Where were you when Jesus was crucified?

Today the Church celebrates the memory of Saint John the Theologian. When Christ was still hanging on the Cross, He turned to John and pointed to the Theotokos. “Behold your mother!" And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home.” (John 19.26) John the Theologian was one of the inner circle among the Disciples. He was present at the Transfiguration and was considered one of Christ’s closest friends. He was also the only one of the men disciples who had the courage to stay at the Cross until the very end. The remainder had fled for fear. It is his eyewitness the Church depends upon for the events that day.

He wrote the Gospel of John and several letters to the global church. He finished his gospel account with these words, “This is the disciple who testifies of these things, and wrote these things; and we know that his testimony is true. And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen.” (John 21.24-25)

Today we honor the man who was our eyes and ears at the events that are our salvation, and we are thankful. 

What Sunday Worship is REALLY all About

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!" And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. (Isaiah 6.1-4)

The majesty which Isaiah witnessed when he saw God being worshipped in Heaven was also expressed in the Temple which God commanded Moses to construct for His People to worship Him on Earth. For a better description of how Moses was commanded to construct the Temple, read Exodus chapters 25-28 all of which express the majesty of God.

This SAME majesty is expressed in Orthodox Christian worship. Golden candlesticks, incense, Altars, Thrones, Vestments, precious metals and stone are all integrated into Orthodox Christian worship for a reason – to prepare us for being in Heaven.

Many Protestant Churches today express quite a different atmosphere to their worship. Rather than the majesty of heaven, many Church services Sunday mornings “feel” more like a night club. Rather than bowing and reverencing the Altar of God, many Church services Sunday mornings lift up the human passions rather than the mantle of God. In fact many Christians validate this by using the expression “It felt awesome today in Church!” or “I get so lifted up when I go to Church!”

On the contrary Saint Paul and Saint John the Theologian had quite the different reaction to seeing God being worshipped in heaven, much the same as Moses and Isaiah.

And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. (Revelation 1.17)

And I know such a man -- whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows --how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. (2 Corinthians 12.3-4)

The Orthodox Church has a centuries-long witness in the lives of countless holy men and women who have had visions of God, ALL OF WHOM express similar stories as we find the Holy Scriptures. So, if we are preparing as Christians to worship God in Heaven for all eternity, why would we not express that same majesty in our Earthly worship? Of course as Orthodox Christians, we do, are at least we should.

The trend in mega-Churches toward the night club atmosphere is obviously attractive to many in today’ entertainment culture, but does it REALLY prepare believers for what is coming for all eternity? If God taught that the way to salvation was in taking up our cross and denying ourselves, it would seem that Sunday worship would focus, not on what makes us FEEL good, but the awesome majesty of being in God’s presence. Would a believer, if they were in the presence of God, REALLY worry more about feeling good than bowing in reverence at the Altar of God?

When you come to Church on Sunday, please consider the REAL reason you are worshipping God. If you are focused more on how you “feel” rather than being in His Presence and glory, you may not be preparing yourself and your family for what is coming in Heaven. Don’t you want to be prepared?

2013 New Testament Challenge – Day 39 (Reflections on Revelation 1-11)

Every year I participate in a special effort called the New Testament Challenge sponsored by a priest of the Orthodox Church in America. He encourages Christians to spend the Christmas Fast, also known as Advent) reading the entire New Testament as a preparation for Christmas. Each year I have done this, it has been blessing to me and I pray this year will be no different. As part of the New Testament Challenge, I endeavor to blog a bit about the reading for that particular day. I may miss a few, but I pray for those who follow this blog (NOW ALSO ON FACEBOOK) it will be a blessing.

If you’ve been a follower of my blog for any length of time, you already know I don’t make it a habit of publicly preaching/blogging about Revelations. It is the ONLY New Testament book not publicly read aloud in the Lectionary of the Church. (meaning the chanter doesn’t read it during the services in the same way the other New Testament books are read) It is only excerpted by including certain verses in prayers, hymns and Holy Icons. You will find some people preach/teach about it, but I have found that if the Church’s wisdom proves correct, there is a good reason it isn’t read publicly any longer in the Church. The basic reason for this, by the way, is to avoid its abuse. There was a time (and it seems to be here again with certain Churches) that Christians attempted to predict the return of Christ, or even to frighten Christians into submission. Since it is a book of prophesy and allegory, it isn’t possible to predict its outcome, especially since Christ said we wouldn’t know when He was returning. He even said,

Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. …the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of.” (Matthew 24.4-50)

So if Christ won’t tell, why should we try? Don’t be deceived by ANYONE (Orthodox or not) who tries to convince you that he knows the time of Christ’s return.

