God does what we cannot

In many ways we understand that as human beings we are limited in our ability to live as God desires us to live. Every day we are faced with temptations which, against our weaknesses, cause us to sin. We awake wanting to not sin, and sleep having asked for forgiveness for the sins we committed that day. Saint Paul expressed this well when he said, “For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.” (Romans 7.15)

Thankfully, God has accomplished what we were unable to accomplish. As we hear in today’s reading from Genesis, God asked Abraham to sacrifice his. Although Abraham was willing to obey, God did not force him to sacrifice his son. Instead, God sacrificed His own Son for us. This is what we are preparing for during Great Lent. God accomplishes what we are either unwilling or unable to accomplish.

He even fasted forty days and forty nights, so when you think the Great Fast is too difficult, remember Jesus Christ has already accomplished what we were unable to accomplish. The rest we can do if we want. We just need to find the desire to follow God, and Great Lent is meant to help us discover and perfect that desire to follow Jesus Christ. Hang in there; it’s almost over. Great Lent will be over in one week. Then we will celebrate the Saturday of Lazarus and Palm Sunday before beginning Holy Week.

Today’s Old Testament Readings:

Isaiah 45:11-17 (RSV) - Thus says the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker: "Will you question me about my children, or command me concerning the work of my hands?  I made the earth, and created man upon it; it was my hands that stretched out the heavens, and I commanded all their host.  I have aroused him in righteousness, and I will make straight all his ways; he shall build my city and set my exiles free, not for price or reward," says the LORD of hosts.  Thus says the LORD: "The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Ethiopia, and the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over to you and be yours, they shall follow you; they shall come over in chains and bow down to you. They will make supplication to you, saying: 'God is with you only, and there is no other, no god besides him.'"  Truly, thou art a God who hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Savior.  All of them are put to shame and confounded, the makers of idols go in confusion together.  But Israel is saved by the LORD with everlasting salvation; you shall not be put to shame or confounded to all eternity.
 Genesis 22:1-18 (RSV) -  After these things God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here am I."  He said, "Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains of which I shall tell you."  So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac; and he cut the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.  On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place afar off.  Then Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the ass; I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you."  And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together.  And Isaac said to his father Abraham, "My father! "And he said, "Here am I, my son." He said, "Behold, the fire and the wood; but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?"  Abraham said, "God will provide himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son." So they went both of them together.  When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar, upon the wood.  Then Abraham put forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.  But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven, and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" And he said, "Here am I."  He said, "Do not lay your hand on the lad or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me."  And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.  So Abraham called the name of that place The LORD will provide; as it is said to this day, "On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided."  And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven, and said, "By myself I have sworn, says the LORD, because you have done this, and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will indeed bless you, and I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore. And your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies, and by your descendants shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves, because you have obeyed my voice."
 Proverbs 17:17-18:5 (RSV) - A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.  A man without sense gives a pledge, and becomes surety in the presence of his neighbor.  He who loves transgression loves strife; he who makes his door high seeks destruction.  A man of crooked mind does not prosper, and one with a perverse tongue falls into calamity.  A stupid son is a grief to a father; and the father of a fool has no joy.  A cheerful heart is a good medicine, but a downcast spirit dries up the bones.  A wicked man accepts a bribe from the bosom to pervert the ways of justice.  A man of understanding sets his face toward wisdom, but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.  A foolish son is a grief to his father and bitterness to her who bore him.  To impose a fine on a righteous man is not good; to flog noble men is wrong.  He who restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.  Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent. He who is estranged seeks pretexts to break out against all sound judgment.  A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.  When wickedness comes, contempt comes also; and with dishonor comes disgrace.  The words of a man's mouth are deep waters; the fountain of wisdom is a gushing stream.  It is not good to be partial to a wicked man, or to deprive a righteous man of justice.

A Perfect Gift for God at Christmas

Today’s Epistle Reading: St. Paul's Letter to the Hebrews 10:1-18 -  BRETHREN, since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices which are continually offered year after year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered? If the worshipers had once been cleansed, they would no longer have any consciousness of sin. But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sin year after year. For it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins. Consequently, when he came into the world, he said, "Sacrifices and offerings thou hast not desired, but a body hast thou prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings thou hast taken no pleasure. Then I said, 'Lo, I have come to do thy will, O God,' as it is written of me in the roll of the book." When he said above, "Thou hast neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings" (these are offered according to the law), then he added, "Lo, I have come to do thy will." He abolishes the first in order to establish the second. And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this one had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, then to wait until his enemies should be made a stool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds," then he adds, "I will remember their sins and their misdeeds no more." Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.

