Midweek Morning Meditation

Source: goarch.org

As  a fine exegetical supplement to Fr. Paul's homily from Sunday (Lk. 6:21-36), I am sharing this, prepared by our parishioner Kevin Rains. There is a good deal to assimilate here!

The text and its root (Luke 6:36 / Exodus 34:6)

• Luke 6:36 — "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful" — echoes Exodus 34:6's "The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious..."
• That revelation comes immediately after the golden calf - Israel's worst act of unfaithfulness. God names himself merciful before any sacrifice or repentance restores the relationship. Mercy as self-disclosed nature, not a reward for good behavior.
• Jewish tradition calls Exodus 34:6-7 the "Thirteen Attributes of Mercy" — the most quoted verse about God's character in the Hebrew Bible, reused nearly verbatim in crisis after crisis (Nehemiah 9, Joel 2, Jonah 4).

The Greek word

• The beautiful, feminine tone of this passage: (Luke's word) translates Hebrew rachum, which shares its root with rechem - womb. This is visceral, maternal mercy, not a judge's clemency.
• Ginesthe ("be") is a present imperative — "keep becoming," not a single decision. Mercy is a direction like St Gregory of Nyssa talks about as an ann infinite joirney into God , not a state we ever arrive at.
• Oiktirmōn appears only twice in the whole NT: Luke 6:36 and James 5:11 ("the Lord is compassionate and merciful" — after Job's endurance).

The non-transactional nature of God (vv. 32-35)

• "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same." God is kind "to the ungrateful and the evil" (v. 35).
• The real test of mercy is never the easy case - it's the person who hasn't earned it.

Liturgical enactment

• "Lord, have mercy" is sung/spoken roughly 30-40 times in a single Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom - were basically rehearsing Exodus 34
• The Eucharist itself enacts v. 35 — given to the ungrateful before worthiness is proven.
• Confession follows Moses' own pattern (Exod 34:8-9) — mercy declared first is what makes repentance possible.

Patristic witness (catena bible app)

• Cyril of Alexandria (on Luke 6:35-36): compassion is an attribute of the divine nature; this virtue restores us to the form of God.
• Clement of Alexandria: uses homoiōsis ("assimilation to God") for what mercy produces.
• Worth noting honestly: no Father explicitly equates Luke's "merciful" with Matthew's "perfect" (5:48) but several converge independently on the same destination (likeness to God). Those passages taken together seem to suggest that becoming perfect equates to becoming ever more merciful

Justice connection - since I’m on this justice learning experience in Alabama right now this seem poignant 

• Mishpat (justice) and hesed (mercy) are paired constantly in the OT - never opposites. Micah 6:8: "do justice, and love kindness/mercy."
• Deuteronomy 10:18-19 - God "executes justice for the fatherless and the widow," grounded in Israel's own memory of being shown mercy in Egypt. (Also Isaiah 1.17, James 1 fro these categories of widows and orphans) 
• Jesus defines "neighbor" in the Good Samaritan not as a legal category but as "the one who showed mercy" (Luke 10:37).
• Acts 6 (the diaconate) and St. Basil's Basiliad (4th c., among history's first hospitals) show the Church turning mercy into institution, not just sentiment.

Fragments for Friday -- The Protecting Veil of the Mother of God

Source: orthodoxmonasteryicons.com

This feast became the heart of that experience of Mary as Mother, of the one who at the Cross was given to all humanity as Mother (Jn. 19:27), and who as Mother brings into her own heart all of our sorrows, all our sufferings, all unbearable pain of our earthly existence. "A sword will pierce through your soul also, that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed" (Lk. 2:35). These words, prophetically spoken to her by the righteous Elder Simeon on the day she brought the Child into the Temple to consecrate Him to God, have deeply penetrated the souls of the faithful. The mother of Jesus Christ, standing at the Cross of her Son and taking upon herself all of the terrible pain of compassion and co-suffering, became a gift to us, to humanity, a gift of maternal love, maternal care, maternal compassion ...

Fr. Alexander Schmemann

Thursday's Theological Thoughts

Source: ancientfaith.com

On October 1, we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos. The Great Horologion describes the Feast in this manner:

The Feast of the Protection commemorates the appearance of the most holy Theotokos in the Church of Blachernae in Constantinople in the early sixth century, as recorded in the life of St. Andrew the Fool for Christ's sake. While the multitudes of the faithful were gathered in church, Epiphanius, the friend of St. Andrew, through the saint's prayers, beheld the Virgin Mary above the faithful and spreading out her veil over them, signifying her unceasing protection of all Christians. Because of this we keep a yearly feast of gratitude, imploring our Lady never to cease sheltering us in her mighty prayers.

