We will create or own hell

Many people believe that God alone determines our future in heaven or hell, but they forget we are coworkers with God. How we will ultimately experience heaven, the presence of God, will be determined by how our hearts are prepared to experience His love. In other words, though we will all find ourselves in heaven, if our hearts are not in the right place, we will create our own hell.

Making a Name for Yourself

We often hear the expression “making a name for yourself” or some variation of it when speaking about how we interact with society. We are surrounded by names. Streets, buildings, rivers, mountains, even cities and counties often bear the name of someone famous from history. It has long been a tradition of humanity to leave behind some sort of legacy for future generations to remember us by. Some even suggest this trend is linked to our genetic footprint that we feel compelled to spread.

This is why the Gospel lesson today comes as a shock. The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16.19-31) turns over the logic we tend to consider when we speak of legacies. We hear about “a certain rich man” who died and was tortured in heaven. We don’t know his name. The only legacy he left behind was to say, “Some rich man used to live here and then he died.” How sad for him. He spent his entire life gathering wealth, living a life of luxury in a home filled with servants, and we never get to know his name.

On the contrary we hear a man named Lazarus who spent his life begging for food on the very doorstep of this rich man. In life he was passed by, probably often being stepped over as people were entering the rich man’s house. Yet is heaven everyone knows his name. He is being welcomed and comforted by God. At his death the angels escorted him directly to God’s loving embrace.

In these two examples we hear a warning from our Lord about what heaven is going to be like. In a series of parables, Jesus reveals to us the condition of our hearts and how we might be expected to experience heaven. In the case of the rich man who was preoccupied with making a name for himself during life, he was tormented as an unknown being forced to watch Lazarus being comforted by God. In Lazarus’ case, while he was unknown and suffered in life, in heaven everyone knew his name. He was welcomed, embraced, and comforted by God.

If we spend life focused on making a name for ourselves rather than focusing on the needs of others, we will likely experience heaven as torment. If we find it difficult to watch others honored and blessed while we struggle, we will likely experience heaven as torment. We will likely be unknown.

Salvation is more than just eternal life

There are many who challenge the Orthodox Church on the question of salvation. We are asked, “Are you saved?” The normal Orthodox response is something along the lines of “I was saved. I am saved. I am being saved.” For Orthodox Christians the question of salvation is a question not of a single moment in time, but a process of the heart. I recently offered a sermon, “Are you saved? I hope so.” You can watch it here.

But what if salvation wasn’t about eternal life? What if you lived forever whether or not you were saved? It really all depends upon what you are hoping to be saved from in the first place. Are you hoping to be saved from death? Then that part was already accomplished when Christ died and resurrected. Maybe you are hoping to be saved from the struggles of life? Every day Christ saves us from the struggles of life. Even in our most severe pain, Christ reminds us that pain is only temporary and comfort is just around the corner.

Here is today’s Gospel Reading: John 5:24-30 (RSV) - The Lord said to the Jews who came to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me, has eternal life; he does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. Truly, truly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself, and has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of man. Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come forth, those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment. I can do nothing on my own authority; as I hear, I judge; and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of the Father who sent me."

Maybe you want to be saved from hell. That is a different story. Physical salvation is guaranteed to all who hear the word of God, as we hear in today’s Gospel “all who are in the tombs will hear his voice.” Once we are in our tomb we will hear God’s voice. What will matter then is whether or you not you want to hear His voice, whether or not you desire to see His face, whether or not you have chosen to love Him. Whether we experience His voice as salvation or hell will depend only on our heart, and how our heart has governed our life.

This is the truth we celebrate when we proclaim Christ is Risen! This is the Good News, that Christ has conquered death. I guess the “not so good news” is that salvation is more than just eternal life.

Following Christ to Heaven

Half way through the Great Fast the Church reminds us of our destination. We are on a journey to the Cross. We are on a journey to heaven, but first we must learn to deny ourselves and take up our cross. The Church provides us with all the tools we need for our journey including fasting, almsgiving, patience, love, forgiveness, repentance, and humility. Once we can overcome our own self-desires we can then, and only then following Christ to heaven.

