The Need for Patience and Humility

In the story of two miracles told in the Gospel of Luke 8.41-56, we hear of the healing of the woman with the flow of blood and the raising of Jairus’ daughter. In both cases we are taught the great gift of patience and humility. They are companions as we can’t have patience without humility. We will never be humble if we can’t be patient. But when we embrace both patience and humility we can be healed by God.

Healing is for Believing

Many times we approach God requesting His assistance in sort level of healing. It might be an infant with an ear infection, or a grandparent with a heart condition. It could be our spouse suffering with cancer, or our own affliction. The cause of the suffering can really be anything. It doesn’t even have to be physical illness, although that is my focus today. The issue at hand today is, “Why ask for healing” from God?

Consider today’s Gospel Reading: John 4:46-54 (RSV) - At that time, there was an official whose son was ill. When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. Jesus therefore said to him, "Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe." The official said to him, "Sir, come down before my child dies." Jesus said to him, "Go; your son will live." The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went his way. As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was living. So he asked them the hour when he began to mend, and they said to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him." The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, "Your son will live"; and he himself believed, and all his household. This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee.

In truth God allows many more to die from various illnesses than He chooses to perform miracle healings. While I have been privileged to witness what I would categorize as a miracle healing on more than one occasion, I have celebrated many more funerals than miracles. Actually, even the miracles eventually die. So why ask for miracles?

Most ask for miracles for the simple fact they want to end suffering. We don’t like seeing our family members struggle, and we don’t want to imagine ourselves without our loved ones. If we are being honest with ourselves, our desire for a miracle healing is selfish. In the vast majority of the cases, all that I have watched, we are already believers, which is why we ask for the miracle in the place.

In the context of today’s Gospel reading, maybe we should take a step back and reflect. Jesus said, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” Do you already believe in God? Then you don’t need miracles. A better focus for your prayer life during an illness would be for repentance and peace, both for yourself, and the one who is suffering. When you do pray for healing, which we all do, pray your loved one (or you) has time for repentance before death.

We spend hours in Church during Holy Week being reminded that God will return at any time, and that we are supposed to be prepared for Him. Just because we turned the lights on in the Church doesn’t mean the message isn’t still the same. Healing is for believing. 

History and Faith

Within the Church calendar there are both historical and spiritual events celebrated. Sometimes events are both historical and spiritual For example this coming Sunday, known as the Sunday of Orthodoxy commemorates the restoration of Holy Icons. While this event is historical, it was also a spiritual victory for the Church. Today is another example of an event that is both historical and spiritual. Today the Church commemorates the miracle of kolyva by Saint Theodore the Martyr. Here is the story as shared on the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese website.

Julian the Apostate, knowing that the Christians purify themselves by fasting most of all during the first week of the Fast -- which is why we call it Clean Week -- planned to defile them especially at that time. Therefore he secretly commanded that during those days the markets be filled with foods that had been defiled with the blood of animals offered in sacrifice to idols. But by divine command the Martyr Theodore (see Feb. 17) appeared during sleep to Eudoxius, then Archbishop of Constantinople. The Saint revealed to him the tyrant's plan, then told him to call the faithful together immediately on Monday morning and prevent them from purchasing those foods, but rather to make kollyva to supply their needs. The bishop asked what kollyva might be, and the Saint answered, "Kollyva is what we call boiled wheat in Euchaita." Thus, the purpose of the Apostate was brought to nought, and the pious people who were preserved undefiled for the whole of Clean Week, rendered thanks to the Martyr on this Saturday, and celebrated his commemoration with kollyva. These things took place in 362. Wherefore, the Church keeps this commemoration each year to the glory of God and the honour of the Martyr.

For my part, one of the beauties of the Orthodox Christian Tradition is the reality that it is a LIVED faith. The Orthodox Christian Faith isn’t just a belief but a life and has responded to real historical events. As life takes it twists and turns, the Church guides our response as faithful. Take a look at the Church calendar and you will find many of this historical/faith commemorations. They include earthquakes, wars (more specifically protection of God during wars) and other natural occurrences of God’s saving grace.