As we chant in one of the hymns of the Feast:

Heaven and earth are sanctified,
the Church shines and all people make glad.
For behold, the Mother of God with the hosts of angels,
with preachers and evangelists, prophets and apostles,
has invisibly entered.
She prays to Christ for Christians
and entreats Him to have mercy on this city and people
who glorify the Feast of her Protecting Veil. (Stichera at Great Vespers)

We will celebrate the Feast of the Protection with the Divine Liturgy this morning. We also commemorate St. Romanos the Melode on October 1. As we all know, the icon of St. Romanos is on one of our deacon's doors.

Midweek Morning Meditation

Source: uncutmountainsupply.com

For Jesus to be was to be God’s Son. This is now orthodox Christian theology, expressing the Christian conviction that the godhead is a Trinity of divine ‘persons’ among Whom Jesus is the second, the Son and Word of God become flesh… On the human level, Jesus seems filled with concern for the needs of the poor people whom He encountered. On the more mysterious, divine level, His sole concern seems to be to glorify His heavenly Father.

But His over-all disposition seems serious, sad, absorbed in a mighty struggle.

There must have been something compelling about the personality bearing all these traits. By the time of Jesus’ ascension to heaven… He had stamped many lives indelibly. Simon Peter and Mary Magdalene, the beloved disciples John and James – all His intimates felt that He had become the substance of their lives, the only treasure they cared about. The report of later Christian saints has been similar. The most intense Christians have felt that Jesus was their reason to be.

Denise Carmody

Tuesday's Tutorial

Source: wikipedia.org

“To all, I propose this rule; it does not deceive. In every dubious case as soon as the possibility of a choice is offered to you, remember Christ. Picture to yourself His living Person, as it really is, and entrust Him with the burden of your doubts. Let all human beings of good will, as individuals, as social factors, as leaders of others and peoples, apply this criterion, and they will really be able, in the name of truth, to show others the way towards God.”

Vladimir Solovyov (Russian philosopher +1900)

Monday Morning Meditation

Source: wikipedia.org

"It is impossible not to love Christ. if we saw Him now, we should not be able to take our eyes off of Him, we should "listen to Him in rapture;" we should flock around Him as did the multitudes in the Gospels. All that is required of us is not to resist. We must yield to Him, to the contemplation of His image - in the Gospels, in the saints, in the Church - and He will capture our hearts."

From A Diary of a Russian Priest, by Fr. Alexander Elchaninoff

Tuesday's Tutorial

Source: full-of-grace-and-truth.blogspot.ca

Following yesterday's passage on the joy of "bowing down" before "the High and Holy, the True and the Beautiful," from Fr. Alexander Schmemann's book Of Water and the Spirit, he followed up with a passage about the true "revival" of religion. I would like to also share that passage with everyone. Again, the context is Fr. Alexander's commentary of the Sacrament of Baptism, but what he writes always has a far-ranging meaning of a more universal nature:

"Let us firmly confess that there can be no true "revival" of religion without a revival first of Christ's own religion, which is that of the Father, whose Son He is, and the Holy Spirit whom He sends from His Father - without, in other terms, a return to the mystery of all mysteries, the revelation of all revelations, the gift of all gifts, and the joy of all joys: the Triune God, the Holy and Life-Creating Trinity in one essence and undivided."

Fr. Alexander Schmemann

Monday Morning Meditation

Source: legacyicons.com

The passage below is from Fr. Alexander Schmemann's book Of Water and the Spirit. The context of the passage is the Sacrament of Baptism, through which a human person enters intothe grace-filled life of the Church. Yet, it is equally applied to whenever we actually "bow down" before Christ, as when we venerate the Cross of the Lord, as on the current Feast of the Elevation which we are saying farewell to today. Again, the question: Just what are willing to "bow down" before?

_____

"Bowing down" is an immemorial and universal symbol of reverence, love and obedience ... And how truly noble truly human and genuinely free are those who still know what it meansto bow before the High and Holy, the True and the Beautiful; who know what reverence and respect are; who know that bowing down before God is the true condition of freedom anddignity. Indeed Christ is the one truly free man, because He was obedient to His Father to the end and did nothing but the Father's will. To join the Church always meant to enter intoChrist's obedience and to find in it the truly divine freedom of man.

