In the Gospel reading for the Second Sunday of Great Lent, the
Church draws our attention to the benefit of Church in our struggle to reach
Christ. Contrary to what we might think, we need the Church in order to reach
Christ, just as the paralytic man needed his friends in order to reach Christ.
Then he could be healed, and so can we.
According to the Gospel (Mark 2.1-12) Christ was surrounded
by a large crowd who had gathered to hear His teaching. The crowd was so large,
a paralytic being carried by his four friends couldn’t fit in the house. If not
for his friends, the paralytic would have been left outside while the rest of
the crowd was blessed by God. But when his friends helped him by climbing up
and tearing a hole in the roof, then he was able to reach Christ and be healed.
During our Great Lenten journey, the Church is here to help
us, just as the friends of the paralytic, reach Christ. We don’t have to sit
outside the gates of His House, while others are blessed on the inside. With
the help of our fellow Church members, we reach Christ. We fast together. We
pray together. We learn together. We worship together. We help others together.
We laugh and cry together. We reach Christ together.
Spend the remaining weeks of Great Lent carrying each other
as a Church so we can reach Christ and His Resurrection together.
Today is the Feast of the Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel,
and I’m guessing most don’t know that that means. In Orthodox circles lately we’ve
been hearing the word “synaxis” a lot in reference to the recent gathering of
the heads of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church as they prepare for the coming
Great Synod in June. We might be able to put two and two together that synaxis
refers to bring (at least) two things (or in the case of the Church, people)
together in one place, and we would be correct. What in the context of today’s
calendar even known as the Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel, it only mentions
one angel, name Gabriel. How can that be a synaxis?
Sometimes you just have to take a step back to see more
clearly. The Church as brought together two celebrations on the calendar,
namely yesterday’s Feast of the Annunciation and today’s honoring of Gabriel as
he was a ‘main player’ in the Feast. This is quite typical in the Church to
honor a ‘main player’ in a Feast the day after.
Other examples include:
Feast of Christmas on December 25 – Synaxis of the Theotokos
on December 26
Feast of Theophany on January 6 – Synaxis of Saint John the
Baptist on January 7
Feast of Pentecost (this year) June 19 – Monday of the Holy
Spirit (this year) on June 20
Feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos on September 8 –
Synaxis of Joachim and Anna on September 9
Just another blessed opportunity to learn from the Calendar.
Just as you can tell the important people in someone’s life by looking at their
day timer, you can better understand the important people in the life of the
Church by paying careful attention to the Church calendar.
Remember today oil and wine are allowed because it is
Saturday.
Today is the Feast of the Annunciation, which is the commemoration of
when Archangel Gabriel told the Panagia (All Holly Mother of God) that she was
going to bear a son, and He would save the world. The Greek word of the Feast
is Ευαγγελισμός
which translates to “Good News” from which ultimately we receive the word
Gospel. The Feast is always during Great Lent and is celebrated by easing the
fast, and fish is allowed.
For many American Orthodox Christians for whom the Great Lent fast is limited
only to meat, today’s sense of celebration is lost. “Why do we eat fish? I
thought we were supposed to be celebrating?” are the two common questions I
hear. It wasn’t until recently (past twenty years or so) Greek Orthodox
parishes in America stopped hosting steak dinners for Greek Independence Day,
also celebrated today. Many still can be heard complaining the Church is
forcing them to fast when they should be celebrating.
This is one prime example of how the understanding and appreciation of
the Orthodox Christian Faith can be lost if the Faith is not being fully
practiced. For those attempting the strict fast during Great Lent, the offering
of fish today is a delight to the stomach and tongue. It becomes a genuine
celebration. When we embrace the idea of feasts AND fasts on the Church
calendar, then we appreciate both. You cannot feast unless you fast, just as
you can’t have joy without sorrow. Today is a feast, so express with joy and celebrate
with a fish sandwich at the very least. The fast will continue again tomorrow,
though as with last weekend, oil will be allowed. Until then....enjoy the
feast.
There is a story about an American cabbie on vacation in
Greece. The cabbie has worked many hours for many weeks earning his vacation
and is very much looking forward to spending a couple weeks relaxing in the
Greek splendor he has heard so much about. Upon arriving in Greece he finds
himself on a street corner in Athens surrounded by dozens of cafes filled with
cabbies, their cabs all parked along the sidewalk. The American cabbie walks
around asking to hire a cab, and is greeted continually with, “I’m sorry I’m
done for the day.” Finally he asks one driver why he is finished driving for
the day since it is only NOON. The driver says, “I’ve made enough money for
today and I am enjoying the rest of day in the cafe with my friends.” The
American cabbie is shocked and asks, “But why not keep working to earn more
money? In America we work long days so we can eventually retire and enjoy
vacations.” “And what would I do on vacation?” asks the Greek cabbie. “You could
sit and enjoy the cafe with your friends.” Laughing, the Greek cabbie says, “I’M
ALREADY DOING THAT!”
In America we tend to focus so completely on building
wealth, we are blind to what is available to us in the present. Of course, since
this is a Daily Lenten Journey post, you can imagine I’m not going to speak
about sitting in the cafe in Greece. What is right in front of you today is
your salvation. You don’t have to wait until you are elderly and approaching
death to work on your soul’s relationship with God. Great Lent offers a prime
opportunity to dedicate extra time in your building your soul.
Proverbs 6:3-20 - Then do this, my son, and save yourself,
for you have come into your neighbor's power: go, hasten, and importune your
neighbor. Give your eyes no sleep and
your eyelids no slumber; save yourself like a gazelle from the hunter, like a
bird from the hand of the fowler. Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways,
and be wise. Without having any chief,
officer or ruler, she prepares her food in summer, and gathers her sustenance
in harvest. How long will you lie there,
O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little
folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a vagabond,
and want like an armed man. A worthless
person, a wicked man, goes about with crooked speech, winks with his eyes, scrapes
with his feet, points with his finger, with perverted heart devises evil,
continually sowing discord; therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly; in
a moment he will be broken beyond healing. There are six things which the LORD
hates, seven which are an abomination to him:
haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a
heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false
witness who breathes out lies, and a man who sows discord among brothers. My son, keep your father's commandment, and
forsake not your mother's teaching.
In today’s readings from Proverbs we see what the Lord has
to say about spiritual laziness. There is plenty of inspiration to get off the
couch and “find a job” in our society, but hardly any effort to encourage you
to wake your soul from sleep and build up your relationship with God. The
American cabbie could just have encountered a Church filled with drivers rather
than a cafe during Great Lent. Don’t wait until you retire to spend time with
God. Take advantage of Great Lent NOW and “save yourself” and follow the Lord.
Get up from your spiritual couch and go to Church. Tomorrow is the Feast of the Annunciation of
the Theotokos, when the Church commemorates the Archangel Gabriel’s Good News
to the Panagia that she would bear God. Make plans TODAY to spend some time in
Church tomorrow. Don’t wait until you retire. It may be too late!
In today’s reading from Genesis we heard, “At that time men
began to call upon the name of the LORD.” (Genesis 4.26) As you read Genesis
over and over (I suggest reading as often as you can) you will begin to see the
story flow. The daily readings break the story up in ‘easy-to-read’ segments
which sometimes make it difficult to appreciate the flow of the story. Today’s
reading (read Genesis 4.16-26) includes the departure of Cain with his lineage,
and then the story returns to Adam and Eve with the birth of Seth. The reading
concludes with a hint at our soul’s yearning...but you have to step back to
really see it.