Here are today’s readings...

Epistle Reading: St. Paul's Second Letter to Timothy 2:1-10 (RSV) - TIMOTHY, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me before many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier on service gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to satisfy the one who enlisted him. An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. It is the hardworking farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. Think over what I say, for the Lord will grant you understanding in everything. Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descended from David, as preached in my gospel, the gospel for which I am suffering and wearing fetters like a criminal. But the word of God is not fettered. Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain salvation in Christ Jesus with its eternal glory.
 Gospel Reading: Mark 2:23-28; 3:1-5 (RSV) - At that time, Jesus was going through the grainfields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain.  And the Pharisees said to him, "Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?"  And he said to them, "Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?"  And he said to them, "The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath; so the Son of man is lord even of the sabbath." Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand.  And they watched him, to see whether he would heal him on the sabbath, so that they might accuse him.  And he said to the man who had the withered hand, "Come here."  And he said to them, "Is it lawful on the sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?"  But they were silent.  And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, "Stretch it out," and his hand was restored.

Don’t Look Directly at Miracles

It seems to me that miracles in the Holy Scriptures are different than miracles today. Yes, there are miracles today, but because of our point of view they are seen differently than in the Holy Scriptures. Here’s what I mean. In the Gospel story of the Widow from Nain, a man was raised from the dead by Jesus Christ. This was no ordinary miracle. No miracles are ordinary. This man had died just a few days before and was actually being buried when Jesus came up to him and brought life back to his dead body. The man was the only son of a woman had already lost her husband, a widow.

But I don’t want you to focus your attention on the actual miracle. I don’t want to you dwell upon the fact that the man had been dead a few day when Jesus came to him. I don’t want you to dwell upon the fact that his mother was already a widow. That was the miracle, but not the reason for the miracle.

Too often we go through our life seeking miracles for our family, our friends, our friends’ families, the tragic story down the street we hear about in the news. We ask God to go outside the normal chain of events and heal the sick. There is not thing wrong with healing the sick. Nobody wants to see their loved ones sick and in the hospital near death. But why do we want a miracle? Is it because we think we are special? The widow in this morning’s Gospel was not special. In fact we don’t even know her name. Jesus didn’t bring her son back to life for her sake; He brought him back to life for us.

Saint Cyril of Alexandria reminds us, “But there meets him Christ, the Life and Resurrection, for He is the destroyer of death and of corruption; He it is "in Whom we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28); He it is Who has restored the nature of man to that which it originally was; and has set free our death-fraught flesh from the bonds of death.” Christ didn’t perform the miracle for the widow or the son; He performed the miracle so that everyone watching, and those like us who would read about it for centuries later, could understand that Jesus Christ came to defeat death and to restore what was lost in the Garden of Eden.

When we think of the miracles of God as just a physical healing, then we miss the entire point of Christ’s plan of salvation. He didn’t come so that we would not get sick or die; He came so that sickness and death could no longer control us. Jesus reminded us, “My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.” (Luke 11.4) When we look directly at the miracles of God, we see only the physical, lest we forget that every person that God healed with a miracle still eventually died. The true blessing of any miracle is to be reminded of God’s love and plan for our ultimate union with Him in heaven.

Sometimes God brings us relief on earth from our struggles. Sometimes that relief is a miracle; other times it is a point of view through which we can see the struggle with peace. Sometimes it isn’t even for us but for those who have the eyes and faith to see what God is really accomplishing with us. But when it is a miracle, and they do still happen, just don’t look directly at it or you won’t really see what God wants you to see.

Rise Up! Be Healed and Follow God

By request we are re-releasing an old sermon from May 15, 2011, base on John 5.1-15. We originally released this sermon on our BlipTV site, but that site no longer allows sermons and our episodes were deleted from the servers. NEVER FEAR we had the archive still on our external hard drive. We didn't have our wonderful HD system back then, so please forgive the video and sound quality. I also had less grey hair back then. If you would like to request an archive episode of Be Transfigured , and you can’t find it....maybe we can. Please let us know.