Heaven isn’t about loyalty

In the Parable of the Prodigal Son Jesus tells us a story of two sons, one loyal and the other not. The not-so-loyal son, thinking he was deserving of his inheritance early, spent everything he had on harlots and sinful living. The loyal son remained at home with their father and maintained the family business. The not-so-loyal son found himself broke and hungry with nothing to call his own. The loyal son had the family wealth at his fingertips whenever he desired. After a long separation, the three were reunited. The not-so-loyal son was comforted by the father while the loyal son found himself suffering with anger.

What was the difference? Both sons were loved by the father, but only one experienced his love as comfort. When the not-so-loyal son returned to his father to become a servant, the father was willing to forget his sins and selfishness and welcome him home again. The father never once stopped waiting for his son to return, and the son felt the father’s love deep in his heart. The loyal son, though he never left the father, refused to experience the father’s love as comfort. Instead he could only resent his brother for returning home as if nothing had happened. The father never stopped sharing everything he had with the loyal son, but the loyal son never accepted his father’s love.

The difference was love. Without love the son’s loyalty was nothing more than a job. Without love the father may have forgiven the son, but would never have welcomed him home. Without love both sons would be left out in the cold, but with love both sons had the potential of being comforted by the father. Love makes all the difference.

The Orthodox Church teaches that this parable is about our reality of being loved by God. If we experience God’s love as comfort, we will be in heaven. If we experience God’s love as a burden and unfair as the loyal so experienced, we will be in hell. Heaven and hell won’t be about whether or not we sinned. Heaven and hell will be about how we experience God’s love.

Do you want to be in heaven? Then you must learn the lesson of love. Love isn’t about loyalty and obligation. Love is about forgiveness and repentance. As we continue our preparations for Great Lent, the Church invites us to choose to experience God’s love for what He intends. God loves every one of us, loyal or not. It is our choice how we experience His love.

Authority to not be hurt

Throughout my years of ministry I have met many Christians, Orthodox and non-Orthodox, who expend a great deal of energy attempting to avoid struggle. In most of these cases people have been consumed with a certain level of self-pity because there exists something or someone that would dare to attack them. The belief was always that if we confess God then we wouldn’t suffer. Nothing can be further from the truth. Consider today’s Gospel Reading.

Luke 10:19-21 (RSV) - The Lord said to his disciples, "Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you; but rejoice that your names are written in heaven." In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will."

There are two ways to read God’s promise of this authority. Either the serpents and scorpions won’t attack you, which is what many Christians mistakenly believe, or the serpents and scorpions can’t hurt you no matter how many times they bite and sting you. The main reason for many who are consumed with self-pity is because of how they choose to interpret this authority.

If we read this passage as a promise from God that nothing will attack us, and that we will never feel pain, we run the risk of losing our faith in God because the realty of pain and suffering is obvious. If on the other hand we read this passage as a promise from God that nothing can hurt our chances of entering heaven, then even when we are bitten and stung and attacked, we will rejoice that God has open heaven to us and welcomed us in as citizens of paradise.

It’s all in how you read. I invite you to dwell not upon the pain of the attack, but on the promise of heaven. The pain will fade away and eventually you will be left only with what is in your heart. If your heart is consumed with self-pity and anger toward God, then that will be what is left in your heart when the pain dissipates. We call that hell. If your heart is consumed with thankfulness that God has open the doors of paradise to you, then that will be what is left in your heart when the pain ends. We call that heaven. God has already given you that authority....the authority not to be hurt. Will you use your authority?

We Have been Invited to Heaven

In the Parable of the Great Banquet (Luke 14.16.24) our Lord compares the Kingdom of Heaven to a great banquet to which we have all been invited. As in the parable many of us make excuses as to why we or our family cannot attend. As servants we are commanded to go out and invite others who have also been invited so that God’s House is filled. We don’t know when God will call us to Heaven, but we must be prepared to answer the call without excuses and enter into Heaven with our Lord. No more excuses. We have been given another opportunity to answer the call without excuses. Through the life of the Church we can be prepared to enter into Heaven. No more excuses. We can still be loyal and faithful servants.