So today I just want to remind you of the ancient Holy Tradition of the Church – BE READY! What we can definitely understand from Revelation is that Christ IS returning, and He WILL judge the entire creation. And since we don’t know exactly WHEN….let’s just be ready NOW so we don’t have to worry about it. That’s the emphasis we can understand.

Until tomorrow…..Remember being prepared for Christmas is just a hint of what we are REALLY preparing for.

The Truth is God

2013 New Testament Challenge – Day 36 (Reflections on John 12-21)

Every year I participate in a special effort called the New Testament Challenge sponsored by a priest of the Orthodox Church in America. He encourages Christians to spend the Christmas Fast, also known as Advent) reading the entire New Testament as a preparation for Christmas. Each year I have done this, it has been blessing to me and I pray this year will be no different. As part of the New Testament Challenge, I endeavor to blog a bit about the reading for that particular day. I may miss a few, but I pray for those who follow this blog (NOW ALSO ON FACEBOOK) it will be a blessing.

I absolutely LOVE the Gospel of John. It is filled with rich theology and speaks genuinely of the love of God for us. It described how much God loves us in allowing (as I mentioned yesterday) us to depart from Him, but it also shows how much His disciples loved Him. They followed Him loyally until the time of His death on the Cross. They even sat in fear after His death when they thought “all was lost” and that He wasn’t the Messiah they had expected.

Is God EVER what WE expect Him to be? Our expectations are filled with selfish desire. Our understanding is most times limited to by how “truth” affects us. Of course truth, if it is truth, is ultimately objective. Jesus said of Himself, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14.6) Pilate asks, “What is truth?” (John 18.38) If Pilate had asked, “WHO is truth,” maybe he would have recognized Jesus.

Saint John Chrysostom said, “The reason we comment on Scripture is not only for you to get to know Scripture but for you to correct your behavior.” So, if we are to read the Gospel of John, we must ask ourselves, “Do we know WHO the truth is?”  Well….do you? Find an Orthodox Christian Church and find out!

Until tomorrow…..The truth is not relevant. It cannot be altered to suit your needs. You must alter YOURSELF to suit the truth. The TRUTH is God.

W4T (Word for Today) – δἐος – awe

It seems like we hear this word daily. “It was so awesome,” or “I have some awesome news for you.” In both these cases, the word “awe” has the attribute of joy and success attached to it. But if you consider the word in its verb form, “φοβερίζω – to be in awe” we also see the root connected to fear. But awe is not fear as we would think it today.

We are told to be in awe of God. However, the excitement commonly associated with awesome just doesn’t fit. So most settle upon the idea of fear, and MANY Christians lives in fear of God, but God doesn’t desire us to fear Him….or does He?

The Lord said to Isaac, “I am the God of your father Abraham; do not fear, for I am with you.” (Genesis 26.24)

Saint John the Theologian (the one whom Jesus loved – see John 19.26) said, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. (1 John 4.18)

But then Saint Paul says, “Do not be haughty, but fear” (Romans 11.20) and “The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me? (Hebrews 13.6)

And in Acts we read, “And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied.” (Acts 9.31)

On the surface it might seem like a conflict. In Greek, the word we read as “fear” has many uses including, but limited to, “be afraid.” In EACH case above, the use is NOT “be afraid” but (based upon the citations listed above, which are not exhaustive by any means) ONLY Genesis and Saint John’s, “There is no fear…” uses the characteristic of “be afraid” and in this case we are NOT supposed to be afraid.

So today, walk in the awesome contemplation of the Lord (Acts 9.31) . Do not be haughty, but cautious (Hebrews 13.6). But whatever you do……do be afraid of God. He doesn’t want that.