As you step back and look again at the creation story you
will remember that man is created in the Image of God. In the dialogue
following the Fall, we see clues that the Image has been clouded. “Now he has
become like one of Us,” (Genesis 3.22) are the final words before we were
expelled from the Garden. Now today we see immediately that “men began to call
upon the Lord.” Don’t let anyone fool you. Religion is not man-made, but a
result of our soul’s attempt to return to God.
Our Great Lenten Journey allows our soul the opportunity to
spend more time with God, rather than the hectic temptations the world has to
offer. But we must make the effort to set aside time for our soul to commune
with God. What a perfect opportunity this evening by attending the Liturgy of
Presanctified Gifts in your Church? Give your soul what it yearns, give it Holy
Communion.
Today’s Reading from Old Testament: Isaiah 5:7-16 - Thus
says the Lord: For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel,
and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting; and he looked for justice, but
behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, a cry! Woe to those who join house to house, who add
field to field, until there is no more room, and you are made to dwell alone in
the midst of the land. The LORD of hosts
has sworn in my hearing: "Surely many houses shall be desolate, large and
beautiful houses, without inhabitant.
For ten acres of vineyard shall yield but one bath, and a homer of seed
shall yield but an ephah." Woe to
those who rise early in the morning, that they may run after strong drink, who
tarry late into the evening till wine inflames them! They have lyre and harp, timbrel and flute
and wine at their feasts; but they do not regard the deeds of the LORD, or see
the work of his hands. Therefore my
people go into exile for want of knowledge; their honored men are dying of
hunger, and their multitude is parched with thirst. Therefore Sheol has enlarged its appetite and
opened its mouth beyond measure, and the nobility of Jerusalem and her
multitude go down, her throng and he who exults in her. Man is bowed down, and men are brought low,
and the eyes of the haughty are humbled.
But the LORD of hosts is exalted in justice, and the Holy God shows
himself holy in righteousness.
It was just Friday evening during the first Akathist Hymn to
the Theotokos, that we heard Jesus say, “I am the vine and you are the
branches.” (John 15.5) If we combine the reading from Akathist and today’s
reading from Isaiah, we can understand that we (Orthodox Christians) are not a
new established Church, but a continuation of the ancient people of God, the
House of Israel that is referenced in today’s reading from Isaiah.
Look again at the state of the vineyard as described today
by the Prophet Isaiah. The Lord saw bloodshed, selfishness, people who cared
more about parties than the Word of God. We also read of the murder of Abel by
Cain in today’s reading from Genesis, the first bloodshed in the Lord’s
vineyard. Greed is the root of every human sin. We either want something we don’t
have, or we have something we don’t want others to have.
Our Great Lenten journey is about defeating our passions by
increased prayer, increased fasting, and increased almsgiving. As you continue
through your second week of Great Lent this week, consider how you might show
signs of greed in your interactions with others. We ALL have these tendencies
as an inheritance from Adam and Eve. But God is righteous and has put in motion
a plan to save us from ourselves....if only we allow Him.
As we begin the second week of Great Lent, the readings from
the Old Testament continue with the expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise,
something the Church just one week ago highlighted on Forgiveness Sunday. Here
is the blog I wrote about Forgiveness Sunday and the importance of seeking
forgiveness during Great Lent. If you haven’t been to confession in a while,
this would be a good time to make an appointment with your spiritual father for
Holy Confession.
Today Readings from Genesis 3:21-4:7 - And the LORD God made for Adam and for his
wife garments of skins, and clothed them.
Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of us,
knowing good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand and take also of the
tree of life, and eat, and live for ever"- therefore the LORD God sent him
forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man; and at the east of the
garden of Eden he placed the cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every
way, to guard the way to the tree of life.
Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying,
"I have gotten a man with the help of the LORD." And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now
Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a tiller of the ground. In the course of time Cain brought to the
LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel brought of the firstlings
of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and
his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very
angry, and his countenance fell. The
LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry, and why has your countenance
fallen? If you do well, will you not be
accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is couching at the door; its desire is
for you, but you must master it."
As our readings continue in Genesis, I invite you first to
consider the journey you are on this year. Have you sinned? We all have. It is
because of sin that humanity now must struggle to stay alive outside the Garden.
Do you struggle to keep the fast? We all struggle. It will be the struggle that
helps you see your sin and urges you to repentance.
Secondly, I invite you to consider your fasting as an
offering to God. Is your offering out of love or obligation? Cain made an
offering to God out of obligation, while his brother Abel offered the best he
had to God out of love. The Lord accepted the offering of Abel rather than
Cain, which cause great anger in Cain. If you are fasting out of obligation,
without love for God, then as the Lord warned Cain, “Sin is crouching at the
door; its desire is for you, but you must master it.”
This week, you are bound to encounter more emotion in regard
to the fast. You will begin to ask yourself why those around you are not
fasting, but they don’t seem any less blessed AND they get to enjoy their steak
sandwich. You may find yourself getting angry that YOU are being obedient and
YOU should be rewarded. Why are YOU struggling? Is it worth it? That will be
the moment you need to re-read our Genesis lesson today, and pray you don’t
fall victim to the anger as did Cain. Ask the Lord to take away your anger, and
replace it with His peace. Fortunate for you, you are on the same journey as
millions of other Orthodox Christians this year, and hundreds of millions over
the centuries.
Don’t give up! It is only a new week; it is a not-so-new
journey.
It has become very popular to make up your own religion by
accepting one belief and rejecting another, or following one practice but
inventing a new individual custom to follow. There is a better way. For
centuries holy men and women, righteous figures of the Old and New Testament,
have been following a way of life established by God, and they “were well
attested for their faith.” (Hebrews 11.39) The way of life Christ has given His
Church, the Orthodox Way of Life, has been tried and tested, defended and
perfected, for centuries, so we could receive this Holy Tradition today. This
is the faith of the Orthodox that is celebrated on the Sunday of Orthodoxy. God
became man, so that man could be united to God. This is the truth the Church
has defended in Holy Icons and our way of life. And that belief has
consequences. Do you believe? Then follow the Church. Do you want to follow
Christ? Then follow the way of life He has already given to us in His Church.
You don’t have to make it up.
COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT
Hello. My name is Father Athanasios
Haros and I'm the pastor here at The Transfiguration of Our Savior Greek Orthodox
Church in Florence, South Carolina and I'm your host for Be Transfigured
Ministries.
Here at Be Transfigured, as we say,
we invite you to live a new life in Christ. We feature our sermons, our Bible
studies, and other special events in the life of the Church. We do it to
inspire you to join us in living a new life in Christ. I hope you'll join us.
I'll be back in a moment after this
video to share some information about our ministry.
It never ceases to surprise me just
how many people prefer making up their own religion. A couple of weeks ago I
was having a conversation with someone and we were talking about the human
body. We were talking about how in Orthodox Christianity we consider the body
to be a sacred vessel of the Holy Trinity. Part of our conversation was that
I was sharing with this person that we as Orthodox Christians believe that
because God came and became a human being, and because in our baptism we are
united to Jesus Christ, and because in receiving Holy Communion we are in
physical union with God, that we believe the human body to be a sacred thing.