Fr. Alexander Schmemann

Monday Morning Meditation -- People of the Cross - "Cross Bearers" not "Cross Wearers"

Source: uncutmountainsupply.com

 

For, behold, through the Cross, joy has come into the world.

Whenever we openly commemorate and actually venerate the Cross of the Lord, we have the opportunity to dispel a certain characterization of the Orthodox Church, that if allowed to linger unanswered can become something of a caricature. And that is simply the claim that the Orthodox Church stresses the Resurrection of Christ at the expense of the Cross. This implies that the Orthodox Church – or we could say the Christian East – has no real “theology of the Cross.”

For the sake of brevity and simplicity, I would simply like to point out just how pervasive the presence of the Cross of Christ is in the liturgical life of the Church, thus making that presence so real in our ecclesial and personal lives, that if only unconsciously, the Cross is embedded in our minds and hearts.

Speaking of convenient clichés, there are many who like to characterize each Lord’s Day – Sunday – as a “little Pascha.” For on each and every Sunday, we proclaim the Resurrection of Christ as we do on Pascha itself. Sunday, therefore, is a weekly extension of the paschal joy of the Resurrection. The hymns of the Liturgy are imbued with the power of the Resurrection:

“Having beheld the Resurrection of Christ, let us worship the holy Lord Jesus, the only sinless One…”

Yet, based on this same pattern, we could say that every Friday is a “little Great and Holy Friday,” another extension of that most solemn of days – the Day of the Cross - as we commemorate the Cross on Friday as we commemorate the Resurrection on Sunday. It is for this reason that Friday is a day of fasting in the Church, as a way of keeping the Cross in mind as we practice some self-denial. And not only Friday on a weekly basis. On Wednesday, we also commemorate the Cross of the Lord and His Mother at the foot of the Cross:

O long-suffering Lord, when Your Mother saw You nailed to the Cross, she poured forth streams of tears because of You. Completely overcome by Your surpassing goodness and by Your compassion for the human race, she began to sing the praise of Your infinite power! (Aposticha, Vespers for Wednesday, Tone 8)

For this reason each Wednesday is also a day of fasting.

In addition to the present Feast of the Elevation of the Cross, we liturgically venerate the Cross precisely at the midpoint of Great Lent, on the Third Sunday, in order to set our minds forward to the Passion of the Lord. There is also the Procession of the Lifegiving Cross on August 1, as a way of inaugurating the two-week Dormition Fast. Often, a cross is carried in various liturgical processions – usually at the head of such a procession – and many churches will have a large Cross present for contemplation and veneration.

At the very end of the Liturgy, the faithful come forward to kiss the Cross held by either the bishop or priest. That is basically our last liturgical gesture before we “depart in peace.” And, of course, all (Orthodox) Christians wear a cross. This, however, can be problematic if we fail to heed the words of Christ Himself.

For the Lord taught us that “if any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” [Mark 8:34]. These words challenge us to never be content with being passive observers of the Cross, but instead to become active participants in the life of self-denial and co-suffering love that are implied in taking up the Cross. This further means that by our very vocation as Christians, we are “cross-bearers” and not simply “cross-wearers.” It is one thing to wear a cross, and another thing to bear a cross.

Of course it is a good thing that Christians do wear crosses. This is something of an identity badge that reveals that we are indeed Christians, but this worn cross is certainly not another piece of jewelry—Byzantine, three-barred, Celtic or Ethiopian! By wearing a cross we are saying in effect,

“I am a Christian, and therefore I belong to the Crucified One, Who is none other than the ‘Lord and Master of my life.’ My ultimate allegiance is to Him, and to no other person or party. With the Apostle Paul, I also confess, ‘I am not ashamed of the Gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to every one who has faith'...”[Romans 1:16].

Such a confession already takes us far beyond passively being a “cross-wearer” to actively becoming a “cross-bearer.” 

Dying to sin in Baptism makes the impossible possible. And with a faith in Christ that is hopefully ever-deepening in maturity, we can further exclaim with the great Apostle, “And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires”[Galatians 5:24].