In the Old Testament, when someone wanted to thank God for a blessing they had received, they went to the temple and made an offering. There were many sorts of offerings which you can read about in the Old Testament. But with the coming of Christ, all these offerings were replaced with one perfect offering. The Eucharist, the Body of Blood of Christ, has replaced any and all offerings made in the Old Testament as the perfect offering, the perfect way to say thank you to God, the perfect way to seek His blessings, the perfect way to be in Communion with Him, the perfect way to Live A New Life In Christ. Do you have a reason to be thankful this year at Christmas? Attend Divine Liturgy, the sacrifice of all sacrifices, the Precious Body and Blood of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is the perfect gift for God at Christmas.

Holy and Great Thursday – The Eucharist

Just before Jesus offered Himself for His creation, He made a new covenant with us. We call it the Eucharist, which means Thanksgiving, since it is modeled after the Thanksgiving Offering of the Old Testament. I have discovered that many people don't realize that there were SEVERAL covenants which made up the Old Testament. Take a few moments this afternoon and read Genesis, which we have been reading throughout Great Lent. Pay attention for the practice of offering God a sacrifice AFTER He had rescued His people from danger. You will find something quite interesting....It may just bring a new appreciation for the Eucharist.

Being One in God

Just before Christ voluntarily endured His Glorious Passion, He offered a prayer to the Father. This prayer, known as the “High Priestly Prayer” was a liturgical prayer following the model of the Old Testament Sacrifices which expressed the devotion of the person offering the sacrifice. In this prayer Jesus said, “Keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are.” Jesus spoke often of unity in this great prayer. You can read the entire prayer in the Gospel of John, Chapter 17. In this prayer, we can arrive a deeper understanding of Christ’s desire for His Church.

It was this desire for complete unity that has been a driving force of the Church Fathers since the Apostles were first given the authority to lead the Church. This sort of unity Christ desires, is divine unity in love. Jesus is one with the Father and the Holy Spirit, not simply because they share the title of Divine. The Holy Trinity is exists in complete harmony of love and will. In other words, Jesus always ‘wants’ what the Father ‘wants’ and the Holy Spirit always ‘wants’ what the Father ‘wants’ and the Father always ‘wants’ what Jesus and the Holy Spirit ‘want’; which is.....that WE should live in the same community of love and unity.

But this unity is even greater than ‘us humans’ being united. God desires that we are one with each other AND HIM. Later in this prayer Jesus prays, “That they may be one just as We are one; I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one.” (John 17.22-23) We are made perfect in our unity with each other and God. This is realized in the living Sacred Tradition of the Church, given by Christ to the Holy Apostles, and maintained by the Holy Fathers of the Church through the centuries.

Glory Isn’t All It’s Cracked Up to Be

When James and John asked Christ, “Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory,” Jesus responded with a challenge, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” (Mark 10.37-38) What the disciples were hoping for glory was not quite what Jesus had in mind.

Many of us seek glory in life. We desire to be honored by our family, friends and coworkers. We desire to be recognized for the hard work and accomplishments we collect throughout our adult careers. We expect that our worldly success will gain us influence among our neighbors and fellow citizens of society. We even dare many times to think that God will ring the bells of heaven “just because” we are entering the Holy Gates. But that isn’t the type of glory Jesus had in mind.

Jesus said, “You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all.” (Mark 10.42-44)

The sort of glory Jesus had in mind was serving our fellow human beings, and worrying more about their needs than our own glory. The sort of glory Jesus had in mind was for us to become like Him, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve.” (Mark 10.45) The other kinds of glory…..let’s leave that sort of glory for those outside the Kingdom.

The Dangers of Fasting

Yesterday, besides being the day in which the Church commemorated the Last Judgment, was the last day to eat meat until Pascha. If you are fasting according to the teachings of the Church, today begins your long journey of finding food substitutes and new vegan recipes for your favorite meals. The Great Fast is almost upon us. It actually begins NEXT week, but the Church begins our fasting one week early by asking us to abstain from meat beginning this week. Last week was known as Meatfare Week, while we rushed to make use of the meat in our refrigerators before it spoils. This week is known as Cheesefare Week, and is the final week of dairy before the Great Fast. Fasting is such an amazing spiritual discipline of the Church, but it can be misused so many ways, so today I thought I would warn you of about some danger signs that your fasting is on the wrong track.