The Time is Drawing Near

Yesterday I wrote about making excuses when the Lord sends His servants to call us to heaven. At some point the Lord will come calling. We all know and accept that reality, but it has become “normal” to think we have more time. We are confident the Lord isn’t coming today, “So why not just go about our business,” we think every day. But as today’s Gospel reminds us, our time is drawing near...

Here is today’s Gospel Reading: Luke 21:28-33 (RSV) - The Lord said to his disciples, "Look up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near." And he told them a parable: "Look at the fig tree, and all the trees; as soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away till all has taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away."

I have noticed over the years that two types of people general exist. There are people who put off until the very last moment the work needed for a project. The project could be school related, work related, and even vacation related. Have you ever realized your vacation was beginning tomorrow and you hadn’t made hotel reservations yet? The other type of person is the one who arrives at the airport three hours in advance “just in case” something comes up they have to attend to. This type of person would rather sit at the gate for three hours and enjoy reading a good book, than feel rushed through security in a state of panic the plane would depart without them comfortable in their seat.

No matter what the project, the procrastinator will procrastinate. There is one major problem though when it comes to our relationship with God. WE DON’T KNOW the departure time. We only know, as the Lord says in today’s Gospel, the time is drawing near. When it comes to our time to enter heaven, we won’t be able to ask for more time, we won’t be able to wrap things up, we won’t be able to “pull an all-nighter” to finish the report. God will come for us, and whatever we have accomplished we have accomplished...no more – no less.

If you are a regular reader of this blog, then you know my emphasis on taking seriously the life the Church offers to us as preparation for when God calls. I invite you today, most especially if you are a procrastinator, to consider whether or not you are prepared to enter the kingdom of heaven. “The time of your redemption is drawing near.” Will you be ready?

What will your excuse be?

One time I was sitting around a table with religious leaders from all sorts of different backgrounds. This group included Christians and non-Christians, and we were discussing the importance of hospital ministry. One Christian pastor asked, “Is there anyone who would visit a patient in the hospital and not pray for physical healing?” The question sounded obvious enough since the very reason a patient enters the hospital is to be healed by doctors who have been trained in all the newest technologies. We don’t go to the hospital to die. I was troubled by his question because as Orthodox Christians we approach life from a different vantage point, so I raised my hand. “I don’t!” I let it sit out there for a minute or two. “As an Orthodox Christian I pray they are healed so that they may live long enough to repent.”  A long discussion ensued.

I think it has become too easy to pray for healing just so that we are no longer sick. We pray that God fixes what is broken in our bodies so that we can continue to pursue our dreams of building great dynasties. We pray that God allows us to get up from our sick bed so that we can walk into work another day and close that perfect deal we were just about to wrap up. We even pray to God that we don’t die too soon so that we can enjoy time with our family. Let’s face it; we all have excuses about why we don’t want to die. But if we’re honest the excuse rarely if ever includes time for repentance and confession. We hear something similar in the Gospel.

The Lord compares heaven to a great banquet to which many had been invited. The master had sent word to those who had been invited that the banquet was ready, “But they all with one accord began to make excuses.” (Luke 14.18) The result was that others were brought into the banquet and those who had made excuses were left outside. The master said, “For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.” (Luke 14.24)

The stories in the Gospel are never just stories. They are meant for us today to hear and embrace as a witness to God’s loving promise about our future with Him. That means WE have been invited to the banquet which He calls Heaven. We have been called by His servants, the Saints of our Church, to remind us that He is waiting for us. We have been given the opportunity to accept His invitation to the banquet. It also means that we have been the chance to come up with excuses about why we aren’t ready to attend. It isn’t because we don’t want to attend; we just would rather spend more time doing what we like to do “down here” for a while longer. That’s really why we spend so much energy trying to get healed and leave the hospital. We want more time to check out the new property we just purchased, test the new equipment we just installed, or enjoy time with our family.