I am hoping that these few points make it quite clear that to claim that the Orthodox Church under-values the Cross simply does not hold up to even superficial observation. As for the deeper levels of the meaning of the Cross – a “theology of the Cross” – we can only here once again refer to some of our theologically-expressive and beautiful liturgical hymns:

"Who without change didst become man and was crucified, Who art one of the Holy Trinity, glorified with the Father and the Holy Spirit: O Christ our God, trampling down death by death, save us!"('Only Begotten Son' – Second Antiphon)

"For enduring the Cross for us, He has destroyed death by death..."(Hymn of the Resurrection, following Holy Communion)

Orthodox Christians are people of the Cross “for, behold, through the Cross joy has come into the world."

+ + +

"Before Thy Cross . . ."

Magnify, O my soul, the most precious Cross of the Lord.

You are the mystical Paradise, O Theotokos, in which Christ blossomed; through Him the life-bearing Wood of the Cross was planted on earth.
Now at its Elevation, as we bow in worship before it, we magnify you.

—Hymn to the Theotokos for the Elevation of the Cross.

The link provided here is to a fairly detailed article on Wikipedia (there are, of course, different assessments of this source) that provides a history of the "true Cross" of the Lord from its discovery in the 4th c. to some of the scattered allusions to its ultimate fate in sources both Western and Eastern. What is of interest, is that the various Churches that have established a feast day of the Cross have agreed upon September 14 as the prime date, again both East and West.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/True_Cross

The Leavetaking of the Feast is on September 21.

Midweek Morning Meditation

Source: orthodoxchristiansupply.com

On September 9, we commemorate Sts. Joachim and Anna, the "Ancestors of God," because of their crucial role in the birth of their daughter, Miriam of Nazareth, the Virgin Mary and Theotokos.

Joachim and Anna could also be witnesses to a genuine conjugal love that manifests itself in the conception and birth of a new child. Their union is an image of a “chaste” sexual love that is devoid of lust and self-seeking pleasure. The strong ascetical emphases of many of our celibate saints may serve to undermine or obscure the blessings of conjugal love as envisaged in the Sacrament of Marriage. In fact, through its canonical legislation going back to early centuries, the Church has struggled against a distorted asceticism that denigrates sexual love even within the bonds of marriage as a concession to uncontrollable passions. 

The Church is not “anti-sex.” But the Church always challenges us to discern the qualitative distinction between love and lust. The icon of the embrace of Joachim and Anna outside the gates of their home as they both rush to embrace each other following the exciting news that they would indeed be given a child, is the image of this purified conjugal love that will result in the conception of Mary, their child conceived as all other children are conceived.

The Nativity of the Theotokos -- To see life with a restored vision

Source: uncutmountainsupply.com

O incomprehensible and ineffable matters! The God of all things, knowing in advance your worth, loved you; and because of this love, he predestined you, and at the end of times (I Pet. 1:20), he brought you into being and revealed you as Theotokos, Mother, and Nurse of his own Son and God."

"Be glad most blessed Anna, for you have born a female [child]. This female [child] will be the Mother of God, gateway of light and source of life, and she will do away with the accusation against the female sex."

- St. John of Damascus

 Coming as it does right after the beginning of the Church New Year, this Feast allows us a good start that we further hope we can sustain as the liturgical year unfolds before us. As a straightforward and joyous feast of commemorating the birth of the Virgin Mary, we receive a “taste” of the joyousness of life from within the Church that is often obscured by life’s challenges, difficulties and tragedies. Fr. Alexander Schmemann puts it like this: 

In and through this newborn girl, Christ – our gift from God, our meeting and encounter with Him – comes to embrace the world. Thus, in celebrating Mary’s birth we find ourselves already on the road to Bethlehem, moving toward to the joyful mystery of Mary as the Mother of God.

In an age of cynicism and unbelief, to encounter the purity of Mariam of Nazareth – the Virgin Mary and Theotokos – is to see life with a restored vision that, again, is only possible from within the Church. Goodness, purity of heart and faithfulness to God are embodied realities lived by real human persons. Such a restored vision of life will strengthen our sense of the inherent goodness of life that sin may obscure, but never obliterate. Yet,  if we can no longer “see” that, then we have lost something absolutely vital to our humanity, and we need to repent and embrace that “change of mind” that will restore our own humanity. 

Some will undoubtedly see nothing but a stereotype of the “feminine” here, but perhaps Fr. Schmemann has something worthwhile to say in his approach to the “image of woman” as manifested in the Virgin Mary:

The Virgin Mary, the All-Pure Mother demands nothing and receives everything. She pursues nothing, and possesses all. In the image of the Virgin Mary we find what has almost completely been lost in our proud, aggressive, male world: compassion, tender-heartedness, care, trust, humility.