Because God Said

There is something that is special and unique in the final miracle of Our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ. On the day before Palm Sunday the Church commemorates the Feast of the Raising of Lazarus from the dead by Jesus. Jesus had performed many other miracles before including bringing dead people back to life, but the raising of Lazarus was different. This miracle required only Jesus speaking for life to return to a man who had been dead for four days. The Jews standing by remembered where they had seen life created just be the spoken word. They remembered how in Genesis it was explained that God is the ONLY one who can create simply because He speaks. This is why the Church prepares us for Palm Sunday and Holy Week by showing us the power of the God of Creation Who came to united us to Himself.

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 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.

I just wanted to share a few words this morning about this great miracle that God has done for us today. Before I get to the miracle, I want to remind everyone of the story in Genesis, all the way back to the beginning, the beginning, beginning, the very first chapter of the book of Genesis. It says, "And God said, let there be light, and there was light." Later it says, "And God said let the earth bring forth life, and the earth brought life." Simply because God said it, the world was created, the entire universe was created simply because God said the words and life came.

I want you to have that in your mind because this morning's miracle, the raising of Lazarus from the dead is the final public miracle of Jesus Christ before His crucifixion. He had performed other miracles before, He had healed people of their sickness, He had as the Gospel even said this morning, He had healed the blind, He had even brought back the dead to life, but in every one of those cases, He used His hands. Like in the story that the Gospel mentions with the healing of the blind man, He made the mud and He placed it on his eyes, or in the case of Jairus' daughter, He went and He placed His hand on the tomb, or in the case of Peter's mother-in-law, He went and He touched her.

In every one of those cases, Jesus Christ in his miracle used His hands except this one. This is the greatest of all miracles of God because Jesus didn't go inside the tomb, Jesus didn't touch Lazarus. He stood outside the tomb and He gives the instructions, He tells the people, roll away the stone. It said something very important in the Gospel that we have to remember, it says that Mary said, "Lord by now there's going to be an odor because he's been dead for four days." How many of you have gone down the street and seen a opossum dead on the side of the road hit by a car or something, any of you ever seen that? It stinks, doesn't it? You can smell it as you're driving by, and that's only the day it dies. Imagine what Lazarus must have smelled like. That's what Mary was trying to tell Him, Lord really, are You sure You want to open the tomb, it's going to really be stinky. He says, "Open it up," and He calls out, He says, "Lazarus come out."

Just as He had done when He created the universe, He spoke the words and life came. This is where the Gospel says, that many of the Jews who had come with Mary when they saw this, they all believed because they remembered the stories of Genesis. They knew only God can create by just saying a word. Even all the other miracles that Jesus had done: the blind, the crippled, even the earlier ones who had been dead, anyone could have done those miracles in those days. Believe it or not, there were other miracle workers, but only God can bring life by saying the words. Today my brothers and sisters when we are remembering the raising of Lazarus from the dead the final public miracle of Jesus Christ before His crucifixion, the greatest miracle He ever performed prior to His own resurrection, we'll talk about that at the end of next week.

Our God the God who with just the spoken word can bring the dead back to life, He's our God, but as we are going to experience next week during Holy Week, He's not just a distant God looking down from heaven, "Hello over there down there," but He came and became one of us. There's something very important for us as Orthodox Christians to understand, that God could have given us eternal life simply by speaking the words. That's what this morning's Gospel teaches us, but what we're going to celebrate in the coming days is not just eternal life. God could have done that with the spoken word but even greater than that, that God the Creator, became a human being so that we could forever be united to Him in a real physical union with God. That's what makes this week so special coming up next week.

