Coffee With Sister Vassa: Faith in the Human Being

 

FAITH IN THE HUMAN BEING

"We love because He first loved us. If anyone says, 'I love God,' yet hates his brother, he is a liar." (1 Jn 4:19-20)

Our human (self-)loathing is a kind of denial of God’s undying love for us and faith in us. It’s a sign that on some level we don’t believe in the God in Whom St. John the Evangelist believes, Who, through us sent His Son into our world. As St. John says in this same chapter, “In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world…”

Christianity proclaims a radical faith in humanity; God’s undying faith in humanity, which is more honorable and honored than the Cherubim, and more glorious and glorified beyond compare than the Seraphim. We are also entrusted with God’s revelation of Himself to us; with receiving it and passing it on, from generation to generation, based on human testimony and language, and other messy and fallible human capacities. 

May I believe in us today, and embrace the hope, love and patience with ustoday, that God unchangeably has and extends to each of us daily. I can do that, by opening up to Him in prayer, and letting His divine energies, His faith and His love for all of us, break into my broken and contrite heart. God is the Lord and has appeared unto us! Let me let that sink in, as we proceed on our journey to Bethlehem, preparing our little gifts for one another, as little testimonies of our love for Him.

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In a time of dehumanization through either ugly rhetoric or violent actions, this is a wonderful "reminder" of the goodness of humanity and of our responsibility as Christians to clarify our vision whenever it becomes obscured by the disparaging nature of sinful words and actions. May Christ strengthen us in that worthy endeavor! 

Coffee With Sister Vassa: Illumined, But Not Consumed

 

ILLUMINED, BUT NOT CONSUMED

“Standing in a furnace of flaming fire as though in dew, 
the Holy Youths mystically prefigured Your coming from a Virgin, 
by which we are illumined, but not consumed…” 

(Hymn at Vespers, Sunday of the Forefathers) 

On the Sundays before Christmas, in our church-services we will hear references to the story of the Three Holy Youths in the fiery furnace, as told in Chapter 3 of the Book of Daniel. This incident “mystically prefigured” Christ’s“coming from a Virgin, by which we are illumined but not consumed,” as explained in the above-quoted hymn. Just as the Theotokos was not consumed by the living God in her womb, neither are we consumed by receiving His Body and Blood in ours. “We are illumined, but not consumed.”

Why does it need to be said, that the true God does not come into our lives to consume or harm us, like fire? Because, before His coming, most of humanity believed in gods that were not good and loving. We believed they needed to be kept at bay, by offering them all sorts of sacrifices, so that they would not harm us. We might still tend to suspect that God somehow needs to be satisfied by our good works, otherwise He will turn against us. But this is a pagan notion, as I’m reminded by the story of the Three Holy Youths, who did not succumb to the fears of the pagans who threw them into the furnace. 

Let me continue this journey of the Nativity Fast in the light and lightness of the Cross, not with anxiety. It’s a journey by which we are meant to be illumined, one day at a time, but not consumed. By the prayers of the Theotokos, Savior, save us!

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Here is a touch of "good news" for those of you who read Sister Vassa's wonderful and succinct reflections as they come out periodically: She is scheduled to visit our church on Wednesday, March 19, 2025 and give a talk to the parish entitled: "Great Lent as a Great Catechism." More details to follow.

"Let Us Give Thanks to the Lord"

Image source: uocofusa.org

 

'Let us give thanks unto the Lord!'

"Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine?" (LK. 17:17)

Dear Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,

The cleansing of the ten lepers (LK. 17:11-19) is clearly a remarkable story that reveals the exousia, or authority, of Christ over sickness. Yet, in addition, it is a healing story that is just as much about the need to offer thanksgiving to God whenever we are a recipient of His abundant mercy.

As the story opens, we first hear the plaintive and pathetic cry from these lepers: "And as he entered the village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices and said, 'Jesus, Master, have pity on us'." (v.12-13) Did these lepers truly believe that Jesus could do something for them that no one else could possibly do?

In response to whatever level of faith they may have had, Jesus cleansed the ten lepers simply by His word:  "When he saw them he said to them, "Go and show yourselves to priests." And as they went they were cleansed." (v. 14).