The truth of God’s promise is that we don’t know exactly when He will send His servants to “bring us” to the banquet, so we need to be willing to answer the call when the time comes. That can only mean that we must be ‘ready and waiting’ for His call. But when He calls and you aren’t ready, what will your excuse be? Instead of making excuses, be ready for Him. Be waiting for Him. Enter into the banquet together with Him and avoid being left outside the gates of heaven. It isn’t about property, jobs, and family. It is about entering into heaven with God.

The Road to Heaven

Sometimes we just need a bit of a reminder that, even though life has its challenges, the hope of the Gospel isn’t about this life. The hope of the Gospel is in the life that God has planned for us, living with Him in heaven. Saint Paul knew this. He knew the true struggle of every Christian especially in a world that at the time was much less tolerant of Christians that today’s world. Eve depended on her understanding of the benefit of eating the apple rather than on God, and we know what happened to Eve? Saint Paul is trying to remind us, “The transcendent power belongs to God and not to us.” The Church, through the entire life it presents to us, is trying to help us depend upon God rather than ourselves, and that takes endurance. It won’t be easy. That much we know, but it is worth the struggle.

The News is always Good even when it sounds bad

Everyone knows the Gospel is the Good News about Jesus Christ, but not everyone who hears the Gospel hears the news as Good News. On the surface the Gospel may even seem like a dual-personality story. There is forgiveness and there is judgment. There is feeding and there is hunger. There is good and there is evil. And many times both exist in the same story. So why is the Gospel called the Good News if there is so much bad sandwiched between the good?

Take today’s Gospel lesson for example. We see a man who owes a huge amount to the king. He owes so much money that he could never possibly even dream about paying his debt to the king, and the king threatens to throw him in debtors’ prison until the debt is paid. In reality this was a life sentence since he owed more than his life would ever pay, so the man begs for a little more time to pay off the debt. Instead the king forgives every cent he owes and lets the man go free. That same man, just seconds later as he was leaving the king as a free man, bumped into one of his fellows who owed him a small amount. The fellow begged for a little more time to pay off the debt, but the man wouldn’t budge. He threw his fellow in debtor’s prison along with his family until the debt could be paid, about three months. The story concludes with the man being called back by the king who had heard about the situation. The king threw him in prison for the rest of his life.

This Gospel story is about forgiveness. Jesus warns us about not being willing to forgive. He says, “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.” (Matthew 18.35 NKJV) The story doesn’t sound so much like Good News when you come to end and find the man sitting in prison being tortured. The story is a glimpse of heaven and hell. For the moment the man experienced forgiveness he was in heaven. For the moment he refused to forgive his fellow he was in hell. Same man, same story, same Good News, even if sounds bad.

The point of the Gospel is that God is waiting to forgive us. It doesn’t matter how much we owe him. Even if we can’t pay him back, He is willing to forgive us when we ask. And THAT is Good News. It will always be Good News. But if we don’t return the favor and refuse to forgive ANYONE else, the Good News starts to sound bad. If we cannot see the beauty of God’s forgiveness, then we cannot see the reason to forgive others. Keep in mind, the ONLY reason is sounds bad is because WE are not willing to forgive. The News is STILL Good. Let’s look at it another way.

What if the same man was called by the king and told, “You owe me so much money that even if I put you in prison, you will never be able to pay it off. I’ll tell you what I’m going to do. I understand there is a fellow of yours who owes you a small amount. If you forgive his small debt to you, then I will forgive you large debt.” I suppose the man would have said, “Absolutely! I’ll go tell him right now!” It starts to sound like Good News again doesn’t it? It is just a matter of perspective. So long as the man knew in advance that he could be forgiven his huge debt if he forgave his fellow’s small debt, he would be more willing to forgive.

