Those who have not seen and yet believe

Eight days after Christ’s glorious resurrection from the dead, He appeared for a second time to His Disciples. This time Thomas was present unlike the first time Christ appeared to them. Just eight days earlier Jesus had appeared to His Disciples, but since Thomas wasn’t in the room to witness it for himself with his own eyes and hands, he found it impossible to believe. Now eight days later, Thomas could see and touch Jesus and he said, “’My Lord and My God’. Jesus said to him, ‘Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’” (John 20.28-29)

The truth of the resurrection is something that without God’s grace and the help of the Holy Spirit, is impossible to believe. God blessed many in the days following His glorious resurrection by appearing to many, and because of those witnesses we have received the Gospel stories of His resurrection. Since the first days, the Church has continued to message the Disciples first said to Thomas, “We have seen the Lord.” (John 20.25)

Now is our chance to respond with the words of Thomas, “My Lord and My God.” We have not seen, and yet we are asked to believe. God has promised blessings for us because of our faith. If you are finding it hard to speak the words of Thomas, consider the other voices – the myrrh bearing women, the Ever-Virgin Mary, the thousands who witnessed Jesus alive after His Crucifixion. Finally consider the Church which has stood as His witness to the world for twenty centuries. If you still struggle to call Jesus your Lord and God, ask Him for help. He will provide what you need to believe. He helped Thomas, He will help you.

Christ is Risen!

The day you have been working so hard for has arrived. Today is the Feast of Feasts, Holy and Great Pascha. Many of you have been with us for our entire Great Lenten Journey, while some have just arrived during Holy Week. To each of you, we here at Be Transfigured (it really is just me) would like to congratulate you for the effort. But as always at Be Transfigured, your work isn’t over yet...

Just because we are celebrating the Feast of Pascha, doesn’t mean that we still don’t have much further to climb and grow in order to achieve what we Orthodox call “Theosis” or Divination. Great Lent and Holy Week weren’t about getting to today, but getting to heaven. Today is a joyous landmark for sure, but tomorrow the “real work” begins.

Once the excitement of Pascha has settled, your souls will still crave to spend time with God. Only without Great Lent and Holy services to attend it will require more dedication on your part to make the time to attend Divine Liturgy and as many other services your local Orthodox Christian Parish offers. Without constant posts about Lenten recipes and fasting techniques, it will require more dedication on your part to keep the Wednesday and Friday Fast throughout the year, although THIS WEEK OF PASCHA is fast free.

So don’t fret, don’t panic, don’t sit on your laurels! Enjoy the Feast of Feasts with a glorious banquet and start putting into action the tools you have learned during your Great Lenten and Holy Week Journey. I’ll see on the other side of Pascha (as I am writing this in advance as I will be asleep early Sunday morning) so have a blessed Pascha and as we say at Be Transfigured, Don’t forget to live a new life in Christ.

Christ is Risen!

Father Athanasios

Arise O God and Judge the Earth

On Holy and Great Saturday we gather in the early morning for what is known as the First, or Small, Resurrection. The Great Vespers of Pascha includes prophecies from Jonah in which we witness the resurrection of Christ foretold to us centuries before it ever took place. Then something glorious takes place after the Old Testament Readings and Epistle.

Instead of the normal Alleluia verses, the Church rings out with bells and singing. “Arise O God and judge the Earth, for You shall rule all nations through Your inheritance.” Bay leaves fly through the Church as even the Earth celebrates the announcement that Christ is no longer in the Tomb.

The Church celebrates Christ’s journey to Hades and His raising of Adam and Eve, John the Baptist and the rest of the righteous men and women of the Old Testament. The Church celebrates Christ rescuing us from death.

Today is the ONLY Saturday of the entire year when strict fasting is practiced to commemorate Christ’s time in Hades. We will celebrate with Him again when He is resurrected. Until tonight, we celebrate in anticipation of His victory. 

Has Pascha Changed the Way You Live?

A couple weeks ago we were blessed to come together and celebrate another Pascha – the Feast of Feasts – the Resurrection of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We prayed, we sang, we lit our candles, and we feasted. But has your life changed at all? Other than spending a few hours in Church during Holy Week, is your life different this month than it was last month? If the answer is, “NO,” then you’re missing something in the celebration of Pascha.

As Orthodox Christians, we believe that Jesus Christ, the Eternal Incarnate Word of God, took on human flesh, lived as a human being for thirty-three years, was crucified, died and was buried, and was RESURRECTED on the Third Day – all so that death no longer had any power over the rest of us humans. This is the Good News that we sing at every service for forty days after Pascha.

Christ is Risen from the dead

By Death trampling upon death

And to those in the tombs

He has granted life!

For the first Christians, this Good News gave a new hope that life, despite its challenges (and there are many) is greater than what we experience on Earth. Life begins here on the Earth, but last for all eternity (thanks to Pascha) with God in Heaven. This new hope changed the way the first Christians lived their daily lives. It changed the way the first Christian interacted with other members of society. It changed the way the first Christians understood the Love of God. Has it changed you?

The Christian Way of Life, the Orthodox Way, is a life dedicated to living in total communion with God AT ALL TIMES. It is a life in which God’s love shines in the way we interact with others. Do we guilt, shame, force, or otherwise trick others into certain behaviors or situations? God would never use guilt or shame to force us to love Him. OR do we show respect for the freedom of others and live OUR lives honoring God. Do we share our financial blessings with those who are in need? Do we share our time with others who are lonely? Do we share our knowledge with others who are struggling? The first Christians were known for the love and assistance they shared with others, including the very enemies who were killing them.

