joy of heaven.

This is the love that makes it possible for us to go beyond ourselves to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, house the homeless, and to visit and comfort those who are sick or in prison. This is the love that led the Lord to stretch out His arms on the hard wood of the Cross; and this is the love that our heavenly Father has for us, and from which comes the forgiveness of our sins.

Brothers and sisters, let us give thanks to God each day for the love that saves us; and ask God each day to let that love flow from us, so that we might be like Christ, and enter into His kingdom, and the joy He has prepared for us. Let us turn aside from loving ourselves, and love God, and all who are made in the image of God, that He may be made known, and glorified, and we may have hope that our souls will be saved.

A Tale of Two Brothers: Healing a Divided Church

(Sunday of the Prodigal Son) (Luke 15:11-32)
(The New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia)

Last Sunday, we were called to consider the contrasts between the Publican and the Pharisee, between pride and humility. Today, the Sunday of the Prodigal Son, we are again presented with two contrasts, between the Prodigal, who took the wealth given to him and squandered it by indulgence in worldly pleasures, and his elder brother, who remained faithful to his father’s ways, but was hard-hearted. The Prodigal Son repented of his sins; but the elder brother was unwilling to accept this repentance, and was clearly disturbed by the reception his brother received upon his return home.

We know the story, and we know the contrasts in it, and we know whom we should emulate. As we know that we should be like the Publican in his humility, and not proud, like the Pharisee, we know that we have sinned, and have departed from our Father’s house. We have wasted the time and resources and abilities He has given us that were supposed to be used for the good of others to satisfy our own sinful, worldly desires. We know that we who have been like the Prodigal Son need to come to our senses, and return to our Father’s house, and repent, and seek no honors, but be willing to take the lowest place. We also know that we should not treat others as the elder brother treats his father, and the brother who was lost and now has returned. All of this, of course, is easer said than done.

Today is also the day we commemorate the New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Church, who suffered and died at the hands of the Bolshevik government that came to power in Russia, and which tried to destroy the Church in the Russian land. Some of you have heard me say before how my own journey to the Orthodox Church and faith and way of life was helped by two understandings: that the Church, the Body of Christ, is One, and that to be apart from the Orthodox Church was therefore to be outside the Body of Christ; and the second was the testimony given to the power of our Lord and His Church by the New martyrs and Confessors of Russia, whose sufferings were not long ago and far away, but close at hand, indeed, occurring even in my own lifetime. The living faith of the ancient Church was found in them, and made their witness possible, even unto death – and I had to be a part of that Church and faith and way of life in order to save my soul, and the souls of may family – and so we became Orthodox.

There is something remarkable about these two events taking place on this day, a connection I cannot help but make while pondering the Prodigal Son and the New Martyrs and Confessors. As you may know, the Russian Church, of which we are a part, was wounded by the Civil War that followed the revolutions of 1917, and the rule of the Bolsheviks thereafter. As a result of grievous circumstances, a division arose in the Church. Now, after many years, and many steps, if things go as presently announced, on May 17, 2007, the Feast of the Ascension of our Lord, our Metropolitan and the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia will sign an Act of Communion that is meant to bring to an end the division that arose from revolution and war. I offer this for your consideration.

It would be fair, I think, to say that, if we try to draw parallels between the parts of the Russian Church that have been divided, that our perspective has been that the church in the Russian land parallels the Prodigal Son, departing from the house of faith and dwelling with the pigs, and only later coming to her senses; while the Church Abroad remained faithful to the ways that had been entrusted to us by our fathers in the faith in the Russian homeland. In this, we are more like the elder brother; and therein lies the danger.

Was the Prodigal Son without sin after his return to his father’s house? Certainly, he repented, and was received back home. We don’t hear any more of the story; but if he was like us, we can say with certainty that he sinned again. The key is his act of repentance – and that was good enough for his father, who did not expect a complete transformation, and put no conditions upon his son when he returned, but rejoiced that he had come back. His elder brother also sinned by hardening his heart against his brother, and speaking disrespectfully to his father. Di he also repent? We do not know. Did he reconcile with his brother? We do not know, but can only hope that he did not place so much importance upon his righteousness that he hardened his heart, and so could not share his father’s love, for only that love makes forgiveness possible.