This morning we see the God the Creator, tomorrow we're going to celebrate the King of Kings. And then beginning tomorrow night, we're going to see that God loved us so much that He did everything to connect us, to unite us, to bring us completely into unity with Him. We stay into communion with God, and not just any God, but the God who can create life simply by saying the word. If we are ever struggling, if we are wondering how in the world we're going to make it through another day, we remember that we are united to the God who can speak life into the world, and He's got our back, He has got us in the palm of His hands. Nothing can hurt us even if we get cut, even if we feel the pain, it can't hurt us because our God creates life with just the spoken word. Glory to God for 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 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 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 at www.liveanewlifeinchrist.org.

Life with just a Word

Remember way back to the first day of Great Lent? For the entire first week of Great Lent we read the Creation stories in Genesis. Each day of Creation included the phrase, “Then God said...” and whatever He spoke came to be. Today heard something similar.

Here is the entire reading for today:

Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick." When Jesus heard that, He said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it." Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. Then after this He said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again." The disciples said to Him, "Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?" Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. "But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him." These things He said, and after that He said to them, "Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up." Then His disciples said, "Lord, if he sleeps he will get well." However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead. "And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him." Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with Him." So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away. And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house. Then Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. "But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You." Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. "And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?" She said to Him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world." And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, "The Teacher has come and is calling for you." As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him. Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him. Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, "She is going to the tomb to weep there." Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died." Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. And He said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to Him, "Lord, come and see." Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, "See how He loved him!" And some of them said, "Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?" Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days." Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?" Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. "And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me." Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!" And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Loose him, and let him go." Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him. (John 11.1-45)

It was by the spoken word that life first came into God’s Creation, so we should be surprised that it was through His spoken Word that life would re-enter into Lazarus. Jesus had performed many miracles in His three year public ministry, but it was the raising of Lazarus that revealed His true divinity to the witnesses. This is why the Church sets this miracle on the day after Great Lent and before the Feast of Palm Sunday.

Just as witnessing the miracle of the raising of Lazarus, who had been dead for four days and was already decomposing in the grave, brought many to believe in Him, it can do the same for us. Tomorrow we will hear just how many heard about the news, but for today....rest in the knowledge that Our God brings life through His spoken word. When you join yourself to Him, you join yourself to life and NOTHING can bring the return of death expect if you separate yourself from Him.

Ancient Blessing in a Modern World

Today I had the awesome blessing of venerating a wonder-working Icon of the All-Holy Mother of God which was more than 700 years old. The Kursk Root Icon of the Mother of God was brought to a local Russian Orthodox Church in West Columbia, about an hour away, so we planned the spend the day receiving the blessing of God and the Panagia. More than thirty from our parish made the journey this afternoon, and more will travel tomorrow for the Divine Liturgy. It is truly a blessing to have such an opportunity.

While at the Church, my family was permitted to have a picture taken along with the Icon which I was honored to hold. As I held the Icon in my arms I contemplated the centuries of Czars, Patriarchs, Archbishops, Bishops, Priests, Deacons, Monk, Nuns, and the millions of faithful men and women who have bowed down in veneration of the power of God revealed in the Kursk Root Icon. You can read more about the Kursk Root Icon here.

I also considered how many thousands of our Protestant brothers and sisters would be unable to receive such a blessing from God simply because they continue to refuse Holy Icons. We must continue to pray they hearts of softened by God’s grace and the Panagia’s love for each of us.

Do we even NEED God anymore?

Today’s Gospel Reading: Luke 6:17-23 - At that time, Jesus stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured.  And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came forth from him and healed them all.  And he lifted up his eyes on His disciples, and said: "Blessed are you poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God.  Blessed are you that hunger now, for you shall be satisfied.  Blessed are you that weep now, for you shall laugh.  Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, on account of the Son of man!  Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven."

I often wonder if the ancient world had the many medical technologies and drug advances that we are blessed with today, if people would have even felt the need for God. Today’s Gospel reading is another example of crowds gathering around Christ to be healed. Most of them never knew they would receive anything more than physical healing. If people could have approached their village doctor and received a prosthetic limb, would the lame have approached God? If people had a local optometrist, would the blind have ask Jesus for their sight? If Jerusalem had an oncology department, would the woman with the flow of blood ever have reached out and touched the fringe of His garment?