The truth is, we HAVE been given the Good News in advance. Jesus HAS told us, “Go ahead and forgive your fellow and I will forgive you.” There is no reason to hear the Gospel story as bad news. It is always Good News. We just have to change the way we hear it.

What is God’s Plan?

Living in the Bible Belt, it has become a daily experience it seems to hear the phrase, God has a plan for you. When good-intentioned people say this, they usually are trying to comfort a friend or family member who is in some sort of transition. A lost job, a serious illness, or even some tragedy, nothing seems to be beyond a friend using the phrase, “It is going to be ok. God has a plan for you.” Let me just say, I REALLY DON’T LIKE this saying, and it is definitely NOT Orthodox.

In this week’s “Ask Father” series we will answer the question, “What is God’s plan?” Every day we are faced with choices, some life-changing, when we deeply depend upon understanding that God does indeed have a plan for us. The problem is contemporary American Christianity tends to view God as handing out material blessings in exchange for our loyalty. This also is NOT Orthodox. We can never forget that God said, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.” (Mark 8.34) Clearly He couldn’t have meant that His plan was to shower us with material blessings.

The proper understanding of God’s plan is crucial to our relationship with Him. If we constantly look to God as the bestower of material blessings, we will doubt Him when those blessings do not come at our requested time. The truth is God’s plan has NOTHING to do with material blessings and EVERYTHING to do with eternal comfort embraced by His unending love. How we choose to accept His plan will not only impact how we live now on Earth; it will affect how we experience His love in Heaven.

You Can't Climb to Heaven until You Renounce the World

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 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.

As we are celebrating today the memory of a holy man in our Church history, St. John of the Ladder, we call him, St. John the Climacus, because he wrote a book called On the Ladder of Divine Ascent. Today, the Church commemorates this holy saint.

This book that he wrote, The Ladder of Divine Ascent, I put these different steps in your Church bulletins but I want to begin this morning by drawing your attention to the first step. If you have your bulletins, look at your bulletin. Step number one on the divine ascent, how to get to heaven, step number one, it says on the renunciation of the world.

We are in the middle of our Great Lenten journey, a period of increased fasting, a period of increased Church attendance, a period of increased prayer, a period of increased scripture reading, a period of increased helping of the poor. All of this, my brothers and sisters, if we are living the life of the Church, all of this has been given to us this many weeks and we still have a couple of weeks left so we can focus on this first step that St. John is reminding us of. Until we can renounce the world, we cannot climb to heaven. I'm going to say that again because it's incredibly important. Until we are able to renounce the world, we cannot climb to heaven. We cannot, my brothers and sisters, hold on to the earthly things to our comforts, to our wealth, to the ways of life of the world, and still try and reach heaven. It is not possible.

That's what our Great Lenten journey is about: understanding, accepting, embracing, and practicing renouncing the world. That was the message last week when we talked about the holy cross. We talked about our suffering. This week, we're going to look further now with the understanding that we want to get to heaven and that we have chosen to let go of the worldly things. It's a big presumption because it holds us so strongly.

We are so bound to our worldly things. We are so bound to the way we want to do things in life. We live in a culture, as we know, that reinforces this mentality. We live in a culture that reinforces the idea that we can have whatever we want whenever we want it, as much as we want it. Anyone that we see that doesn't agree with us, we find ways to get them out of our way so we can have and we can collect and we can gather all of these worldly realities to our life. That includes sometimes even in the face of sickness.

As I mentioned last week, the Cross is an understanding of suffering. In this morning's Gospel, you see a man whose son was suffering and it says that he bought his son to the apostles and the apostles couldn't save his son so he comes to Christ and he says, "If you can do anything, your apostles couldn't do anything," as if to tell God, "Why is it not happening like I want, God?"

If we're honest with ourselves, we will admit that we have been in the same place as this father many times in our life. It may not necessarily be with physical illness but if we are honest with ourselves, just how many times have we placed ourselves in the position of saying, "God, it hasn't happened yet like I want it to. Come on, God. Can't you do something for me?" It could be a job, it could be a relationship, it could even be something as simple as building a new home for our family. We find ourselves constantly impatient with what God has to offer us because we want it now on our terms. We want health, we want wealth, we want comforts now. We don't want to wait.