Is the Church in Russia perfect? No; for a church is always made up of sinful people. Are there problems and behaviors that need to be addressed? Of course. But we also need to ask, are we, the Church Abroad, without sin? No, for a church is always made up of sinful people. Do we also have problems and behaviors that need to be addressed? Of course.

The leaders of the Church in Russia have repented, and desire that the wounds between us be healed. Our hierarchs have decided that the time to act to bring about this healing is now. Thus, the question for us is: Will we be like the elder brother, and reject our brothers who were lost, but now have come back home? Or will we be like the father who rejoiced when his wayward son returned, and welcomed him back, welcomed him with love, even though he undoubtedly knew that his son would sin again?

May our Lord, Who blessed and sustained the New Martyrs and Confessors in their sufferings, and Who rejoices to receive us, prodigals, when we repent and return, grant us not to harden our hearts, but to trust in Him, and in His love, and in His Church, which we hope and pray will be healed.

What's Your Excuse?

(Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee) (Luke 18:10-14)

What’s your excuse?

What excuse do you use to justify the choices you make and actions you take that lead you to sin? If you’re like the rest of us, you excuse boils down into one of two basic responses. Either we think to ourselves – or say to others – “I’m entitled”; or else we claim as our defense, “Everybody else is doing it!”

It’s pride that leads us to think we’re entitled to have or do what we want. It’s pride that leads us to think we are better than others, more deserving, more important. It is pride that leads the Pharisee to consider himself to be a better person, and so more deserving of God’s blessings, than he thinks the Publican should receive. It was pride that led Lucifer, the highest of all the angels, to think himself equal to his Creator, and so to rebel against God; and it was pride that he stirred up in Adam and Eve to lead them into sin and death. Sin and death are the only place to which following pride can lead us.

The virtue that opposes pride is humility. How much different would our relations be with every other person in our lives, known or unknown, casual or deep, if we were humble, instead of proud? Husbands and wives, parents and children, brothers and sisters, friends and neighbors – how much different would our world be if we learned only to see and condemn our own sins, and to be blind to the sins of others, so as not to judge them? How much different would our lives, and our world, be if we took responsibility for what we have said and done and thought and felt, and forgave others without waiting to be asked, and considered everyone else to be more worthy, more honorable, more deserving than we are ourselves? The path to this humility begins by our striving to be like the Publican, not drawing near to God as if we were worthy, but bowing down in His presence, and beating our breasts, and saying, “O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.”

As for the excuse, “Everyone else is doing it,” we don’t need to turn to the Fathers for instruction here – because I’m sure you’ve already heard from your mother about this one! “What if everybody is jumping off the cliff? Are you going to jump off also?” That’s what my mother always said when I tried to justify doing something I knew was wrong, or to escape the consequences for having done so. If we’re honest with ourselves, we’ll admit that the excuse that “everyone else is doing it” is, in fact, already an admission of guilt – and we’re trying to spread our part of it out against everyone else – as if doing something wrong could be set aside because enough people did the same thing. Even when it might work out that way in the world, God doesn’t work that way – and we know it.

Brothers and sisters, we cannot prove ourselves worthy in the eyes of God, for there is nothing we can do by ourselves to overcome our passions and our sins. When we live by our own strength and wisdom, when we live by the ways of the world and our flesh, we are living as if we are spiritually dead – and so we are. Having been baptized into Christ, let us put on Christ, and dedicate ourselves to making His life and His ways known in and through our own. He humbled Himself, and so should we. He was obedient to God the Father, and so, too, should we. He loved everyone and brought hurt or harm to no one – and so, too, should we.

In the week to come, we do not fast, so that we cannot stand with the Pharisee and boast of what we have done. Let us strive to be like the Publican; let us strive to be like our Lord Jesus Christ: humble, obedient, and loving – to the glory of God, and the salvation of our souls.

The Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand

(32nd Sunday after Pentecost) (Matthew 4:12-17)

We are creatures of time and space. We live and move and have our being within the regions of length and width and height, and the passage of time. Scientists and philosophers imagine and discuss existence beyond space and time; but for most of us, the reality in which we live is defined and delimited by these dimensions.

God, of course, is beyond space and time. This isn’t hard to grasp, even if we cannot conceive of what such an existence might be like; for space and time have their being in creation, and God, as the Creator, is greater than His creation. Among other things, this gives added significance to events that we have celebrated recently. Two weeks ago, we celebrated our Lord’s entry into space and time, as He took on our human nature, was born as we have been born, and dwelt as one of us. This past Friday, we celebrated His baptism in the Jordan River, and the beginning of His earthly ministry, which will be completed, in one sense, by His death on the Cross and His resurrection from the dead.