 If God is nothing more than a healthcare professional, then science and technology have made our need for Him obsolete. Don’t get me wrong, science is a great gift of God, and I would never suggest otherwise, but we can’t ignore that it creates a false sense of security among human beings. If there is no perceived “need” that cannot be met by either popping a pill, or calling the nearest university research department, what is left that draws us to God? AND.....is the constant longing for eternal life inherent in the human soul the cause of our, at times, neurotic obsession with curing illness?

These are the questions that sometimes land in my mind as I review and prepare for various classes and sermons. This coming Sunday’s Gospel lesson is about a blind man who is healed and follows Christ worshiping Him. When we are healed by our doctors, do we go to the Church and light a candle and thank God? Have we forgotten that every perfect gift is from above? (James 1.17) Do we even NEED God anymore?

Venerating Peter's Chains

Today’s Epistle Reading: Acts of the Apostles 12:1-11 - ABOUT THAT TIME, Herod the king laid violent hands upon some who belonged to the church. He killed James the brother of John with the sword; and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread. And when he had seized him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people. So Peter was kept in prison; but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the Church. The very night when Herod was about to bring him out, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison; and behold, an angel of the Lord appeared, and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, "Get up quickly." And the chains fell off his hands. And the angel said to him, "Wrap your mantle around you and follow me." And he went out and followed him; he did not know that what was done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. When they had passed the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened to them of its own accord, and they went out and passed on through one street; and immediately the angel left him. And Peter came to himself, and said, "Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting."

Today the Church venerates the very chains that held Saint Peter in prison. Some may wonder why the Church would venerate anything physical let alone prison chains. The Book of Acts teaches that even the shadow of Saint Peter was known for its healing miracles. “And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them. Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed.” (Acts 5.14-16) If Peter’s shadow, why not the chains which participated in his miraculous release from prison?

To this some may argue that the various stories of handkerchiefs and shadows are legends that cannot be proven. Others would say that it is only the power of God that heals. It is true that ONLY the power of God heals and performs miracles, but history and the Church has witnessed that God often works His miracles through these holy objects. If venerating these holy objects helps us experience God’s grace, which He brought into creation through His Baptism and the power of the Holy Spirit, then may it be blessed by God.....so long as we never lose sight of the FACT that it is faith in God that accomplishes any good thing. Remember it isn't about being right; it is about being healthy.

Humility is the Center of Salvation

An important Jewish leader had begged Jesus Christ to come to his home because his twelve year old daughter was very sick. Jesus agreed and, surrounded by a huge crowd of followers, was on His way to the house when He was interrupted by devout and humble woman. This woman, sick for twelve years, believed with all her heart, that if she just was able to reach out and touch Jesus, she would be healed. Unlike Jairus the Jewish leader, she didn’t beg Jesus. She didn’t even want anyone to know she was there to be healed. In fact you could say she was sneaking up to Him to be healed, and would have just walked away after she was healed if she could.

This is exactly what she tried to do when Jesus cried out, “Who touched Me?” (Luke 8.45) Still trying to remain unknown, even though she had been miraculously healed, she kept herself hidden until Jesus insisted, "Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me." (Luke 8:46) Meanwhile, Jairus twelve year old daughter died from her illness and his servants had come to tell him, "Your daughter is dead. Do not trouble the Teacher." (Luke 8.49) Jairus was content to step away and return home when Jesus stopped him, "Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well." (Luke 8:50)

The humility of both Jairus the Jewish leader and the unnamed woman are at the center of the Gospel story. Jesus healed many thousands of men and women during His earthly ministry. Why would the Gospel take the time to tell us of these two particular women? There must be something more that Saint Luke wanted us to learn than just that Jesus has the power to heal. The story is about the humility of two faithful followers of Jesus Christ. In both cases, it wasn’t about the power of God, but their humble faith. “Be of good cheer.....do not be afraid....” (Luke 8.48, 50) were the words of God for these humble servants. When we are humble, there is no need for sorrow and fear.