Lepers, of course, were not allowed to be near the other members of their community, for they were declared to be unclean and therefore, ritually impure (LEV. 13:45-46; NUM. 5:2-3). Their cleansing not only freed them from a debilitating illness that left its victims visibly disfigured; but it also restored them to fellowship in their community. Their ostracism was now over. 

According to the Law, the priests that Jesus sent them to would declare their healing and make that restoration to society a possibility. Yet, considering the enormous generosity of Christ in being the source of both their cleansing and restoration, we read with great surprise that only one of them returned to Jesus in order to thank Him:

Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell at his feet, giving him thanks. (v. 15-16)

What adds to our surprise is that this newly-cleansed leper "was a Samaritan." (v. 16) We know that Jews and Samaritans were hostile to each other and that "Jews have no dealings with Samaritans."(JN. 4:9) In the light of that reality, it is all the more significant that there was a Samaritan among the ten lepers. Perhaps, as lepers, they were forced to keep company; but could it be possible that in their misery they understood that they shared a common humanity that transcended their ethnic/cultural/religious barriers? So, perhaps in their collective misery, these lepers overcame their mutual hostility as they remained together on the outskirts of the village. 

Be that as it may, Jesus wanted to point out the incongruity of a Samaritan returning to offer thanks to God, while His fellow Jews failed to do so. And then Jesus asks what is a very convicting question that goes to the very heart of the matter:  "Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner"?" (v. 17-18) Even Jesus calls the Samaritan a "foreigner!" (It is of note that it was a foreigner - Naaman - who returned to Elisha after being healed of leprosy (II KINGS 5:15, LK. 4:27). But, nevertheless, the question "cuts deep," we can say. 

Christ does not "need" to be thanked. Jesus is not petulant; and He is not offended by the cleansed lepers who failed to return as did the Samaritan. It was the lepers who needed to offer thanksgiving or praise to God for what had been done for them. That was the point that Christ drew attention to through His publicly-stated question. Significantly, Jesus tells the Samaritan:  "Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well." (v. 17) Did the cleansed and thankful leper receive more than the others had done?

St. Athanasius the Great implies this in his comments on this passage:

"They thought more highly of their cure from leprosy than of him who who had healed them.... Actually, this one was given much more than the rest. Besides being healed of his leprosy, he was told by the Lord, "Stand up and go on your way. Your faith has saved you." You see, those who give thanks and those who glorify have the same kind of feelings. They bless their helper for the benefits they have received. That is why Paul urged everybody to 'glorify God with your body.' Isaiah also commanded, 'Give glory to God'." — Festal Letter 6

The leprosy that was treated with fear and great caution in the Scriptures can serve as a vivid metaphor for human sin. In the Orthodox Tradition, we treat sin more as a sickness than as the breaking of a commandment. Sin is more of a "condition" than a "crime." It is, actually, the "human condition" into which we are born when we enter this world. Thus, "Since all are sinners and fall short of the glory of God" (ROM. 3:23), we all need to be healed by God. And we all have been: through the redemptive death of Christ on the Cross and His Resurrection from the dead. And then through our personal death to sin and resurrection to life with Christ through the mystery of Baptism. (ROM. 6:3-11) 

For this we give thanks to God from a heart overflowing with gratitude, thanksgiving and love because we are overwhelmed by what God has done for us in and through our Savior Jesus Christ. We may have been healed through Baptism, but without the response of thanksgiving, this healing remains incomplete, and it will not bear much fruit. 

On the Lord's Day we come to the Eucharistic service of the Church - the Liturgy - which is the Service of Thanksgiving, we could say. Our presence signifies our own "return" to the Lord in response to His healing presence in our lives. (For the baptized who do not return to thus give thanks, we find a resemblance to the healed lepers who failed to return in order to praise God). And it is then that we offer thanksgiving to God as we offer ourselves up to God through the sacrifice of Christ actualized in the Liturgy. And then we receive the Eucharist - the "thanksgiving food" - to nourish us in this movement of growing love toward the most Holy Trinity:

"Eucharistisomen to Kyrio!" - "Let us give thanks unto the Lord!"

The Image of Giving in St Nicholas

 

Image Source: ancientfaith.com

Dear Fathers, Parish Faithful & Friends in Christ,

There are nineteen days of charity, prayer and fasting left before Christmas... Redeem the time.