We call her our Lady and the Queen of heaven and earth, and yet she calls herself “the handmaid of the Lord.” She is not out to teach or prove anything, yet her presence alone, in its light and joy, takes away the anxiety of our imagined problems. It is as if we have been out on a long, weary, unsuccessful day of work and have finally come home, and once again all becomes clear and filled with that happiness beyond words which is the only true happiness.

Christ said, “Do not be anxious … Seek first the Kingdom of God” (see Mt. 6:33). Beholding this woman – Virgin, Mother, Intercessor – we begin to sense, to know not with our mind but with our heart, what it means to seek the Kingdom, to find it, and to live by it.

Celebration of Faith, Vol. 3

On the day following the Feast, we commemorate the “ancestors of God,” Joachim and Anna, the father and mother of the Virgin Mary according to the Tradition of the Church. This is a consistent pattern within our festal and liturgical commemorations: On the day after a particular feast, we commemorate the persons who are an integral part of that feast day’s events. For example, the day after Theophany we commemorate St. John the Baptist; and on the day after Nativity, we commemorate the Theotokos. Therefore, because of the essential role of Joachim and Anna in the current Feast of the Virgin Mary’s Nativity, September 9 is the “synaxis of Joachim and Anna” and we thus bring them to mind in an effort to discern and meditate upon their important place in this festal commemoration.

The source of their respective roles is the Protoevangelion of James, a mid 2^ndc. document. As Archbishop Ware has written:

The Orthodox Church does not place the Protoevangelion of James on the same level as Holy Scripture: it is possible, then, to accept the spiritual truth which underlies this narrative, without necessarily attributing a literal and historical exactness to every detail.

One of those “spiritual truths” alluded to by Archbishop Ware is the account of both Joachim and Anna continuing to pray with faith and trust in God’s providence even though they were greatly discouraged over the “barrenness” of Anna. This is no longer our perception today, for not being able to have a child is hardly a sign of "barrenness!" And it also implies that this is a "woman's" problem, thus disengaging the man's role in the process of conception. Yet, it istrue that a lack of children in ancient Israel could easily be taken for a sign of God’s displeasure, thus hinting at hidden sins that deserve rebuke. Though disheartened, they continued to place their trust in God, refusing to turn away from God though thoroughly tested as to their patience. Perseverance in prayer in the face of discouragement is a real spiritual feat that reveals genuine faith. The conception and then birth of the Virgin Mary reveals the joyous outcome of their faith and trust in God. Perhaps this is why we commemorate Joachim and Anna as the “ancestors of God” at the end of every Dismissal in our major liturgical services, including the Divine Liturgy: We seek their prayers as icons of an everyday faith that is expressed as fidelity, faith and trust in God’s Law and providential care.

The Feast of the Nativity of Our Most Holy Lady the Theotokos has four days of Afterfeast, thus ending with the Leavetaking on September 12. That allows us to then prepare for the Feast of the Elevation of the Cross on September 14!

Fragments for Friday

Source: wikipedia.org

 "To say "I believe" is not simply to affirm something about God, but to entrust oneself to Him. It is an act that involves the whole existence of the human being - freedom, hope and expectation. Faith looks not only to what is given, but to what is promised; it opens the person toward the future of God, toward the Kingdom."

- Met. John D. Zizioulas

_____

"All through his life Jesus was calling for faith, faith in himself, faith in God his Father, faith in the Gospel, faith in the Kingdom of God. The fundamental condition of the Christian life is faith, for with faith come hope and love and every good work and every good gift and power of the Holy Spirit. This is the doctrine of Christ, the apostles, and the Church."

- Fr. Thomas Hopko

_____

"For Orthodoxy, faith in Christ, as Son of God, is not a Christological doctrine, but life itself."

- Fr. Sergius Bulgakov

A Fruitful Beginning to the New Church Year -- Responding With Faith, Hope and Love to the Church New Year

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it, You shall love yourneighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets. 