Crowning the Year with Goodness

Christ our God, Your kingdom is an everlasting one, and Your lordship is over all. You have made all things with wisdom and have established proper times and seasons for our lives. We give thanks to You in all circumstances and for all things. Lord, bless the beginning of our Church year with Your goodness. Grant that this liturgical year be for all of us a year of grace. Make us worthy with purity of heart always to praise You. Lord, glory to You!

Each year the Orthodox Christian Church begins the New Church Year with this prayer. September 1^st, as the first day of the Church Year, is also a day in which the Orthodox Church commemorates and celebrates God’s creation, which He gave for our salvation. In creating the Universe, God established the way we could find Him, and live in communion with Him. His creation – the birds of the air, the fish in the sea, the animals on the earth, and the vegetation that feeds the world – are all given to us by God for one purpose, to find Him.

The created world, which the Church also uses during each of the Mysteries (Sacraments), has been created to bestow God’s grace upon humanity through His Church. He created us in His Divine Image, so that we could grow into His Divine Likeness. By celebrating, honoring, and blessing His creation, we are offering it back to Him in thanksgiving for the many blessings He has given to us in our daily struggle to grow closer to Him.

When the Church asks God to bless the year with His Goodness, we are expressing our total dependence upon His loving mercy and guidance. Without the created world, we would not know God. In each and every miracle He performed, it was THROUGH His creation that He revealed His power and love to the world. And it was THROUGH His creation, becoming PART of His creation, that He ultimately saved, saves, and will save us.

I invite you to take the opportunity this year to make a new commitment to Christ. I invite you to make the time each week to include time with God in His Church, surrounded by others in His creation, to grow closer to Him. I encourage you to invite Him into your life, and to ask Him to crown your year with goodness and mercy.

If you want to grow closer to God, His has given His creation and His Church to assist you. May God crown your new year with goodness, mercy and blessings.

What is Gained by Prayer and Fasting?

Shortly after He was transfigured on Mount Tabor, Jesus was met by a father who had a sick child. Nobody had been able to cure his son, not even the Disciples. The man said to Jesus, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.” (Matthew 17.15-16) When Jesus challenged the man to believe, the man said, “I believe, help my unbelief.” (Mark 9.24) Neither the faith of the Disciples NOR the father was strong enough to cure the boy of his epilepsy. So what did Jesus say?

“If you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move....However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” (Matthew 17.21) Jesus knew their faith needed to become stronger, so He reminds them of the power of prayer and fasting. Their faith could not grow so long as they remained focused on the physical world.

This story isn’t about physical healing, but about faith. Jesus was not promising us that we will always be healed when we pray and fast. He was telling us that when we pray and fast, our faith grows stronger; and when our faith grows stronger, we are able to better understand the illness that affects us. Without faith, we will remain spiritually paralyzed. With faith, “nothing will be impossible.” (Matthew 17.20) What does Jesus mean when says, “nothing” will be impossible? With a stronger faith, we will realize that life isn’t about physical health and comforts, but about uniting ourselves to God through Holy Communion and His Church.

Are you praying and fasting? Your faith will grow strong when you do.

Behold The Man and Be Made Well

Many years before an unknown paralytic was healed by Jesus Christ, God told us through His Prophets that He would provide a Man who would arise from below the horizon to save us. On the Fourth Sunday of Pascha, the Church reminds us, through the Gospel of John that God has always planned to save those of us patient enough to endure until He comes. He came, He died and was buried, but He rose from the dead, and life rules eternally. And now...we can be healed.

Behold the Man?