Our Lord, being the complete loving and patient God, says, "Oh, you faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me." God is ever so patient with us, my brothers and sisters. Even in those moments of complete selfish begging that we do in front of our icons, we want it now, we want it on our terms, even at those moments when we're completely ignoring what God has asked us to do in life, He turns to us and says, "How long am I going to be with you until you realize that these worldly things are not what's going to bring us happiness?" These comforts in life are not going to be what sets us on a firm foundation for the future. In the patience of God, He's going to say to us, "How long am I going to bear with you, my children, until you realize that you have to be willing to let go of all these things if you want to join Me in heaven," the Lord is saying.

He says, "Bring him here to Me." There's the center, middle section of the Gospel, which is the dialogue between Him and the boy and the demon and the fathers. The demons throw the boy into the fire and he's suffering and the boy is healed. God was going to heal him but He wanted the people to understand that we have to have patience in life when it comes to the things that we are asking from God. The apostles pull him privately and they say, "Excuse me, God, Lord. Don't you remember you told ..." This isn't how it's written in here but you can imagine how the apostles are thinking now. "Remember, Lord, you told us that we had the power to cast out demons. How come we couldn't cast out this demon?" Our Lord says, "This particular kind of demon can only go out through prayer and fasting."

It is only when we have the patience to put our complete faith in God, it is only when we're willing through fasting to let go of all of the worldly pressures in our life, all of the worldly desires in our life, only then will this demon be able to come out of us. That's what Great Lent is all about, renouncing the world, patiently praying to our Lord. What did the father say? "I believe. Help my unbelief." That should be our call, my brothers and sisters. You wouldn't be here this morning if you didn't somewhat believe. You wouldn't be here this morning sitting in this Church if there wasn't some kernel of faith in your heart.

You know, as a parenthesis, I love the way the modern Greek translates this particular verse. The modern Greek says, "I believe. Help me, however." [GREEK] "Help me, however, because my faith is weak." It is in prayer and fasting in this wonderful Great Lenten journey that the Church gives us that we are going to strengthen our faith, my brothers and sisters. It is in this prayer and fasting of this Great Lenten season that we're going to learn that we don't always have to follow the ways of the world to put our children and our families on a sure foundation for the future. God is our foundation.

Just as one final reminder, St. Paul reminding us that God in his ultimate patience came and set up a covenant for us. He made an oath because he knew that we were weak. St. Paul says, "Thus, God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise," that's us, "the immutability of his council, confirmed by an oath that by two immutable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. This hope," St. Paul says, "we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, in which enters the presence behind the veil where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus having become high priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek."

The Lord has given us a promise, my brothers and sisters, and He doesn't go back on His promises. The promise is that He is going to bring us with Him to heaven. That is our hope. Our hope is not in a college education or in a good job or a sizable estate to hand down to our children. That is not our hope. That is the hope of the world. As St. John of the Ladder writes, In just step one, on the renunciation of the world. We cannot climb up to heaven until we're willing to leave all of these things beside.  Through prayer and fasting, we can accomplish just that and we can cast that demon out of our life and be raised with Christ into heaven.

That's our call this week, my brothers and sisters. In your daily prayers, throughout the day at noon every moment on your lips should be the words, this week, "I believe, Lord. Help my unbelief." God has already promised to strengthen that belief through prayer and fasting, which is our Great Lenten journey. 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 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 S Cashua Dr, Florence, South Carolina 29501 or online at our website at www.LiveANewLifeInChrist.org.

God has something better planned for you

Have you ever heard this statement when you are feeling down about something in your life? I have and I’m getting sick and tired of hearing it, not because I don’t believe it, but because I do. Allow me to explain..