As St. Paul teaches in the Scriptures that the body is the temple of the Holy
Spirit and part of this conversation, I was sharing that this is why in the Orthodox
Church, we do not allow cremation because cremation is an intentional
destruction of the human body. It is done with compete disrespect. Hosing
things down into the sewers. It is absolutely desecrating to the human body
and therefore not respectful of the temple of the Holy Spirit because God
came into the world as a real human being and sanctified human flesh. This
person said to me, "Well, that's very interesting how you respect the
human body but that really has nothing to do with salvation."
That's exactly what I said.
"What?" I said, "But for us Orthodox it has everything to do
with salvation." This is why today we are celebrating the Sunday of Orthodoxy.
We have just completed the first week of our Great Lenten journey and today
we are commemorating a historical event in the Church that held up and
defended the truth, not simply of a piece of wood, but the truth of Jesus
Christ incarnate, becoming a human being.
You see, in the ancient Church, my
brothers and sisters, there were many who believed that Holy Icons were
idolatry. If you look into your history books it isn't because of Christian
teaching, it was actually because of the Islamic influence over the world at
the time. We're talking around the 700s. There was a big movement in the Church
to remove Holy Icons and in 787 AD the Church gathered what we today call the
Seventh Ecumenical Council and once and for all defended the truth of Christ.
That he came in human flesh and because he came in human flesh, we ought to
depict him, we ought to paint him, in Holy Icons.
Icons are not merely a decoration
in our Church. They are a declaration of the truth of Christ. The God of the
Universe. The God who created everything with just the spoken word came and
became one of us. Human flesh and blood. He was hungry. He was tired. That truth, my brothers and sisters, has
consequences.
As I was trying to share with this
gentleman when we were having this conversation, if we really believe that
Jesus Christ came in the flesh and united humanity to Him, then that belief
must have consequences. The consequences are that we must treat each other as
if, according to St. Paul, we are the temple of the Holy Spirit. With
dignity, with love, with respect. Not just when we're living but also when
we're dead. This is why in the Orthodox tradition we treat the human body,
even after death, with prayer. We respectfully, and prayerfully put the body
into the grave.
Why do I bring that up today?
Because people around us are always making up their own religion my brothers
and sisters. Even some of us try to make up our own individual practices of Orthodox
Christianity. It's Great Lent and many of us will sit in our comfort of our
living room and think to ourselves, "Hmm, what shall I fast from this
year? Maybe I'll give up chocolate, or maybe I'll do this, or maybe I'll do
that." We have forgotten that the Church already has a way that has been
tried, and tested, and laid out, and prepared for us called Holy and Great
Lent. The Church has already answered the question, "How should we fast
during Great Lent?" The Church has already answered the question, I
received this question just yesterday, about a special book that we should
read during Great Lent. The Church has already answered that question. It has
very specific scripture readings for the days assigned to Great and Holy
Lent. Why not begin with the Church my brothers and sisters? Why do we always
think that we have to reinvent the wheel? Why do we always think we have to
recreate our own religion?
I suspect it has something to do
with our individualism that has been so enshrined in our American system. We
believe what we want to believe. We are individual. We take care of
ourselves. We pull up ourselves from our bootstraps. All of these
individualism ideals, but when it comes to our faith it has been given to us
by God.
Listen to what St. Paul said. We
heard it just a few minutes ago but I'm going to read it again. He was
referring to the Holy men and women of the Old Testament and he said,
"Women received their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured
not accepting deliverance that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still
others had trial of mockings and scouragings, yes, and of chains and
imprisonments. They were stoned. They were sawn in two. They were tempted.
They were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and
goatskins being destitute, afflicted, tormented."
My brothers and sisters, these
righteous men and women of the Old Testament endured these sufferings for the
faith that we have received. St. Paul goes on, "Of whom the world was
not worthy." He goes again, "They wandered in deserts, and
mountains, and dens, and caves of the earth." He says, "And all
these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the
promise God had provided. Something better for us." He says that,
"They should not be made apart perfect from us." In other words,
all of these Holy men and women were loyal to the faith and the religion that
God had established in the Old Testament but God did not want them to receive
any greater blessing than we. Nor did he want us to receive a greater
blessing than them. The Old Testament did not receive the full promise. The
full promise comes when Christ returns and ushers in His final Kingdom.
Why is this important to remember
on the Sunday of Orthodoxy? Because we, my brothers and sisters, are engaged
in a spiritual battle for all eternity. How we spend these next few weeks in
our Great Lenten journey ... If we choose to embrace the journey that Christ
has given us in His Church, we will follow voluntarily, the same path that
the Old Testament prophets, and Holy men and women did. We will follow
voluntarily, the same path that these Holy men and women did who are depicted
on the walls of our Church.
It's a life of struggle. It's a
life of suffering because the world will reject our way of life, but it's a
life following the truth of Christ. Because as when we process this afternoon
and we carry our Icons out of the Church for everyone to see, we are
reminding the world that the God of the universe, Jesus Christ, the second
person of the Holy Trinity, became a human being so that we might be united
to God forever.
If we really believe that, my
brothers and sisters, let's trust the Church. Trust the thousands of years of
experience of Holy men and women who have already learned how to live their
faithful lives in a world that wasn't so friendly to their faith. If you
really want to follow Christ in these few weeks of Great Lent, follow the Church.
Fast as much as you are able within the guidelines of the Church. Don't worry
about making up your own rules. The Church has already figured that out for
us. If you really want to follow Christ during this Great Lent, pick up your
Holy Scriptures and read the readings assigned for the day. I'll give you a
hint. Tomorrow, if you open up your Scriptures and read the readings for the
day tomorrow, you're going to read in Genesis how Adam and Eve were kicked
out of the Garden of Eden as a reminder of why we're involved in this Great
Lenten journey to begin with.
Christ came to restore what was
broken, to recreate humanity from within. He could have called down from
Heaven and said, "Hey, you guys down there! You're forgiven."
Instead, he came and he made us part of Him. He became one of us. That truth,
my brothers and sisters, is what this beautiful thing that we call Orthodoxy
is all about. Living a life trying to wrap our minds around that truth of God
being made man so that we could be united to Him forever. All we have to do
is live the life of the Church. Trust the Church. We don't have to make up
our own rules. It's already been tested and perfected by the Holy righteous
men and women of the Old Testament, and the New Testament, and our Church
history. Our job is to follow them. Glory to God in all things.
Well, I'm back. I hope this video
was an inspiration to you. I hope it helps you live a new life in Christ.
Please share our message of hope with your friends and family and invite
others to live a new life in Christ.
Find more information about Be
Transfigured Ministries by joining us on our website at LiveANewLifeInChrist.org. You can also find many of our
videos on the Orthodox Christian Network, our partners, at myocn.net.
As we say at Be Transfigured. Until next week, God bless you and don't forget
to live a new life in Christ.
Be Transfigured is a production of
the Transfiguration of Our Savior Greek Orthodox Church in Florence, South
Carolina and presented by the Orthodox Christian Network. Contributions in
support of this ministry may be sent to Be Transfigured, 2990 South Cashua
Drive, Florence, South Carolina 29501 or online at our website www.LiveANewLifeInChrist.org.