In the Gospel for the Fourth Sunday of Pascha, the Sunday of the Paralytic, we hear the story of a man who for thirty-eight years had “no man” to heal him. Year after year he sat by the Pool of Bethesda waiting for someone to help put him into the water, but while he was still crawling another would climb in before him. This continued for thirty-eight years. Until one day Jesus came walking by.

“He said to him, ‘Do you want to be made well?’ The sick man answered Him, ‘Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.’” (John 5.6-7) The man was alone for so many years, he had given up hope for help, and each time the water was stirred up, he would begin dragging himself toward the pool. He was too late. But things were about to change.

Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” (John 5.8) He didn’t need to drag himself into the water. He didn’t have to worry about whether or not someone else would be healed before him. He finally had what he had been waiting for. He finally had “A Man” to help him, Jesus Christ the Messiah IS “The Man” he was waiting for.

Behold the Man; there are only three times in Scripture this expression is used.

• “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil.” (Genesis 3.22) when Adam fell to temptation in the Garden.
• “Behold the man, Orient is His name, and He shall build the house of the Lord,” (Zechariah 6.12) to announce the promise of the Messiah.
• “Behold the man.” (John 19.5) when Pilate announced to the world that Jesus was going to die.

Starting the Fast with a Miracle

This past Saturday was the first day of the Advent Fast, a preparation for Christmas. As Orthodox Christians, we prepare for Christmas by fasting rather than shopping and parties. But that is not what I want to blog about today. Rather, I want to share a miracle I, along with HUNDREDS of other Orthodox Christians witnessed this past weekend in Charlotte, NC.

A holy Icon of the Mother of God was brought from Taylor, PA. to Charlotte, NC. for people to venerate. This particular icon has been exuding myrrh for three years, and has been directly attributed to numerous miracle healings. I heard about this Holy Icon this past summer and was thrilled to hear it would be so close to my home. I encouraged everyone I knew to travel to Charlotte to witness for themselves the blessed event. The Church was filled with faithful (and I’m sure some skeptics) from throughout the region.

While in the Cathedral, the Priest who brought the Holy Icon share many stories of the healings attributed to this Holy Icon. My eyes, and the eyes of hundreds in attendance, witnessed myrrh miraculously dripping from the Holy Icon in the hands of faithful in attendance. The strong sweet fragrance from the myrrh filled the Church. I couldn’t help but think of the story in the Gospel of the anointing of Jesus’ feet by the sinful woman.

I was blessed to able to assist in anointing the faithful in attendance. I am thankful to God and His All-Holy Mother for allowing me to witness this blessed event at the beginning of my Advent journey. I assure you that this Advent will be different for me, thanks to God’s grace.

I invite you to make a pilgrimage to venerate this Holy Icon in Taylor, PA. which resides in the Church of St George. The service of Paraklesis  and anointing is offered each Wednesday at 6pm.

Not Every Healing is a Miracle

I’ve been giving a great deal of attention to suffering lately in my sermons and blog posts. I have also referenced miracles within the context of suffering and healing. It occurred to me today, that many of us use the terms “healed” and “miracle” interchangeably. Just because we have been healed from an illness, doesn’t mean we have experienced a miracle.

Webster’s Dictionary defines “miracle” as

1. A wonder or wonderful thing.
2. An event or effect contrary to the established constitution and course of things, or a deviation from the known laws of nature; a supernatural event, or one transcending the ordinary laws by which the universe is governed.

I like that the dictionary implies, or least I infer, that there is a difference between a wonder and an event that deviates from the known laws of nature. Sometimes, we just don’t understand it, but that doesn’t make it a miracle in the “God-sense” of the word. I have heard others suggest that miracles DO conform to the natural laws – God’s laws. I like this vantage point.

So that brings me to the point I want to make today. With the countless advances in medicine, including pharmacology and technology, human beings are being healed by many ailments that just twenty-five years ago, would have required a “miracle” by God. And yet, today the blind can see, the lame can walk, the deaf can hear. Are these miracles or a testimony to modern medicine?