(MATT. 22:37-40)

The Church New Year Begins Today - Our discussion of the Church New Year raises the issue of time and our stewardship of the time that God has allotted to us. We all know that we have a finite and not infinite amount of time in that allotment. Aware of our finite nature, and the fact that we do not have an endless amount of time ahead of us, the Apostle Paul exhorts us to “redeem the time.” He is basically saying that Christ must be at the center of our endeavors and desires to properly benefit from the time given to us as a gift from God. We may plead that we are “too busy” to place God first in our lives. I cannot resist to respond by saying that if you are “too busy” for God, then you are simply “too busy!” This implies making the changes necessary to leave room and time for God. What will you have to “sacrifice” in the process? Probably not a whole lot when you recall the words of Christ: "For what does it profit a man, to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?” (MK. 8:36) It may be as “simple” as replacing certain ingrained patterns of living with others that at least potentially draw you closer to God.

What can we do on a practical level that would deepen our experience of God and bring us deeper into the life of the Church? We exist as Christians on the personal and parish levels. In both areas there is room to expand our hearts as we expand the amount of time necessary to fulfill the words of Christ to make God and neighbor our first priority. At home, we can:

+ Be regular in daily prayer by devising and adhering to a “Rule of Prayer.” This means that everyone needs a good Orthodox Prayer Book. This Rule needs to be practiced with consistency and attention – in both the morning and the evening. The Prayer of the Hours could punctuate your days with the remembrance of God while at work or home. (I can provide you with that prayer if you do not have it). The Jesus Prayer can be on your lips at any time during the day.

+ Read the Scriptures with some consistency. Becoming “scripturally literate” is essential for a Christian.

+ Make a point of even a short prayer or blessing before sitting down to a meal – alone or with the family. All that you have is ultimately from God. We need to recognize this in a concrete manner.

+ Honor and observe the fasting days of the liturgical year. Your church calendar will guide you in the fasting discpline of the Church.

+ Offer the Prayers of Preparation for Communion before the Divine Liturgy on Sunday morning. These are found in any good Orthodox Prayer Book. They do not all have to be done on any given Sunday. 

+ Respond to those in need of your help and assistance when the opportunity arises.

On the parish level, here are some items to consider:

+ Become more than a “Sunday morning only” participant in worship. Incorporate the Saturday evening Great Vespers into your life with some kind of pattern: once-a-month, for example. Honor the Feast Days by making room on your personal calendars so as to be present.

+ Become more aware of being a steward of your time, talent and treasure. Is there a parish ministry that you feel drawn toward? Please speak with me if that is the case. Be responsible in the ministry that you are already committed to. Be a “cheerful giver” of your treasure for the upbuilding of the church. Trusting in God’s love, overcome any reluctance to share of your material and financial blessings by pledging generously to the church.

+ Become more aware of the diversity of persons that you worship together with. Everyone who walks through the door is your neighbor. We are members of the Body of Christ, not mere “individuals” who accidentally worship in the same church. Meet those that you do not know. Avoid judging others by appearance. No one is “better” than the next person, regardless of social status or other worldly considerations. We are all sinners seeking salvation from the “Physician of our souls and bodies.” This is a real challenge as our parish continues to grow, And for that we thank God!

Rejoice in being an Orthodox Christian! Rejoice in being able to come to church and worship the living God! Rejoice in the people that you have providentially met in the Church! Rejoice in Christ our Savior!

Glory to You, for every sigh of my sadness,
Glory to You, for every step of my life, for every moment of joy,
Glory to You, O God, unto ages of ages.

Monday Morning Meditation -- The Church New Year: A Choice between 'Convenience' and 'Commitment'

Source: wikipedia.org

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me… to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”(LK. 4:18-19)

The beginning of the Church New Year occurs on September 1. This is also referred to as the Indiction, and there are both religious and political reasons behind this date, as the Church was accommodating itself to the realities of a Christianized Roman Empire by the fourth century. 

Though hardly commemorated today with much attention, I see no reason not to remind the parish of this date. Perhaps we may thereby bring to the ecclesial New Year a bit more attention than usual. Living as we do in a completely different and secularized society from the Roman/Byzantine world in which our church calendar was more-or-less fully developed, we have a difficult time conceiving of any new year commemoration other than that of January 1. Be that as it may, if we want to understand the liturgical year with its developed rhythm of feasting and fasting, we will need to embrace “the mind of the Church” to some extent to make that understanding attainable. 