Today is the Sunday of Orthodoxy, the first Sunday of Great
Lent, and the day on which the Church celebrates both a historical and
theological victory. After centuries of debate on the practice and
appropriateness of Holy Icons in Christianity, the Church still suffered the
influence of Iconoclasts (those who fought to destroy Holy Icons) even after
the Seventh Ecumenical Council declared them appropriate and good for worship. It
wasn’t until the Empress Theodora in 843 CE (56 years AFTER the Seventh
Ecumenical Council which took place in 787 CE) finally and forever restored
Holy Icons into the Great Church along with a procession of the Patriarch and
the Clergy. The event took place on the first Sunday of Great Lent. After more
than one hundred years of debate and violence, the Church finally had be properly
restored to her glory with Holy Icons.
For more than a thousand years on the first Sunday of Great
Lent, the Church has commemorated this historical event with a procession of
Holy Icons in our Church. Unfortunately, most Churches limit this procession to
a quaint procession often including children holding their favorite Icons from
home walking around the interior of the Church. The “outside world” never has a
clue as to what is taking place inside the walls of our Church. Empress
Theodora PUBLICLY restored the Holy Icons with a grand procession, yet we
quietly and in private declare the truth of the faith. Thankfully there is a
growing number of Churches that are restoring the custom of a public procession
similar to the Holy Friday procession with the Epitaphios of Christ.
Here is video of our procession held in Florence, SC a few
years ago.
If we are going to take seriously our Great Lenten journey,
today we have another example of the truth of the Church that has been promoted
for nearly two thousand years. We can trust that the Church, which has remained
vigilant about the unchanging truth, has also guided us along our Great Lenten
journey. Today, as we process around the Church, either inside or outside,
holding our favorite Icon from home, we can be comforted knowing we are walking
in the footsteps of the thousands of holy men and women who over the centuries
publicly proclaimed their faith in Christ and His Church. In every Orthodox
Christian Church throughout the world today, the following proclamation:
Synodikon
From the proceedings of the Seventh Ecumenical Council
read on the Sunday of Orthodoxy
All As the prophets beheld, as the
Apostles have taught, as the Church has received, as the teachers have
dogmatized, as the universe has agreed, as grace has illumined, as truth has
revealed, as falsehood has been dispelled, as wisdom has presented, as Christ
has triumphed; this we believe, this we declare, this we preach: Christ our
true God, and His saints we honor in words, in writings, in thoughts, in sacrifices,
in temples, in icons, on the one hand bowing down and worshiping Christ as God
and Master, on the other hand honoring the saints as true servants of the
Master of all, and offering to them due veneration.
This is
the faith of the Apostles!
This is
the faith of the Fathers!
This is
the faith of the Orthodox!
This is
the faith which has established the Universe!
Therefore
with fraternal and filial love we praise the heralds of the faith, those who
with glory and honor have struggled for the faith, and we say: for the
champions of Orthodoxy, faithful emperors, most-holy patriarchs, hierarchs,
teachers, martyrs and confessors: may their memory be eternal.
(Sing) Everlasting be their memory; •
Everlasting be their memory; • Everlasting be their memory.
Let us
beseech God that we may be instructed and strengthened by the trials and
struggles of these saints, which they endured for the Faith even unto death,
and by their teachings, entreating that we may to the end imitate their godly
life. May we be deemed worthy of obtaining our requests through the mercy and
grace of the great and First Hierarch, Christ our God, through the
intercessions of our glorious Lady, the Theotokos and ever-Virgin Mary, the
divine Angels and all the saints. Amen.
On the first Saturday of Great Lent, the Church offers a
memorial service using the traditional boiled wheat mixed with sugar and spices
and decorated in many beautiful ways. This special wheat is known as Kolyva.
Unfortunately many people do not know why the Church celebrates a memorial
service on the first Saturday of Great Lent, because it is commonly MISnamed a
Saturday of Souls. In ignorance the Church uses the terms first, second and
third Saturday of Souls for the three Saturdays ending with the first Saturday
of Great Lent, but in actuality only the first of these is a Saturday of Souls.
You may not think the terms is important, but for a Saturday of Souls (there
are only two in the year) the Church commemorates the ENTIRE life of the Church
through the centuries. On the other two Saturdays, including today’s Saturday,
a “normal” memorial service is offered and the Church commemorates the names of
those family members and community members whose families have brought a
Kolyva. But the question still exists, “Why a memorial service on the first
Saturday of Lent? What does kolyva have to do with Great Lent?”
In the year 362, during the first week of Great Lent, the
Emperor Julian the Apostate (the word apostate means he left the Church
rejecting her teachings) attempted to poison the Christian faithful. Knowing
they were fasting for the first week of Great Lent, he gave orders to poison
the food sources with blood that had been offered to idols, knowing the
Christians wouldn’t eat the food and be forced either to starve or eat the
blood from idols. Saint Theodore the Recruit (also known as Tyre or Tyron)
visited the Archbishop in the dream warning the people not to purchase or eat
the food from the market. Instead they should eat only kolyva. Known now as the
miracle of the kolyva, the Church commemorates this historical event with a
memorial service using kolyva.
We can learn two things (if not more) from this annual
commemoration. First that God will protect us when we are living the Faith
dedicated to His glory and seeking salvation. Second, and just as important,
this historical event reminds us that for more than 1700 years the Church has
experiencing the Great Lenten Journey much the same as we do today with prayer,
fasting, increased Church services, and almsgiving. If you are taking your
journey seriously this year, remember you are joining along with the historical
saints, known and unknown, that have been experiencing this journey centuries.
It is something that you can trust will bring you closer to Christ if you
desire it. It has been tried and tested, and as the miracle of the kolyva
proves, endorsed by God.
As a reminder today, the fast is “eased” since Saturdays
(except Holy Saturday) are not strict fast days. Oil is permitted on Saturdays
and Sundays during Great Lent. If you have been wondering what difference a few
drops of oil would make in your soup, try adding a teaspoon of oil to your bean
soup today. You will then understand the difference in richness the oil
provides.
Today’s reading from Proverbs begins, “The Lord by wisdom
founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens; by his
knowledge the deeps broke forth, and the clouds drop down the dew.” (Proverbs
3.19) As the first week of Great Lent draws to a close, this wisdom from the
Holy Scriptures should comfort us that God knows what He is doing.
Allow me to explain....
This week Scripture readings reminded us of the story of
Creation, the Fall of humanity, and God’s plan for salvation. “I will put
enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall
bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel." (Genesis 3.15) Since Great Lent is a time for
us to dedicate effort to restoring our relationship with God, our part at
least, it is always good to know where it all started. God created, our
ancestors fell, God saved.
God saved? YES! The Old Testament readings this weekend
concluded with God’s promise to save us from our predicament. Once we had sinned
and death had entered into our existence, God immediately enacted a plan to
defeat death. When the Old Testament readings continue on Monday (during Great
Lent we read Old Testament Monday-Friday and New Testament Saturday and Sunday)
the story will switch to the first phase of God’s plan. (I’ll talk more about
Monday)
In the meantime, Proverbs encourages us to have faith that
God knows what He is doing. It was by WISDOM He founded the earth. It was by
UNDERSTANDING He established the heavens. It was by His KNOWLEDGE the deeps
broke forth. All these are important to remember. God knew what He was doing
when He created, and He knows what He is doing to save us.
Our part in His plan is to desire to follow Him into heaven.
It is during Great Lent when we are able to focus our attention on defeating
our passions since it was our passions that tempted us to sin in the first
place. It is during Great Lent when we are able to use food (or lack of it) to
repair the sin that eating the forbidden fruit which brought death into
existence in the first place. It is during Great Lent that our increased prayer
allows us to communicate with God since we had ignored His advice in the
Garden.