Today, we hear of the start of His earthly ministry. Our Lord Jesus Christ, having been baptized so as to fulfill all righteousness on our behalf, came up out of the waters of Jordan and was revealed as the Son of God, as the Father was revealed by His declaring, “This is my beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased”; and as the Holy Spirit was revealed by descending upon our Lord in the form of a dove. He then went into the desert to fast and pray for 40 days; and overcame temptation by the enemy of our salvation. When He returns from the desert to the world of men, He takes up the proclamation of St. John the Baptizer: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

“The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” What does this mean? This is a question for us to consider, knowing what we know: that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, Who died on the Cross, and rose from the dead for our sake, and has ascended into heaven. We know that He is King of kings and Lord of lords. Thus, as a King, he dwells in His kingdom; and, because He is God, and so is not limited in time and space, His kingdom is everywhere. Standing here today, in this place as His Body, the Church, we are in His kingdom. So we can immediately come to understand that the Kingdom of heaven is near us; it is, “at hand,” because we are already in it, as He is here with us.

Our Lord tells His disciples, “The kingdom of heaven is within you.” We can also grasp this, as all those who have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. He dwells in our hearts; and so the King is within us, a part of our being, and so His kingdom is there. He is meant to rule over our lives; and His kingship at this time is such that His “rule” is not that of a dictator, issuing commands which we must obey, but rather that of a guide, Who desires nothing more than that we learn to walk in His ways and do His will, in order that we might never be at risk of being exiled from His kingdom. In His love for us, He desires that we allow Him to live in us, that we might forever live in Him, and share in a relationship of love that cannot be broken. But when we live, not according to the ways of the kingdom, but rather according to the ways of the world, and the desires of our flesh – when we give ourselves over to sin, we harden our hearts, and cut ourselves off from Him – and so we do not benefit from being in the kingdom, but live instead as rebels and enemies. Brothers and sisters, this should not be. How tragic it will be, to have the kingdom of heaven so close at hand, and fail to receive the blessings that are ours!

There is another meaning as well to our Lord’s proclamation of the kingdom that we must all realize, for it is meant for our blessing as well. When our Lord declares, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand,” He refers, the fathers tell us, to the day when He returns in glory to judge the living and the dead. On that day, His victory on the Cross will be completed; and His enemies will be forever cast down. How terrible will that Day of Judgment be for those who are found to be outside His kingdom! Yet there is hope: for if we embrace the life of the kingdom now, before that day; if we love the Lord will all our heart and soul and mind and strength, and put that love into action by seeking holiness, and the overcoming of our passions; if we love our neighbors as we love ourselves, and act with patience and mercy and forgiveness and forbearance, as God does in His dealings with us – then we need have no fear of the Judgment Day, for we will find that we have already been living in the Kingdom, and lack only its fullness, which we will enter at that time.

There is one more point we need to know, and it is this: The Lord desires that the proclamation of the kingdom be continued today, and He entrusts this ministry to each of us. What we say, and what we do, how we think, how we live, says to everyone around us how we feel about the kingdom. Do we take it seriously? Or is it of little or no concern to us? Again, if we know of the love of the Lord our God, and desire above all to walk in His ways, we will be messengers of the kingdom, and find our reward, both now and in the age to come. Not only will we find salvation for our souls, but we will help others to be saved, as well.

Brothers and sisters, let us embrace the high calling of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us live as citizens of the kingdom of heaven; and ask God for grace to show this forth to the world, that those who do not know may hear and see, and so find their way to the kingdom as well – to the glory of God, and the salvation of souls.

Partners in the New Covenant

(31st Sunday after Pentecost) (The Circumcision of our Lord)

When God established His covenant with Abraham, promising that Abraham would be the father of many nations, with more descendants that there were stars in the sky or grains of sand on the beach, He also gave Abraham a command: All of the males who were to participate in this covenant were to be circumcised. The command was repeated to Moses, and then to Joshua. The sign of circumcision was a sign of those who were a part of the covenant; and those who disobeyed the command of God were cut off from the covenant, and to be cast out of the community of the people of God.

