Unschooled and Ordinary

 

Dear Parish Faithful,

 

UNSCHOOLED & ORDINARY

 

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (Jn 1: 14)

St. John, who “thundered” these famous words ca. two millennia ago, was an “unschooled and ordinary” man, as we learn from the Book of Acts, about John and Peter before the religious elite of their time, the Sanhedrin: “…Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unschooled and ordinary men (ἀγράμματοί εἰσιν, καὶ ἰδιῶται), they marveled. Then they realized that they had been with Jesus.” (Acts 4: 13) Indeed, the only way to explain the “extraordinary” testimony of these “ordinary” men, was by the fact that “they had been with Jesus.” They had “beheld His glory, …full of grace and truth,” and now His grace and truth emanated, nay, thundered, into the world around them. Let’s note that the Greek word “ἰδιώτης” (not meaning idiot) that is translated here into English (in the NKJV) as “ordinary,” was used by Ancient Greek authors as the equivalent of our term “layman,” as in “one not having professional knowledge.” It’s sort of delightful to contemplate the fact that in the eyes of the religious authorities of their time, the Holy Apostles were seen as “laymen.”

And so are we, however “unschooled” or “lay,” but as members of an “apostolic” Church, invited both to receive and pass on this extraordinary energy, “full of grace and truth.” Because “the Word became flesh,” and continues to “dwell among us,” as we prepare for the upcoming feast of Pentecost and open our hearts to His Spirit. By the prayers of Your holy Apostles, Savior, save us!

From "Coffee With Sister Vassa"