We’ve come a long way this week in our understanding of the
great journey that is ahead of us. You’ve gotten through the first week, and
you should offer a prayer of thanksgiving to God that He allowed you this
opportunity. The weekend changes emphasis. We will still be fasting, but our
fasting will not be as strict. Stay tuned...
Today’s Reading is from Proverbs 3:1-18 - My son, do not
forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments; for length of days
and years of life and abundant welfare will they give you. Let not loyalty and
faithfulness forsake you; bind them about your neck, write them on the tablet
of your heart. So you will find favor
and good repute in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your
heart, and do not rely on your own insight.
In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your
paths. Be not wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones. Honor
the Lord with your substance and with the first fruits of all your produce;
then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with
wine. My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline or be weary of his reproof,
for the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he
delights. Happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gets
understanding, for the gain from it is better than gain from silver and its
profit better than gold. She is more
precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left
hand are riches and honor. Her ways are
ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who lay hold
of her; those who hold her fast are called happy.
It has ONLY been three days and I’m pretty sure you’re
already feeling the burden of fasting. You’re hungry and bored of peanut butter
and jelly sandwiches already. You may even be wondering if the fast is worth
your time. Don’t worry. We ALL feel this way just as the fast is starting
out. It may not happen today, but it
WILL happen sometime during Great Lent. Even the most experienced will suffer a
bit of fatigue during Great Lent.
That is why I thought the reading from Proverbs was so
helpful. “For length of days and years of life and abundant welfare will they
give you.” Fasting if done with prayer and attention to the spiritual warfare
in which we are engaged WILL give you great benefit. All you have to do is
remain committed and “let not your loyalty and faithfulness forsake you.” Great
Lent is a spiritual war, and like with all wars there will be successful days
and not-so-successful days. The point is to push ahead for the victory at
Pascha.
Today might be a good day to evaluate your menu choices for
the fast. If you are feeling tired and cranky, you might need to make some
adjustments for nutrition. Remember fasting is NOT supposed to get you sick,
but there are alternatives to your menu choices that will provide for proper nutrition
AND still maintain the fast. You just may need to put in a little extra effort.
Speak with your Spiritual Father and other experienced “fasters” and seek their
advice. One of the great benefits to fasting AS A CHURCH is to benefit from
centuries of experience.
Each Wednesday (and sometimes on Friday) during Great Lent
the Church prescribes a special sort of Liturgy known as the Liturgy of Presanctified
Gifts. This special Liturgy technically “began” this past Sunday when the
Priest consecrated an “extra” Lamb before Holy Communion. During Great Lent,
since it is a time the Church refers to penitence, the full Divine Liturgy with
it celebratory character and consecration of the Holy Eucharist is considered
out of character with the weekdays of Great Lent. Saturdays and Sundays during
Great Lent are the days when a full Divine Liturgy can be celebrated. There is
just one exception allowed for the Feast of Annunciation which is always
celebrated with a full Divine Liturgy.
Although the celebration of a full Divine Liturgy is not in
the character of the weekdays, the Church also knows (better than we do if we
accept it) that we NEED the Eucharist more during Great Lent than during other
times of the year since we are engaged in an intense spiritual warfare during
Great Lent. Therefore the Church anticipates our need for Holy Communion and
actually prepares Holy Communion in advance during the Sunday Divine Liturgy.
This “Presanctified” Holy Communion is placed in a special and dedicated
container or covered paten, and reserved for Wednesday.
The Liturgy of Presanctified Gifts is mostly the Lenten
Vespers with the “core” elements of Holy Communion inserted into the service.
The Church is normally dark and the music and prayers are soft and subdued to
encourage the penitent character of the service. It is a very moving Liturgy
that I would encourage all faithful to attend, whether or not you plan to
receive Holy Communion. The more time you spend in Church during Great Lent,
the more spiritual growth you will experience.
If you plan to receive Holy Communion during the Liturgy of
Presanctified Gifts, you should consult your spiritual father about
establishing a fasting rule for you to be properly prepared. For those who do
not have a spiritual father, I have outlined what I suggest, and offer
here if it is a blessing to you.
Each day of the year the Church has prescribed certain
readings from the Holy Scriptures to be read. This is called the Lectionary and
hasn’t changed much in many centuries. As it currently is, if an Orthodox
Christian is careful to read the assigned readings for each day, he will read
the entire New Testament (excluding Revelation) as well as the Old Testament
Books of Isaiah, Genesis, Psalms and Proverbs. In addition to those, an
Orthodox Christian who faithfully attends the holy services of the Church
through the year, but most especially on the eve and day of Great Feasts and
Holy Week, she will also be inspired by readings from various prophets and the
Wisdom Books of the Old Testament. If you are paying attention to any of these
readings you will quickly realize the Church hasn’t assigned readings without
consideration, AND that in most cases the readings are continuous from one day
to another. Oftentimes, but especially for Feasts and Fasts of the Church, the
readings also direct attention toward a truth that is integral to the Feast or
season of the Church.
For example, today’s readings pick up where yesterday left
off. During Great Lent the Church is readings from Isaiah, Genesis, Psalms and
Proverbs during the weekdays. Since this is the first week of the Great Fast
the Church has just begun these books, so today we are reminded of the Story of
Creation, specifically days four and five. Tomorrow we will hear about day 6
and the creation of humanity.
This is important because we are reminded, if we are paying
attention, that Great Lent is a journey to restore our humanity to its original
purpose of being in Communion with God. What better to make this point than to
remind the faithful of Creation? By the end of this week, the first week of
Great Lent we will hear the entire story of Creation AND the fall of humanity
to temptation.
Take a few extra minutes today when you are reading your
Holy Scriptures for the day and reflect upon what the Church might be
emphasizing. The clue is in the Scripture Lesson.
You can find the readings of the day at the Online Chapel. You can also
download a FREE smart
phone app and have the readings at your finger tips. There are many venues
to hear and read the Scriptures WITHIN the Holy Tradition of the Orthodox
Church. But you can only be guided by the Church if you read along with the
Church.
If you’re like me, you were looking forward to the beginning
of Great Lent as an opportunity to regain some control in your life both
physically and spiritually. With all life’s obligations and spiritual road
bumps, it is comforting (to me at least) that today is Clean Monday, a day of
strict fasting and prayer as the first day of Great Lent. It isn’t as if I can’t
do these things other days, but I need all the help I can get so I am thankful
for this season.
God has guided His Church into all truth through the power
and inspiration of the Holy Spirit. More and more I realize just much the Holy
Spirit has helped humanity over the centuries. Doctors ‘now’ tell new mothers
they should stay low with their newborns for six weeks (about 40 days). Doctors
‘now’ tell us that an occasional cleansing diet (strict fast) is good for our
bodies. These are just two examples of how the Holy Spirit guided the Church to
establish practices that also happened to be good for our bodies.
It shouldn’t surprise us since our bodies and our souls are
intimately connected. We are neither ‘just’ a body, nor ‘just’ a soul within a ‘shell’
we call the body. The body participates in our entire spiritual journey, from
the moment we are baptized into Christ until the moment we are buried. Without
our bodies we would have no way to repent from the sins that our bodies helped
to act out in the first place.
So consider the next seven weeks as an intense trip to the
gym, a body/soul gym, and allow the life of the Church to improve your physical
health AND help your soul grow closer to Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Have
a blessed Great Lent!