The first Christians lived a life that was radically different than at any other time in human history BECAUSE of Pascha, and the hope that the Good News offered. The Good News hasn’t changed....has it changed you?

The Woman is the Neck

In the now famous scene from My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Mrs Portocalos proudly announces, “The man is the head, but the woman is the neck. And she can turn the head any way she wants.” We may laugh at this “truth” of marriage, but the important role of women in the life of the Church should not be underestimated. It was the women who remained faithful until the end at the Tomb of Christ. It was the women who carried the Good News of the Resurrection to the Apostles. And it is the women of the Church that have continued throughout the centuries to “turn our heads” so we could hear the Word of God, and help to keep our hearts pure.

If you doubt the importance of the role of women in the Church in spreading the Gospel of the Resurrection, you only need to return to midnight on Pascha. The Church hears the Good News that Christ is Risen from the Myrrhbearing Women. “But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you.” (Mark 16.7) Many of us also can remember our mothers and grandmothers bringing us to Church as children. They were “turning our heads” toward a life in Christ. Were we listening?

On the Thirds Sunday of Pascha, the Church reminds us of the important role pious women played in the initial Good News of the Resurrection. They were the first evangelists in the truest sense. It was only because the women “turned the heads” of the Apostles that they gained enough courage to go to Galilee and see the Lord for themselves. They were listening.....are we?

I Have No Man

On this week's episode of Be Transfigured - Live a New Life in Christ! we discuss the healing of the paralytic who had been waiting for Christ thirty-eight years. When Jesus asked, "Do you want to be made well," his response was poignant when he said, “I have no man to put me into the water.” Jesus is the man we all need, the only true authentic human being who has come to save us from the paid and brokenness of this world. Whatever we need, He is willing to give us for our salvation. 

What do You Want from God?

Early in Jesus' earthly ministry, He came across man who had been paralyzed for thirty-eight years, who was lying by the pool of Bethesda. At certain times during the year, an angel of the Lord would come down from heaven, stir the water, and the one who entered the water first after the angel, would be healed. This man whom Jesus met, time after time, was too slow dragging himself into the pool. Though he failed to be healed after so many years, he never gave up hope. He never stopped waiting for God's mercy. Then one day, God arrived.

Jesus asked this man, "Do you want to be made well?" (John 5.6) This was a common dialogue between Jesus and those who would be healed, and the Gospel shares this with us for our inspiration? We should hear the question as if Jesus is asking US, "Do WE want to be healed?" Once we can open our hearts to Him, then He can heal us. This paralyzed man shared his need, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool," and Jesus met his need.

What DO you need from Jesus? Do you need peace? He will give it to you. Do you need faith? He will give it to you. Do you need salvation? He will give it to you. Jesus Christ, who was born, crucified, buried, and raised from the dead, has the power to accomplish your every NEED. Your part in this relationship is to share your inner most needs with Him, and let Him do the healing.

The Scriptures and the Sunday of the Myrrh Bearing Women

A special Bible study of the Scriptures passages, themes and hymns for the Third Sunday after Pascha, the Sunday of the Myrrh Bearing Women. This study is based on the series "A Year of the Lord, Liturgical Bible Studies" by Fr Theodore Stylianopoulos, and recorded LIVE at the Transfiguration of Our Savior Greek Orthodox Church in Florence, SC.

The Scriptures and the Sunday of Thomas

A special Bible study on the Scripture readings and themes for the Sunday after Pascha, the Sunday of Thomas, based upon the series "A Year of the Lord, Liturgical Bible Studies" by Father Theodore Stylianopoulos. Recorded live, April 30, 2014, at the Transfiguration of Our Savior Greek Orthodox Church in Florence, SC.

Jesus Reveals Himself Raised from the Dead

The Holy Apostle Thomas was not present when Jesus first appeared to the Apostles after the Resurrection. So eight days later, He appeared again, this time so that Thomas might believe. When Jesus appeared, He said, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” (John 20.27)

We all need a boost from God every now and then so that we can strengthen our faith in Him.  As we heard during the Resurrection Liturgy, the beauty of the entire story of Jesus Christ, from His birth through to His death and glorious resurrection, is that HE CAME TO US, and “As many as received Him, to them [that means us] He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.” (John 1.12)

Some did not, and still do not, believe in His Gospel, and each person has the freedom to accept or to deny Him. But for those who DESIRE to believe, Jesus always appears in the fashion needed. St Thomas wasn’t the only one who needed physical proof, which is why Jesus didn’t remain separate from us in Heaven, but came to reveal Himself to us.

But for those of us living in 2014, Jesus said, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20.29) For us, we can take comfort in the words of Saint Paul, “He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by the Cephas [St Peter], then by the twelve. After that he was seen by over five hundred brethren at once.” (1 Corinthians 15.5-6)

The Scriptures and the Feast of Feasts, Holy and Great Pascha

A Bible study focused on the Themes and Scriptures readings assigned for the Feast of Feasts, Great and Holy Pascha! This study is based upon the series "A Year of the Lord, Liturgical Bible Studies" by Father Theodore Stylianopoulos. We will be using Volume 4: Easter and Pentecost.