1.       You know the fasting guidelines of the Church, but you insist on creating your own plan for Great Lent – Anytime you look on the teachings and sacred traditions of the Church as a buffet menu from which you can pick and choose which practices you like and which you think are not valid, you have lost the entire purpose of fasting. Fasting is a spiritual discipline through which we learn to subdue our ego and desires. If we instead feed our desires by choosing our fasting routine, we have lost the opportunity to conquer our ego, and fasting becomes nothing more than a diet regiment. If you are unsure where to begin your fasting, it is better to ask your spiritual father, than to make up your own plan. He has received the grace of God through Holy Ordination to guide you along your spiritual journey.
2.       You view fasting as “giving something up” for Great Lent as a sacrifice for God. The term sacrifice, as used in the Church, means “to make holy” and is not associated with what has become a practice of “self-denial.” The Great Fast is not meant to deny your body the things it craves. It is meant to sanctify your heart. The idea of “giving something up” for Great Lent is more of a punishment rather than a discipline, and leads to resentment of the Church rather than the purity of your heart.
3.       You scrutinize every food label just to make sure nothing forbidden has been included. You search for “may contain whey from milk” as a warning that the food doesn’t “pass muster” on your Orthodox menu plan. As with any rule in the Church, you must keep focused upon it purpose. Bread in general is a fasting food, but nearly ALL bread in the store has at least one ingredient that “breaks the rules” if you read the ingredients panel. If you need a piece of toast with breakfast, it would be better to have it (without butter obviously) than to worry that there “might” be egg in the dough. With the industrialization of the food industry, it would be nearly impossible to find “legal” bread unless you make your own.
4.       You have never fasted before, but THIS year you decide to keep the strict fast. This might be the most dangerous warning sign of all. As with any discipline, you must gradually increase the practice. Otherwise, you are destined for failure. Compare fasting to running. If you want to run a marathon, you would NEVER just put on your shoes and begin to run 23 ½ miles. You must first build up your stamina before the race. The same caution must be used with fasting. If you want any benefit from your fasting, you will allow your spiritual father to help you with where to begin, just like you would allow a trainer to create a running and training routine.

 Here are more posts on fasting

How do you Sacrifice Incense?

First-time visitor: “What is that smell?”

Me: “OH! That’s incense”

FTV: “What’s THAT!?”

Me: “Incense is a special power that we burn in the Church as an offering to God.”

FTV: “Hummm. I thought Saint Paul said we didn’t have to do that stuff anymore.”

Me: “Well! Just sit down here for a moment and let’s talk about that…

This is not a REAL conversation, but I have had many just like it in my twenty years (not all as a priest) in ministry. And I always enjoy a blunt conversation about why Saint Paul NEVER said to stop doing what we do in the Church.

The offering of incense (which by the way is a universal practice in EVERY major world religion) has been considered part of our worship since the earliest days. It is the feature of Psalm 140(141 in the Protestant/Roman Catholic Old Testament) offered EVERY evening to God.

LORD, I cry out to You; Make haste to me! Give ear to my voice when I cry out to You. Let my prayer be set before You as incense, The lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips. Do not incline my heart to any evil thing, To practice wicked works With men who work iniquity; And do not let me eat of their delicacies. Let the righteous strike me; It shall be a kindness. And let him rebuke me; It shall be as excellent oil; Let my head not refuse it. For still my prayer is against the deeds of the wicked. Their judges are overthrown by the sides of the cliff, And they hear my words, for they are sweet. Our bones are scattered at the mouth of the grave, As when one plows and breaks up the earth. But my eyes are upon You, O GOD the Lord; In You I take refuge; Do not leave my soul destitute. Keep me from the snares they have laid for me, And from the traps of the workers of iniquity. Let the wicked fall into their own nets, While I escape safely. Psalm 140/141

One common theme I find myself discussing with visitors is the term, sacrifice, which most (thanks to Hollywood) associate with killing something to satisfy some deity. I have found MANY have the image of “the virgin in the volcano” in their mind when they hear the term, sacrifice. So when I suggest that we sacrifice incense to God, they get not just a little suspicious. It helps to point out, though I am always surprised at just how many refuse to believe me, that the ancient Jews sacrificed MANY things, not just living animals. Once I can convince the visitor to use the term, offering, rather than, sacrifice, it comes a bit easier to visualize the offering of incense, bread, wine, oil, wheat, grapes etc. It also helps them to visualize that we OFFER these items to God on the Altar as a gift. For an excellent discussion on the sacrificial system of the Jews, see Fr James Bernstein’s “Surprised by Christ.”