To help you along the way, I suggest a daily visit to Lent.GoArch.org
Tomorrow is Forgiveness Sunday in the Orthodox Church. It is
the last day before the Great Fast, a period of intense prayer and fasting in
preparation for the Passion of Our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ. On
Forgiveness Sunday, the Church commemorates the expulsion from paradise of Adam
and Eve. You may wonder why the Church focuses our attention on Adam and Eve
when the Gospel lesson for the day teaches about prayer and fasting.
Gospel Reading: Matthew 6:14-21 - The Lord said, "If
you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you;
but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father
forgive your trespasses. "And when you fast, do not look dismal, like the
hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by
men. Truly, I say to you, they have
received their reward. But when you
fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by
men but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret
will reward you. "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where
moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves
treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do
not break in and steal. For where your
treasure is, there will your heart be also."
For us to properly understand the importance of forgiveness
in our Great Lenten journey, consider what actually took place when Adam and
Eve were expelled from paradise.
Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become
like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and
take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever" -- therefore the
LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he
was taken. (Genesis 3.22-23)
If only Adam and Eve had asked God for forgiveness, things may
have ended up differently. Being expelled from Paradise allowed Adam and Eve to
be saved by God. If they had remained in the Garden in their fallen state, and
then had eaten from the Tree of Life, they (WE) would have been eternally condemned.
So God SAVED us from ourselves when He expelled Adam and Eve from Paradise. Without
forgiveness we remain outside the Gates of Paradise as Adam and Eve.
One basic core of Forgiveness Sunday is to ask forgiveness
from everyone as you prepare to begin Great Lent. In many Churches, a special
Forgiveness Vespers is celebrated giving ever member of the Community the
opportunity to ask others for forgiveness, all to remind us of the alternative
which is expulsion from Paradise. Something to consider as we prepare for our
Great Lenten journey.
By the end of yesterday I think I had seen every possible advertisement
or commercial for meat in existence. Even watching a program about sensory
perception, I found bacon sizzling and hamburgers falling from the sky. I think
I was surrounded by meat yesterday. I think most people who fast were; it’s
just part of the process.
Of course there is no anti-Orthodox Christian conspiracy
that places more meat advertising in front of our faces during the Fast, but it
is interesting how much our attention is drawn to the meat. It REALLY IS A GIFT
when we fast. When we are making a conscious decision to avoid a particular
behavior, in this case eating meat, we tend to be more aware of the temptation
that surrounds us. The blessing from fasting comes not in the improved
cholesterol, though it is a side benefit, but in the increased awareness of our
surroundings. Even throughout the year
with the Wednesday/Friday fast, we must first remain aware of what day it is
before we can keep the fast.
When we practice this awareness of our surroundings, THEN we
can focus on the other sins and temptations that also surround us. You could
say that fasting is like turning off the TV when we hear a noise in the night.
It allows our attention to focus better. And for that I’m willing to go without
bacon until May 1st.
Don’t worry, soon you will forget about meat and start
seeing the other sins and temptations that were always surrounding you. You
just couldn’t see them before. THIS YEAR you can focus on fighting some of
those in your life.....your soul will thank you.
And they’re off.....today is the first day of our fast from
meat. Although Great Lent doesn’t begin until next week, the Church slowly
ramps up our bodies to accept the strict fast which will last until we
celebrate Holy and Great Pascha on May 1st. In the meantime, here at
Be Transfigured life goes on with blogging and video production and LIVE STREAM
Bible Studies. I thought it would be wise to remind you the fast is not a
sprint but a long distance marathon. When a runner sprints all available energy
is thrust out at the starting line. Runners can do this because sprints are
very short. But our Lenten Fast is long distance running which requires
constant monitoring of energy levels and making adjustments along the way based
upon conditions along the route. As with any long distance race, a successful
runner conserves energy for the long haul, sometimes even allowing other runners
to push ahead, but experience teaches even the best runners that races are not
won at the starting line, but the finish line.
This year, allow the Church’s two thousand year record,
guided by your Spiritual Father, to set your path for the fast. If you have
never fasted the entire 65 days until Pascha, please do not attempt to sprint
off the starting line without consulting with a long distance running coach,
also known as your Spiritual Father. Hopefully, with prayer and personal
experience, he can prepare you for the race course and all its obstacles.
Unlike a running marathon, the fasting marathon is also an obstacle course with
sin and temptation wreaking havoc along the way. Please don’t make the mistake
of going out on the course and spending all your energy right off the starting
line. You may look like you’re winning at first, but you will quickly be left
behind.
When the Son of Man comes in His glory, He will judge not
your actions, but whether or not see God in the least of His brothers. (Matthew
25.31-46) Our Lord makes it clear that when we are able to see God in every
human being including the lowest of the low will be welcomed into Heaven. Every
human being in created in the Image of God, even if it has been clouded by sin.
Our responsibility as faithful Christians is to be able and willing to see
through sin and seek out the Image of God, and look past the sins of others.
With the coming of Great Lent in just a few days, the Church offers us an
opportunity to repent from our own sin through prayer and fasting, so that we
can feed the lowest of the low who hunger for God. Judgment is coming, and the
question God will ask is, “Do you See God?” What will your answer be?
COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT
Hello, my name is Father Athanasios
Haros and I'm the pastor here at the Transfiguration of our Savior, Greek
Orthodox Church in Florence, South Carolina. I'm your host for Be
Transfigured Ministries. Here at Be Transfigured, as we say we invite you to
live a new life in Christ. We feature our sermons and our Bible studies and
other special events in the life of the Church. We do it to inspire you to
join us in living a new life in Christ. I hope you'll join us. I'll be back
in a moment after this video, to share some information about our ministry.
Today is the third Sunday of the Triodion.
Just to remind you of the past two Sundays, the first Sunday of the Triodion,
the Publican and the Pharisee, God reminded us of pride and reminded us that
each one of us is a sinner, reminded us that we had to look at our sins and
realize the need for repentance. Then last week, again the Lord directed our
attention at our sinfulness. In the story of the Prodigal Son, reminds us
that sometimes until we get to the lowest of the low, we can't realize just
how much we need God's help. The moment we return to him He's waiting to
restore us as if we've never left.
This week, the Church draws our
attention in the other direction, not on our hearts necessarily but on how we
treat others. The story is very common, it is the story of the Final Judgment.
Unlike the last two weeks where it's a parable, in this case the Lord says,
"When the Son of Man comes in His glory," this event my brothers
and sisters will for sure take place in the future. This is to inspire us to
have this on our minds this final week now as we prepare for great lent.
Great lent is only one week away.
Now the Lord and the Church turns
our attention toward other people. He says the very familiar tune, he says,
"I was hungry and you fed Me, I was thirsty and you gave Me a drink, I
was a stranger you took Me in." We know the story. My brothers and
sister, this morning's Gospel isn't really about actions. It's not really
about what we do to other people. If you really pay attention to the story in
this morning's Gospel, neither those who were sheep nor those who were goats,
neither the blessed nor the condemned understood that they were not doing the
right thing.
Even the ones who were blessed said
to Jesus, what do You mean, when did we see You hungry and feed You and
thirsty and give You a drink. He says, "when you did it to the least of
these, My brethren you did it unto Me." That's where I want to rest this
morning, my brothers and sisters. How do we see the least of the people in
the earth? The Gospel's pretty clear, even the goats, even those who were
condemned said, "Lord when did we ever see You hungry and not give You
something to eat." He says, "whenever you did not do it unto the
least, you did not do it unto Me."