When our Lord Jesus Christ was eight days old, his parents, in accordance with the command of God, took the young child to be circumcised. He Who had given the covenant now was obedient to His own command, and was circumcised in the flesh that He had obtained from His mother, the Ever-Virgin Lady Theotokos. Later, when He presents Himself to be baptized – which feast we will celebrate later this week – He gives an explanation that also accounts for His circumcision: that He might fulfill all righteousness.

In the early days of the Church, there was a controversy raised when some were requiring converts to the Faith to be circumcised before they were baptized. The apostles acted to declare otherwise, and the apostle Paul wrote that those who were circumcised should not seek to change their condition; while those who were uncircumcised did not need to be circumcised in order to be baptized. As a result, baptism became the sign of the New Covenant in Christ – and all believers (not just the men) were to participate in this mystery, as a sign of their acceptance of the New Covenant.

So, each of us who has been baptized into Christ has entered into a covenant with God. What is that covenant? It is not the Law – that covenant is the covenant of circumcision. Indeed, St. Paul writes that those who are circumcised to fulfill the Law are responsible for keeping all of the Law. The Law is not bad; but the Law, by itself, is unable to save us. We are called, rather, to love: To love the Lord with all our heart and soul and mind and strength, and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. This is consistent with how the prophets of old understood the act of circumcision. The cutting of the flesh of the body was not only the sign of acceptance of the covenant; it was a direction to a deeper transformation that was required. “Circumcise your hearts,” the people of God were told. They were called to holiness, as an act of love toward God; and to acts of charity to those around them, as a way of loving our neighbors.

Brothers and sisters, our Lord was obedient to the command, and was circumcised in order to fulfill all righteousness. Will we be obedient to the command to love, and live so as to fulfill all righteousness, as Christ loves us, and gave Himself for us as an offering and a sacrifice? Will we give of ourselves, setting aside our pride and our pleasures, so as to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, house the homeless, and visit the sick and those in prison? Will we set aside our pride and our pleasures to give from what we have for the work of the Church? Will we set ourselves aside so that Christ may be seen in and through us, holy and righteous and without sin? If we will, we honor God, and fulfill the covenant He has made with us to save our souls. If we do not, we are at risk of being cut off from the covenant, and cast out of His community. The choice is ours…

Bearing Christ

(The Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ) (Matthew 2:1-12)

Christ is born!

Of course, today we celebrate the Nativity of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Whose birth fulfills prophecy. He is called Jesus, which means, “the salvation of God.” This was the message the angel gave to the shepherds: “Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, Who is the Lord’s Anointed One.”

We rejoice that God’s love brought Him to save us by taking our humanity upon Himself. We rejoice that God’s love for us is so great that He forgives the repentant sinner, and calls each of us to be joined to Him, as He has joined Himself to us. These are all great reasons to celebrate His birth in the world.

But even as we keep this joyous Feast, too many of us repeat another part of the story of His Nativity. You’ll remember – as we heard in the reading yesterday at Great Vespers – that when Joseph found that his betrothed, the Theotokos and ever-Virgin Mary, was with child of the Holy Spirit, he resolved to “put her away” in private. He was a righteous man, and so could not take into his home a child that was not his own; but he was also a merciful man, and so did not seek to have Mary judged according to the law – the penalty for what she had done, conceiving a child by a man other than the one to whom she was betrothed was death by stoning – but sought to end their betrothal quietly. He shows us both the righteousness and the merciful love of God; and he shows us also the way of obedience, in that, when the angel of the Lord instructed him about the child, Joseph followed the command of God, and took Mary, and accepted the child as his own.

Each of us should be ever-mindful of the truth that, by our baptism, Christ has been born in us. We have been given His life – the life He has, risen from the dead. We have been given the power of the Holy Spirit in our chrismation, so that we can accomplish the high calling we have: to show Christ forth in the world, by what we say, by what we do, by the way we live. We have access to the power of God in the holy Mysteries of the Church, and especially in the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. But too often, we turn our back on these truths, as if we were trying to “put them away” privately – as if we bore some illegitimate existence, rather than the life of the Risen Lord.

Brothers and sisters, this should not be! As we rejoice with the feast of our Lord’s Nativity, let us remember and give thanks that He Who was born into the world to save our souls has also been born in us – that we have been born again in Him. Let us rejoice that we have life, and the Lord of life dwelling within us – and let us, by the prayers of the Theotokos, bear Him and show Him forth in the world, even as she has done – to the glory of God, and the salvation of souls.

Christ is born!