In my conversations with many people who use this phrase, they are sure God means, “Don’t worry honey. I have something better coming your way. Any day now you should be receiving my blessing and you will be really pleased.” Then they go on through life expecting that something great any day, but any day never comes. They are never satisfied.

God DOES have something better planned for us, but it isn’t in THIS life. Once we realize the something better is eternity with Him, we will finally stop looking around every corner for raises, better health, a nicer home, or friendlier friends. Once we realize what God meant when He said we had to be willing to lose our life in order to gain it, THEN we will live at peace.

The Christian Life is a Narrow Path

Today’s Gospel Reading: Luke 13:19-29 - The Lord said this parable, "The kingdom of God is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his garden; and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches." And again he said, "To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? It is like leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened." He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. And some one said to him, "Lord, will those who are saved be few?" And he said to them, "Strive to enter by the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the householder has risen up and shut the door, you will begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, 'Lord, open to us.' He will answer you, 'I do not know where you come from.' Then you will begin to say, 'We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.' But he will say, 'I tell you, I do not know where you come from; depart from me, all you workers of iniquity!' There you will weep and gnash your teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and you yourselves thrust out. And men will come from east and west, and from north and south, and sit at table in the kingdom of God."

It always amazes me when confronted with the notion that the Christian life is the narrow path, many will accuse the Church of judging and trying to control people. But with the words we read today in the Gospel of Luke, Christ made perfectly clear that entering into heaven is reserved for those who choose the narrow path rather than the broad avenues of the world. Something to think about in the final days of the Nativity fast.

If you are too busy for Church, you are too busy

The Gospel tells a story of a great banquet. Many were invited, but very few actually attended using all sorts of excuses. One had just bought a new farm, one had just purchased five oxen, and another had just been married. Excuses, excuses, excuses! The invited guests begged to be excused from the banquet. As a result the master of the banquet not only excused them, he banned them for EVER attending even if they had changed their mind saying, “none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.” (Luke 14.24)

This parable is to teach us about the kingdom of God. We have all been invited. When Jesus Christ came two thousand years ago to establish His Church, we received word that the banquet was ready. It is now up to us to not only accept the invitation, but actually attend the banquet. The banquet is heaven and you have been invited. What will your response be?

Attending Church services, most especially the Divine Liturgy, is our opportunity to accept Christ’s invitation to join Him at the banquet. The Divine Liturgy is more than just a Sunday gathering of like-minded Christians. The Divine Liturgy is the banquet. The Divine Liturgy is heaven on earth and you have been invited to attend. Will you attend or will you make excuses like the three men in the parable? Some will attend while others will make excuses. You may have just bought a new house, or you may have paperwork for the business. You may even be expecting family from out of town. The parable is meant to teach how God will respond to us if we beg to be excused. He will excuse us, not just for now but ban us for later. If you believe the parable then you should know, if you are too busy for Church, you are too busy.

The Kingdom of God is in our midst

Today’s Gospel Reading: Luke 17:20-25 - At that time, when Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, he answered them, "The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, 'Lo, here it is!' or 'There!' for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you." And he said to the disciples, "The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and you will not see it. And they will say to you, 'Lo, there!' or 'Lo, here!' Do not go, do not follow them. For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of man be in his day. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation."

When Jesus spoke of the Kingdom of Heaven, He spoke of the future and, as in today’s Gospel lesson, in the present. His desire to live within our hearts is nowhere more obvious than His reminder, “The Kingdom of God is in the midst of you,” He was speaking of Himself being in their immediate presence, but we cannot forget that in the Church, through the Holy Eucharist, He is STILL present among us. Every time we are in Church we are in His presence and therefore in Heaven. Something to think about next time we are tempted to look only to the future. 

A Not-so-New Temptation

Many American Christians can be heard waxing and waning over the persecution of the Church in America. Arguments around the water cooler about gay marriage and religious freedom are but the most recent example of how politics becomes spiritual in our nation. But I want to talk about a different type of persecution, what I see as a not-so-new temptation of secular praise.