Where the Lord is calling us, my
brothers and sisters is for us to see God in each other. Not just our friends
and family, the real challenge in life is for us to see God in the lowest of
the low. God wants us to see that we are each created in the Image of God, in
his divine Image that means you and me and everybody outside this Church has
the Image of God still in them. Our job is to see it. Not just in the people
we like, not just in our family but in the lowest of the low. That's why this
morning's Gospel, my brothers and sisters, really isn't about doing things.
It's about seeing God.
If we cannot see God in the lowest
of the low then we will be the goats. This event is taking place my brothers
and sisters. The Lord will come. If all we have to say to God is well, I fed
my family, I fed my brother, I fed the neighbor next door because he's really
nice and he's really a hard worker. The Lord is going to say, "well what
about those who didn't have friends, what about the rest of Me." You
see, my brothers and sisters, we tend to look at the lowest of the low and we
tend to cast them aside, we tend often times to not consider them of any
value. Oh, I have too many things to do. Then when they get to really low
status, Jesus included those in prison.
When they get to the really low
status and then they have committed some of the most heinous crimes in our
society, our job as Christians is still to see God in them. Because God saw
our fallen humanity, my brothers and sisters, He saw a people worth saving.
None of us deserves God's salvation. Not a single one of us did anything to
deserve God to come and take on our humanity and to restore us into the
kingdom but in each and every one of us, He saw something of value. That
value was His own Image. Each and every human being bears the Image of God.
Our salvation, my brothers and sisters, rests solidly on whether or not we
can see the Image of God in other people but most especially in the lowest of
the low.
The people who we might consider
the lazy ones who don't work and therefore well, of course they're hungry.
They're not doing anything, they're lazy. They might be lazy. They might not
be working. Our job as Christians is to see the Image of God in them and to
realize that even the poorest of the poor, even the most despicable criminal,
deep down in their hearts, they don't want to live the life they're living. I
was speaking with someone who spends much of their time ministering to the
poorer neighborhoods of our cities. He was sharing with me that by the time a
child gets to ten, 11 years old in these very high crime neighborhoods,
they've already learned that their life is destined for crime, their life is
destined to be one of the lowest of the low.
They've already been taught that in
the way they've been treated, the way they've been raised, many times with
not two parents. We know the story. Not a single poor person prefers being
poor. Even the person begging under the bridge, I promise you in his heart,
he would really rather not be begging. Can we see God in him? The person who
might be addicted to drugs or alcohol or addicted to many of the other things
that our society's addicted to, all of the crazy immoral behaviors that
people are addicted to. Can we see God in them, the Image of God in them? It
might be covered in mud. It might be so hidden by the sinful life they have
surrounded themselves in but at that moment is when we have to remember the Publican
and the Pharisee.
At that moment when we are looking
at someone who has totally clouded the Image of God in their own life, before
we cast them aside, sometimes even just to inspire us to search for the Image
of God in them, we have to first remember the Publican and the Pharisee and
realize that we too our sinners. That sometimes when people look at our
lives, do they see the Image of God? Sometimes we need a little inspiration
to be able to look past people's faults and realize that the lowest of the
low in our society, including our brothers and our neighbors and the rest of
our friends, all deserve that opportunity of being saved by our Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ.
Are they hungering for God? Then
let us feed them. Are they thirsting for the Lord in their life, for peace?
We should be able to give them the peace. So many times we can't even find it
in our own hearts. We struggle to find the peace. We struggle to even hunger
for God. That's why, my brothers and sisters, if we're really paying
attention to the life of the Church, this is why the Church offers us these
different readings week after week after week, not in isolation but as a
whole picture. Tomorrow we're going to begin fasting. We're going to begin
taking our bodies and offering them to God because whether we like to admit
it or not, our bodies participate in sin and so therefore our bodies also
participate in repentance.
Our bodies participate in our
leaving the Father as we spoke about last week, going off and living a far
off land away from God. Our bodies have a role to play in that because we're
pleasing our bodies, we're pleasing our own selves. Tomorrow we're going to
begin fasting from meat this week and then the rest of the fast begins next
week as a way to say, well our body participates in our sin, lets also allow
our body to participate in our repentance. Sometimes we need a little bit of
inspiration for us to hunger for God. We fast. The little bit of physical
hunger we might feel during the fast is supposed to remind us that what we're
really hungry for is God, then to share with those others who are hungry and
then we feed them.
You see it isn't necessarily about
a can of soup although we should be doing that too. The basket in the narthex
should be overflowing every single week with cans of food that we can bring
to the shelter. My brothers and sisters, the basket will never be full so
long as we are not able to see the Image of God in the people who need that
food. We're too busy only feeding our loved ones. We're too busy only visiting
our friends. The judgment is coming. There's no need for us to think of the
judgment and run away with fear. Let’s see the coming judgment and use it as
inspiration to open our eyes to others.
Even our friends, our neighbors,
our family members who we might be estranged from because of one argument or
another, they did this, I said this, they said this. This is our opportunity
to see God in every one of the people we interact with and then offer them
that bit of hospitality that comes from our hearts. Then God will say to us,
"come blessed, enter into your kingdom which I have prepared for all
time because you fed Me, you clothed Me." We will say,
"really?" We remember doing it to all those other people God, that
must've been You that whole time. One final bit of inspiration I offer this
morning, is our tradition that we have to think that sometimes we are
offering hospitality to an angel. Sometimes to give us that chance to see the
Image of God in other people, sometimes God sends us an angel in the form of
a beggar, in the form of a stranger. Don't pass the opportunity up. Learn to
see God in all people and then God will welcome us into his kingdom. Glory to
God for all things.
Well I'm back and I hope this video
was an inspiration to you. I hope it helps you live a new life in Christ.
Please share our message of hope with your friends and family and invite
others to live a new life in Christ. Find more information about Be
Transfigured Ministries by joining us on our website at liveanewlifeinchrist.org. You can also find many of our
videos at the Orthodox Christian network, our partners at myOCN.net. As we say at Be
Transfigured, until next week, God bless you and don't forget to live a new
life in Christ.
Be Transfigured is a production of
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Carolina and presented by the Orthodox Christian Network. Contributions in
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Be Transfigured, 2990 S Cashua Dr, Florence, South Carolina 29501 or
online at our website www.liveanewlifeinChrist.org.
On the third Sunday of the Triodion, known as Judgment
Sunday in the Orthodox Church, the Church turns our attention toward the
Parable of the Last Judgment. We are taught by this parable the world will be
divided between those who see God and those who don’t see God. In telling the
story, Jesus exalts those who fed Him, clothed Him, gave Him a drink, and
visited Him in prison. Those who are condemned, according to Jesus, are those
who didn’t do these things. You should read the entire account in Matthew
25.31-46. In short, Jesus says, “As you did it to one of the least of these my
brethren, you did it to me.” (Matthew 25.40)
The Parable of the Last Judgment isn’t about feeding the
poor, although we should feed the poor. What makes feeding the poor part of our
salvation is when we can SEE GOD in the poor. If we cannot see God, then even
if we feed the poor, we will be lost. As I have said before, even Atheists can
feed the poor but their actions will not save them. Every human being is
created in the Image of God, and if we truly believe in Him, we will be able to
see His Image in each other as human beings.