Today we commemorate St. Nicholas of Myra in Lycia, the Wonderworker (December 6). There is a certain unresolved tension that accompanies his person and memory: On the one hand, there are few "hard facts" about his life (to the point where many doubt his actual historical existence); and on the other hand, he is clearly one of the most beloved and universally venerated of saints within the Church. It is said that even many Muslims venerate St. Nicholas! A good example of an objective account of the few facts behind the saint's life can be found in a short introductory biographical note concerning St. Nicholas in the book,The Time of the Spirit:

Little is known for certain about the life of St. Nicholas, bishop of Myra in Lycia (Asia Minor). It is believed that he suffered imprisonment during the last major persecution of the Church under Diocletian in the early fourth century, and that he attended the first Ecumenical Council at Nicea in 325. Christian tradition has come to regard him, in the words of an Orthodox hymn, as "an example of faith and an icon of gentleness." (Time of the Spirit, p. 69)

For those interested in the historical background of St. Nicholas, the following note found in The Synaxarion, Vol. II, edited by Hieromonk Makarios of Simonas Petras, may prove to be of real interest:

Since the medieval period, St. Nicholas of Myra has been confused with St. Nicholas of Sion, who founded a monastery not far from Myra at the end of the 5th century. The Vita of the latter has come down to us but the incidents in it have been entirely ascribed to St. Nicholas of Myra, with the result that St. Nicholas of Sion has been forgotten in the hagiographical accounts.... (See The Life of Saint Nicholas of Sion, edited and translated by I. N. P. Sevcenko (Brookline, MA, 1984).

So, even if we are dealing with a "composite figure" when we venerate St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, we nevertheless are given a glimpse into the "mind of the Church" when it comes to an image of a true pastor. A powerful and enduring image of a genuine Christian shepherd has remained within the memory of the Church, regardless of the now unrecoverable "facts" behind the actual history of 4th - 5th c. Asia Minor. It is this "unerring" intuition of the People of God that the faithful respond to up to the present day that remains as a solid foundation upholding all of the wonderful stories that endear us to St. Nicholas. The Church today desperately needs bishops of the type embodied by St. Nicholas. A shepherd who is a "rule of faith and an image of humility" would mean a great deal more to the Christian flock, than legal-minded adherence to canon law. St. Nicholas both protected and interceded for his flock, according to the great Russian Orthodox iconographer, Leonid Uspensky. And he further writes:

"This 'life for others' is his characteristic feature and is manifested by the great variety of forms of his solicitude for men: his care for their preservation, their protection from the elements, from human injustice, from heresies and so forth. This solicitude was accompanied by numerous miracles both during his life and after his death. Indefatigable intercessor, steadfast, uncompromising fighter for Orthodoxy, he was meek and gentle in character and humble in spirit." (The Time of the Spirit, p. 69)

Well-known as St. Nicholas has been, he is perhaps less well-known in today's world. In fact, he may be slowly slipping away from Christian consciousness. Santa Claus, that rather unfortunate caricature of the saintly bishop, clearly has something to do with this. But perhaps the very virtues embodied by this saint are slowly fading from our consciousness. A few weeks back, I wrote a meditation that passed on the name our social and secular world has "earned" for itself through its rampant commercialization of Christmas - and that is "Getmas." The author who coined this new term - I forget his name - claims it came to him based on a conversation he had had with a good friend about the "spirit of Christmas." The friend of our author said that Christmas was about "getting things." When the author countered by saying, "I thought Christmas was about giving," the friend quickly retorted: "Sure, people are supposed to give me things!" Out of this sad exchange came the unfortunate, but accurate, Getmas.

St. Nicholas was about the proper understanding of "giving." Perhaps the most enduring quality of his image is that of giving to children in need. Our children learn that those who already "have" more are those who will yet "get" more. And that is because they are taught this by their parents who yield to their demands. So we persist in widening the gap of imbalance between the "haves" and "have-nots" without too many pangs of (Christian) conscience. St. Nicholas wanted to restore a sense of balance, and so he looked first to those who were in need, so that they could also taste some childlike happiness from receiving an unexpected gift. In a simple manner, this imitates the giving of God Who gave us Christ at a time when everyone - rich and poor alike - were impoverished through sin and death.