Many Christians in America expend a great deal of thought and effort into their decision process, especially when it comes to their children. What preschool will best put them on the right path to success? What school will give them the best education? What education will best prepare them for college? What college will be prepared them for a stellar career? What career will earn them the greatest income? What image will the family have in the world in which their children are raised? Will their children be considered prudish or small minded? Will their children have out-dated ideals about family and the social welfare? And these are just the obvious questions. Then there are agonizing questions about the “extra-curriculars” that are presumed a requirement to earn prestige and the all-coveted scholarship to college. All this in the name of, “I want my children to be well-rounded.”

When was the last time you heard a parent include their child’s spiritual health in their life-plan? Why don’t we ask questions about faith? How will this particular extra-curricular prepare my son for heaven? Will that school encourage my daughter to turn against her Church? Will this Sunday soccer league teach my son that it is ok to be absent from Divine Liturgy for three months? Will attending boy scouts or girl scouts, two organizations which promote moral choices against the teachings of the Church, create too much temptation for my children? Will my children grow up thinking their Church is out of touch with the modern world? Have I taught my children that attending Divine Liturgy is more important than sleeping in on the “only day” available?

I could go on and on about the questions we SHOULD be asking, but I think you get the idea. Christians of the 21^st century are faced with a choice that is neither new nor is it unique to any time of Christian history. Parents (and just parents) are faced with preparing for the world or preparing for heaven. WE CANNOT prepare for both as Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” (Matthew 6.24) When the first followers of Jesus were faced with this same reality, many refused to confess their belief in Him, “For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.” (John 12.43)

Extra-curricular activities are not necessarily sinful or dangerous in themselves. What IS dangerous is the reason we insist upon placing them above the life of the Church, “so that our children are well-rounded.” EVERY time our children are faced with a moral choice that conflicts with the Church, they are tempted to choose against the Church. It is high time that we begin to live the words of the Lord’s Prayer, “Led us not into temptation, but deliver us from Evil.”

v  BEGIN with faith by asking questions about faith rather than the world, and commit to always placing the life of the Church “first on the list” of importance ahead of “being well-rounded” according to worldly standards.

v  CONTINUE with avoiding temptation at every step.

v  FINISH by making a choice that being prepared for heaven is infinitely more important that any college scholarship.

Don’t Worry; God Won’t Force Us into Heaven

In the Gospel of Matthew, we hear Jesus describe a wedding banquet in which those who were invited had no desire to attend. When the master sent His servants to call those who had been invited, those who had been invited “Made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them.” (Matthew 22.5-6) They thought of an empty wedding banquet was not acceptable, and the master sent His servants out again, this time telling the servants, “Go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.” (Matthew 22.9) They filled the wedding banquet with all sorts of people, EXCEPT those who had been originally invited. According to the master, they were no longer worthy.

The wedding banquet is heaven, and we have been invited by God to attend. The Church, just like the servants, has reminded us that the banquet is ready. All that remains is for us to accept His invitation and enter into heaven, but He will not force us to enter if we do not wish. If we, like those in the Gospel, make like of God’s invitation, then He will move on to those who desire heaven. He will respect our choice to remain outside the doors of the banquet.

You may not think you are rejecting God’s invitation to enter heaven, but any time we choose to ignore the Church, we ignore His servants. It isn’t a matter of coming to the banquet later, but trusting the Church to call us when the time has come. The Church IS calling. Will we trust the Church and enter the banquet, or ask them to find someone else. God will respect our choice, but it would be better for us to accept the invitation and follow the Church into heaven. Not everyone will be allowed into the banquet because, “Many are called, but few are chosen.” (Matthew 22.14)

It Begins with Renouncing the World

A holy man was asked to write down some advice about how to get to heaven. What resulted was a “book” we now know as “The Ladder of Divine Ascent” and has become a spiritual classic within the Orthodox Church. There are thirty chapters that build the ladder to heaven, but it is the first step that makes all the difference. It begins with renouncing the world.