As Orthodox Christians we live according to the rhythms of two calendars – the ecclesial and the secular – and often enough we are caught up in a “battle of the calendars.” That is a struggle that can strain our choices and possibilities when we make decisions that affect the use of our “time, talent and treasure.” The appointed Gospel reading for the Church New Year is LK. 4:16-22, from which the scriptural text above is taken. Every year is potentially “the acceptable year of the Lord,” but from our all too-human perspective that will be determined by how we approach each year as it comes to us in our appointed time in this world.

Recently, but with a more focused intention, I applied two contrasting terms toward our approach to the Dormition Fast that occupied us at the beginning of August for two weeks. Those contrasting terms were  convenience and commitment. I said that our approach to this recent fast was determined by our choice of seeking the way of convenience or of making a commitment. A choice of convenience will lead to being uncommitted and thus negligent of whatever discipline is set before us. 

I believe that we can expand the use of these terms to now embrace our approach to the Church New Year or even beyond to our very approach to life as Christians. As we approach the Church New Year we can ask ourselves: Do I choose convenience over commitment when these terms apply to my relationship to God and with the Church? Is my first concern when the “distribution” of my time, talents and treasure is under consideration reduced to a matter of convenience; or do I first think in terms of my commitment to the Lord? Am I therefore trying to “fit” the Church into my life rather than trying to “fit” my life into the fullness of life offered in the Church? At the beginning of the Church New Year - a beginning that not only implies, but offers the gifts of repentance, renewal and regeneration – these may be questions worthy of our heartfelt and serious consideration.

It may seem too simplistic to ask these questions in a stark “either/or” manner. Life is a bit more complicated than that. The choices of convenience and/or commitment – made consciously or unconsciously - can be seen as relative terms that often overlap and get entangled in ways that only further accentuate life’s complexities. Nevertheless, with the utter seriousness with which the Scriptures confront us with the “God question” we do find set before us a rather stark choice between “two ways:” and that would be between life and death. These are not choices that impinge upon our biological well-being. Rather, “life” and “death” are choices that depend upon our commitment to not only believing in God’s existence, but of our willingness to live according to the commandments of God. That is why the choice is presented in a very straightforward, unambiguous manner. The stakes are that high. It is not as if the teaching found in the Scriptures lacks an awareness of the difficulties of life; or of what we like to refer to as life’s “nuances.” But in the Scriptures we find the “ultimate questions” presented with a clarity that, again, demands a clear choice with a full understanding of just what is at stake. For ultimately, there is an “either/or” distinction when it comes to our decision for or against God.

The term “Two Ways” was from the beginning of the Church’s life even a technical term found in the earliest Christian literature. Although not a part of the New Testament, this is perhaps best illustrated by the very early document (late 1st. c.) known as The Didache. This document opens with a classic expression of this teaching:

There are two ways: one is the Way of Life, the other is the Way of Death; and there is a mighty difference between these two ways.

The way of life is this: first, that you shall love God who created you; second, your neighbor as yourself; all those things which you do not want to be done to you, you should not do to others. (Didache, 1:1-2)

This clearly echoes the direct teaching of Christ found in the Gospels, of course. And in the Gospel According to St. Matthew, we hear the Lord’s own versions of this choice of the Two Ways:

Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few. 

Every one then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house upon the rock; and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.

And every one who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house upon the sand; and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.(MATT. 7:13-14;24-27)

Yet, the Christian teaching of the Two Ways finds its first and most definitive expression in the Old Testament. There, as something of a final summation of the lengthy discourse of Moses to the people of Israel before they enter the Promised Land, the following is recorded in the Book of Deuteronomy: 

But the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it. See, I have set before you this day life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you this day, by loving the LORD your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his ordinances, then you shall live and multiply, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land which you are entering to take possession of it.

But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you this day, that you shall perish; you shall not live long in the land which you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. (DEUT. 30:14-18)

The Church calendar with its New Year commemoration on September 1 can be more than a quaint and antiquated remnant from the past. And it can even be more than a formal reminder that we will begin the annual cycle of feasting and fasting by celebrating the great Feasts of the liturgical year – important as this is. The Church New Year, perhaps coming after a long and “busy” summer, can remind us with a biblical urgency that the choice of the Two Ways may not be a once-in-a-lifetime decision; but one that needs annual renewal that can only be accomplished through repentance and that “change of mind” that directs us toward God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength (MK. 12:30). 