As we learned last week with the Parable of the Prodigal
Son, each human being sins, but when we really love God, we can see past the
sin and see God in them. Today the Parable of the Last Judgment drives the
point still deeper into our hearts to warn us that our final judgment will
depend on whether or not we can see the Image of God in each other. Great Lent is
just around the corner. The Church is calling us to reflect in our hearts about
our love for God and how that translates into how we see other people, and
Judgment Sunday is a great reminder that saying we love God isn’t the same as
SEEING Him.
Today’s Epistle Reading: St. John's Second Universal Letter
1:1-13 - The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the
truth, and not only I but also all who know the truth, because of the truth
which abides in us and will be with us forever:
Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from
Jesus Christ the Father's Son, in truth and love. I rejoiced greatly to find
some of your children following the truth, just as we have been commanded by
the Father. And now I beg you, lady, not
as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from
the beginning, that we love one another.
And this is love, that we follow his commandments; this is the commandment,
as you have heard from the beginning, that you follow love. For many deceivers have gone out into the
world, men who will not acknowledge the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh;
such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist.
Look to yourselves, that you may not lose what you have worked for, but
may win a full reward. Any one who goes
ahead and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God; he who
abides in the doctrine has both the Father and the Son. If any one comes to you and does not bring
this doctrine, do not receive him into the house or give him any greeting; for
he who greets him shares his wicked work. Though I have much to write to you, I
would rather not use paper and ink, but I hope to come to see you and talk with
you face to face, so that our joy may be complete. The children of your elect
sister greet you. Amen.
During a discussion yesterday about the sacredness the human
body as it relates to the understanding of the Incarnation of Christ and the
body as the Temple of the Holy Spirit. In short I was explaining why Orthodox
Christians are called to treat the human body, even after death, with dignity
and respect because the Body is in Communion with God. This discussion took
place in our Orthodoxy 101 Class which is why I am sharing it here. After
explaining why we don’t cremate and why we frown upon our bodies being divided
up and sold off the pavement during a car accident (but we consider it a
blessing to donate organs in a planned and holy way), a comment was made, “Ok,
it’s nice that you treat the body with respect but that doesn’t have anything
to do with salvation.”
But it does as I explained last night. In Orthodoxy words
matter. Theology matters. IF we truly believe that God came and dwelt among us;
IF we truly believe He entered the waters of the Jordan and sanctified all
life; IF we believe we truly receive the BODY AND BLOOD of Our lord in the Holy
Communion; IF we truly believe our bodies are the Temple of the Holy Spirit as
the Scriptures confirm; THEN as a matter of salvation that belief MUST have an
impact on how we treat the human body. If we discard the human body without
regard after physical death, or purposely abuse our bodies while we are alive,
I suggest with might not REALLY believe what we claim about Jesus Christ. Words
matter. Theology matters.
In today’s Epistle Saint John writes, “Anyone who goes ahead
and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God.” While I
appreciate the human desire to wish away consequences, the Church has
ALWAYS believed doctrine was important, not because it affects God, but because
proper doctrine affects our daily life. According to the doctrine of Jesus
Christ, when we join ourselves to Christ through Holy Baptism, and when we
receive the Precious Body and Blood of Christ during the Divine Liturgy, we are
in REAL PHYSICAL union with God. That is the doctrine. Do our lives reflect
THAT doctrine or another? If it reflects another doctrine, then go back and
read the Epistle again. Doctrine matters!
I am currently attending the annual Spring Retreat of the
Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Atlanta Clergy Brotherhood. The Brotherhood gathers
twice each year for continuing education, fellowship, worship and a bit of
practical business. Every time I attend these gatherings I receive a special
blessing in addition to the professional development. The blessing of priests
gathering with their bishop is a special event in the life of any Church, but
especially for me personally.
Being a part of the Greek Orthodox Church is more than just “where”
I attend (or in m case serve) on a Sunday. Being a part of the Greek Orthodox
Church means being a part of the unbroken link dating back to our Lord Jesus
Christ and His Apostles. For twenty-one centuries the Church has gathered for
education, fellowship, worship and a bit of practical business and our session
these two and half days in Salem, SC are a profound continuation of that moment
in the Upper Room when Jesus prepared the first Church leaders for His
departure and the work they had ahead.
When the Church gathers in the blessing moments, as clergy
with their bishop, while we are not discussing profound theological truths like
the First Ecumenical Council debated in 325CE, we are nonetheless showing
deference to the earliest gatherings of the Church. We pray, we share our
struggles, we plan for the future, and we worship God. The Apostles may not
have had central air conditioning or laptops with high speed internet, but they
did have the Church. Something special is in the air during our gathering here
at the Diakonia Retreat Center. Please pray for us. We will pray for you.
Today’s Gospel Reading: Mark 14:10-42 - At that time, Judas
Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to
betray him to them. And when they heard it they were glad, and promised to give
him money. And he sought an opportunity to betray him. And on the first day of Unleavened
Bread, when they sacrificed the passover lamb, his disciples said to him,
"Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the passover?"
And he sent two of his disciples, and said to them, "Go into the city, and
a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him, and wherever he
enters, say to the householder, 'The Teacher says, Where is my guest room,
where I am to eat the passover with my disciples?' And he will show you a large
upper room furnished and ready; there prepare for us." And the disciples
set out and went to the city, and found it as he had told them; and they
prepared the passover. And when it was evening he came with the twelve. And as
they were at table eating, Jesus said, "Truly, I say to you, one of you
will betray me, one who is eating with me." They began to be sorrowful,
and to say to him one after another, "Is it I?" He said to them,
"It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the dish with me.
For the Son of man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom
the Son of man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had
not been born." And as they were eating, he took bread, and blessed, and
broke it, and gave it to them, and said, "Take; this is my body." And
he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all
drank of it. And he said to them, "This is my blood of the new covenant,
which is poured out for many. Truly, I say to you, I shall not drink again of
the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of
God." And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
And Jesus said to them, "You will all fall away; for it is written, 'I
will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.' But after I am
raised up, I will go before you to Galilee." Peter said to him, "Even
though they all fall away, I will not." And Jesus said to him,
"Truly, I say to you, this very night, before the cock crows twice, you
will deny me three times." But he said vehemently, "If I must die
with you, I will not deny you." And they all said the same. And they went
to a place which was called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, "Sit
here, while I pray." And he took with him Peter and James and John, and
began to be greatly distressed and troubled. And he said to them, "My soul
is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch." And going a
little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the
hour might pass from him. And he said, 'Abba, Father, all things are possible
to you; remove this cup from me; yet not what I will, but what you will."
And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, "Simon, are you
asleep? Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter
into temptation; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." And
again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. And again he came and
found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy; and they did not know what
to answer him. And he came the third time, and said to them, "Are you
still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough; the hour has come; the Son
of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going; see, my
betrayer is at hand."
As Great Lent approaches the Church brings our mind to what
is coming in the Passion of Our Lord. As we prepare our fast which (from meat
at least) begins next week, it is good for us to remember why we are embarking
on this journey of intense spiritual battle. The betrayal of our Lord is all
part of the Passion story. Judas was unable to see the love and mercy of God,
but rather saw Jesus Christ as a military king who would save his people from
the Roman Empire. Judas was unable to open his heart to the message of peace
and mercy that Jesus brought at every teaching and miracle.
I pray that as you prepare for the fast, you do not lose
sight of why you are fasting. Allow your fast to open your eyes to the peace
and mercy of God, rather than your own agenda. It will make all the difference.