I sometimes fantasize that an ideal celebration of Christmas would find a relatively affluent family making sure that they spent more on those in need than on themselves. If Christianity is indeed the "imitation of the divine nature" as St. Gregory of Nyssa once said, then that need not necessarily be such an unrealistic idea. I do not believe that I have ever actually done that, so I convict myself through the very thought. Yet, I am convinced that our children would respond with an eager spirit of cooperation if properly prepared for some approximation of that ideal. Why should it be otherwise if, according to the Apostle Paul, Christ said that it is more blessed to give than to receive?

Once again, just a thought based upon the image of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.

Coffee With Sister Vassa: "Innocent" Suffering

 

“INNOCENT” SUFFERING 

“I will receive the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord.”(Ps. 115:4)

This verse is relevant to both feasts celebrated this Wednesday: the Great Martyr Barbara (NC) and the Entry (or “Leading In” in Slavonic,Vvedenie) of the Theotokos into the Temple (OC). The verse is chanted on feasts of the Theotokos as the Communion Verse, because it connotes the “cup” of suffering, of which the Most Holy Virgin was to drink throughout her unique vocation. Note that the word “cup” in the Bible often means suffering, as in, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me…” (Lk 22:42).

I’m thinking of the suffering that was to be endured by the three-year-old Mary, and of the young Barbara, who, together with Juliana (who was inspired by Barbara’s fearlessness and ended up being martyred with her) “received” the “cup of salvation.” In Barbara’s case, this included the heartbreak of her own father, Dioscorus, having her arrested and later beheading her with his own hands. Before their execution, both Barbara and Juliana were led naked through their city, amidst the derision and jeers of the crowds. I’m thinking also how the young Mary was led, not only into the Temple at age three, being separated from her parents, - but a decade or so later, when she was very-pregnant and both her parents had died, how she was led to Bethlehem, seated on a donkey. This reminds me of our Lord, seated on a donkey, entering Jerusalem, where He was to die His death-trampling death. 

How can we process the “innocent suffering” described above? Let’s first re-think the word “innocent,” which means “harmless,” from the Latin in + nocere, meaning “not to hurt/harm.” And let’s establish that the self-offering of the Theotokos, of Barbara and Juliana, and of their Lord, was by no means “harmless.” Their overcoming of fear, when they were called to “receive the cup of salvation” and testify to Truth, was a liberating sign that dealt a heavy blow to merely-human fear, and to those who terrorized entire peoples through it.“Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against…,” as Simeon said to Mary, when she brought Him into the Temple.

Today we celebrate the mystifying self-offering of the three-year-old Theotokos, and of Barbara and Juliana, in gratitude for their testimony. They testified to the Great Fact that there is more to life and to death than what self-preserving fears would dictate to us. Thank You, Lord, for the Holy Witnesses in our midst. By their prayers, Savior, save us!

Coffee With Sister Vassa: Loving God Without Stress

 

LOVING GOD WITHOUT STRESS

“It is a great art to succeed in having your soul sanctified. A person can become a saint anywhere... At your work, whatever it may be, you can become a saint through meekness, patience, and love. Make a new start every day, with new resolution, with enthusiasm and love, prayer and silence — not with anxiety so that you get a pain in the chest.” (St. Porphyrios, Wounded by Love)

Today is the day of the repose (on December 2, 1991) of Elder Porphyrios Kavsokalivitis, so I’m reflecting on some of the wisdom of this beloved, modern-day saint. I love that he encouraged us to make a new start every day, “not with anxiety so that you get a pain in the chest.” He often advised people to lead their spiritual lives based not on stress or anxiety, but on love. It’s such a useful and consoling tip, as we proceed along the journey of the Nativity Fast.

“We love God without contorting ourselves and without exertion and struggle,” St. Porphyrios says in another passage from the above-quoted book.“What is difficult for man is easy for God. We will love God suddenly when grace overshadows us. If we love Christ very much, the prayer will say itself. Christ will be continually in our mind and in our heart.” 

Let us continue the journey of this Nativity Fast, dear friends, making “a new start every day” and not with anxiety. Holy Father Porphyrios, pray to God for us!