That doesn’t mean I believe God has no hand in healing. I believe He does. It is His Holy Spirit that whispers into the hearts of researchers who discover the newest cure. It is His Holy Spirit that opens the eyes of the observer to see the chemical reaction take place. It is His Angels who guide the hands of the surgeon during organ transplants. But I would not call these healings, miracles.

An oncologist once said to a priest-friend of mine, “We are lucky to save 1 out of every 10 cancer patients we see.” He was quite proud of his accomplishments against such a horrible disease. My friend responded, “I have news for you. You haven’t saved ANY. They all still died, didn’t they?”

Sometimes we get so wrapped up in miracles, and wanting a miracles, and feeling upset when we didn’t get a miracle, that we easily forget we are going to die and THEN God will accomplish the REAL miracle...He will raise us from the dead to live eternally with Him in Heaven. In the meantime, let’s be thankful for the healing He does allow so that we have time to repent. Since we will all die, we should remember the healing we do receive is granted to us as a gift so that we can repent.

Priestly prayer for the sick in the hospital

O Lord Almighty, the Healer of our souls and bodies, You who put down and raise up, Who chastise and heal also; do You now, in Your great mercy, visit our brother(sister) who is sick. Stretch forth Your hand that is full of healing and health, and get him(her) up from the bed of pain, and cure him(her) of this illness. Put away from him(her) the spirit of disease and of every malady, pain and fever to which he(she) is bound; and if he(she) has sins and transgressions, grant to him(her) remission and forgiveness, in that You love mankind; yes Lord my God, pity Your creation, through the compassions of Your Only begotten Son, together with Your All-Holy, Good and Life-Giving Spirit, with Whom You are blessed, both now and ever, and to the ages of ages.

Suffering

Why does God allow suffering? Everyone knows firsthand that people suffer, but do they have to suffer to be “good” Christians? What’s so wrong with trying to avoid suffering? Why not strive for a life without suffering? While everyone experiences suffering, nobody enjoys it, but God blesses it especially when we endure it patiently with faith and prayer. With the story of the healing of the woman with the flow of blood and the raising of Jairus’ daughter as our “backdrop”, this week’s episode of Be Transfigured will look at suffering and why God allows it and but rarely allows miracles.

God Isn't in Control of Everything

I was having a conversation the other day with someone who asked, “Why does God allow bad things to happen?” The person who asked, believes in God, but wondered herself why, if as she said, “God is in control of everything,” why He allowed sickness and death for young people. Death and sickness is on our “collective” minds lately with the recent suicide of a young woman who was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer. My response to her might surprise you...God ISN’T in control of everything!

WHAT!? Consider the story of Jairus’ daughter and the women with the flow of blood, both of whom were healed by Jesus Christ. (read Luke 8.40-56) Both women suffered, one for twelve years, the other only twelve years of age. Both were allowed by God to suffer, one even unto death; one the daughter of a powerful leader of the synagogue, the other an unknown woman. Both healed privately by God, but showed publicly to large crowds. Both received a miracle from God while thousands of others continue in their suffering, eventually losing their battles with illness. Why did God heal these two women, while leaving so many others (down through the ages) to suffer?

The answer is that God has given up His “control over everything” by allowing us to enjoy free will. The reality of life, so painfully experienced by so many, and why I was asked this question just the other day, is that God allows many more to suffer than healing them through some sort of miracle. That makes EVERY miracle special; otherwise we would not consider it a miracle. What we can learn about the purpose of miracles is in what happens after the miracle has been made public. The crowd witnesses the power of God, and they are given the opportunity to believe in Him. 

The Touch of God

Many people think they don’t need to walk into a Church to encounter God, but you can only touch God in His Church. God could have called down from Heaven and forgiven all sins and welcomed humanity back into Paradise, but He chose instead to take on flesh and touch humanity. There are many ways to call out to God, but only one way to touch Him. When the Precious Body and Blood of Christ touches your lips, your sins are forgiven and you are healed, because the touch of God heals and you live forever.