Once I’m past the terminology hurdle, I can  focus upon the FACT that the Holy Apostles maintained many of the offerings of the Jews in the Temple, but excused themselves to “house churches” to offer the Thanksgiving (Eucharist – see my earlier post on this term)

And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. (Acts 2.42-3.1)

And IF the visitor does not agree that the incense is part of Divine Worship, I turn to Revelation. In the Book of Revelation, we read St. John’s vision of the glory of God and of the Lamb. In this vision, St. John sees the twenty-four elders who fall down in worship before the throne of God.

Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.  And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel's hand. (Revelation 8.3-4)

So, like I’m often heard saying, “Good enough for the Holy Apostles, good enough for me.” From that point, I pray a relationship is begun with the visitor about the genuineness of the Orthodox Church as the continuation of the Old Testament rather than a replacement. And we go from there…

This post is written for the 40 Days of Blogging Challenge sponsored by the Preachers Institute. You may find other blogs participating in this challenge. I hope you enjoy this year’s Advent journey.

The Giving of Thanks

Since the beginning of humanity, we have made an offering to God to show our gratitude for His blessings. From the first harvest and first flock of sheep recorded in Genesis, the practice of bringing an offering to God was established.

“Now in the process of time Cain brought a sacrifice to the Lord from the fruits of the ground. Able also brought a sacrifice from the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. The Lord respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his sacrifices. So Cain was extremely sorrowful, and his countenance fell.” (Genesis 4.3-5)

And from that moment human beings have been offering to God, some with a pure heart, some with a selfish heart.

Fast forward to Noah and the Flood…The FIRST thing Noah did after leaving the Ark was to make an offering to God.

“The Noah built an altar to God, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered whole burnt offerings on the altar.” (Genesis 8.20)

Fast forward to Abraham and his victory over the king of Sodom…The FIRST thing Abraham did was celebrate the Divine Liturgy with Christ.

“Now Melchizedek the king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. He blessed Abram and said, ‘Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hands.’ Then Abram gave him a tithe of all.” (Genesis 14.18-20)

Fast forward to the reunion of Jacob and his brother Esau…The FIRST thing Jacob did once he pitched his tent was to make an offering to God.

“He then bought a parcel of land where he pitched his tent from Hamor, Shechen’s father, for a hundred male lambs. There he set up an altar and called on the God of Israel.” (Genesis 33.19-20)

Fast forward to Moses and the Temple…You get the idea, right? With a tradition of making an offering to God to express gratitude for blessings and salvation, it was only natural that Moses would establish a beautiful system of sacrifice offerings in the Temple. You MUST understand; each offering was made AFTER God had blessed or saved the offerer. The offering was NOT made to secure God’s loyalty, NOR as payment on some grand deal.

Fast forward to Jesus Christ on the night of “The Last Supper”…Jesus turned to the Holy Tradition of our Fathers and made an offering of Thanks and combined it with an offering of communion, thus sealing what we call Holy Communion (Holy Eucharist from the Greek Θεία Ευχαριστία) in which WE combine our thanks to God for the blessings AND salvation while uniting ourselves to Him.

And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is My body."  Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. (Matthew 26.26-28)

So when the Holy Apostles, in the manner of Moses before, established the Way of Life for the early Church, and building upon the Holy Tradition of their Fathers, established the Eucharist as the weekly and ULTIMATE way to give thanks to God.

Now concerning the Thanksgiving (Eucharist), thus give thanks. First, concerning the cup: We thank you, our Father, for the holy vine of David Your servant, which You made known to us through Jesus Your Servant; to You be the glory forever. And concerning the broken bread: We thank You, our Father, for the life and knowledge which You made known to us through Jesus Your Servant; to You be the glory for ever. Even as this broken bread was scattered over the hills, and was gathered together and became one, so let Your Church be gathered together from the ends of the earth into Your kingdom; for Yours is the glory and the power through Jesus Christ forever. But let no one eat or drink of your Thanksgiving (Eucharist), but they who have been baptized into the name of the Lord; for concerning this also the Lord has said, Give not that which is holy to the dogs. Matthew 7:6  (Didache Chapter 9)

So how will you give thanks to God tomorrow on Thanksgiving Day? Will your heart be pure or selfish?

This post is written for the 40 Days of Blogging Challenge sponsored by the Preachers Institute. You may find other blogs participating in this challenge. I hope you enjoy this year’s Advent journey.