Let us search our hearts about this carefully. This deserves our time and attention more than anything else. This is not an inner examination that can be postponed to a more “convenient” time. Rather, it is a time of “commitment” to the really essential question that shapes our lives decisively. As the Lord asked the Apostle Peter, so the Lord asks us if we love him. Are we able to answer Him as did St. Peter: “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” (JN. 21:17)

Fragments for Friday -- The Baptist, The Forerunner, The Friend of the Bridegroom

 

Source: uncutmountainsupply.com

On August 29, we commemorate the Beheading of St. John the Baptist.The scriptural text read at the Liturgy is MK. 6:14-29; and we also find the gruesome narrative in MT. 14:1-12. The evangelists relate the story in a way that sharply contrasts the righteousness of St. John and the utter decadence of Herod Antipas' court, beginning, of course, with his wife Herodias and her daughter Salome. St. John, the ascetic, prophet and voice "crying in the wilderness" was raised up by God to announce the coming of the Messiah, but also to denounce any unrighteousness that arrogantly ignored the Law of God. Herod Antipas was an example of that unrighteousness, unlawfully married to his brother's wife, and surrounded by a sycophantic court. Beyond that, the image of the young "dancing girl" receiving St. John's severed head on a platter and then presenting it as a "gift" to her mother, must remain one of the Bible's most brutal images of total moral depravity. Created in the "image and likeness of God," human beings, both male and female, are capable of sinking deep into the abyss of unrestrained evil. Here is a striking reminder that the gift and responsibility of human freedom can degenerate into subhuman license, wherein "everything is permitted."

Yet, perhaps it will prove to be more fruitful to turn our attention elsewhere. We call St. John "the Baptist" and "the Forerunner." These titles are meant to identify his unique and important ministry in relation to Jesus, "the Coming One." At a time when prophets and prophecy had seemed a thing of the past in Israel, God sent forth St. John to preach a baptism of repentance that would prepare the people of Israel for the advent of the Messiah, who would be Jesus of Nazareth. St. John cast his prophetic teaching in the fiery and apocalyptic language that has created an enduring image of him as the stern prophet of the impending judgement of God:

"You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits that befit repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father'; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." (LK. 3:7-9)

In addition to this, though, St. John anticipated the ethical ideals of Jesus about how we need to treat our neighbors with equity and compassion ("Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"):

" He who has two coats, let him share with him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise." Tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, "Teacher, what shall we do? And he said to them, "Collect no more than is appointed you." Soldiers also asked him, "And we, what shall we do?" And he said to them, "Rob no one by violence or by false accusation, and be content with your wages." (LK. 3:11-14)

Eventually, then, in fulfillment of his role as Forerunner and Baptist, St. John recognized the Lord when Jesus approached the Jordan River and "allowed" Himself to be baptized by St. John. Once he identified Jesus as "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (JN. 1:29), St. John began to "decrease" so that the Lord may "increase." This attests to the great humility of St. John. This is his "kenotic moment." And this kenosis ("self-emptying") will culminate in his beheading; as Christ's kenosis will culminate on the Cross. We have St. John's own witness to this in the words recorded by St. John the Evangelist:

"He who has the bride is the bridegroom; the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice; therefore this joy of mine is now full. He must increase but I must decrease." (JN. 4:29-30)

Although we have given St. John the appropriate titles of "Baptist" and "Forerunner," he refers to himself as the "friend of the Bridegroom." At a wedding, all attention must fall upon the Bridegroom and the Bride. A true friend will never usurp that attention, but will carefully act in such a way as to ensure it. Only a false friend will act otherwise. Christ is the Bridegroom and Israel, the Church or the human soul is the Bride. As a "friend of the Bridegroom," St. John is loyal, trustworthy, and ever-ready to serve. As a true friend, he will accept a position of vulnerability for the sake of that friendship if need be. He rejoices simply to stand near Christ and hear His voice. In fact, as a friend his joy is "full." What a blessing it is to arrive at the fullness of life and joy in one's vocation, even in the awareness of the great "price" one must pay for that fulfillment! Indeed, St. John the Baptist and Forerunner of the Lord paid the full price for being a friend of the Bridegroom.

As "friends" of Christ - "You are my friends if you do what I command you" (JN. 15:14) - how wonderful to be able to "rejoice greatly at the bridegroom's voice" as did St. John. When we serve in a parish, as a priest, a member of the parish council, a church school teacher, or in any of the various ministries of the parish; it is essential that our role is to serve the Bridegroom as a true "friend," always perfectly willing to "decrease" so that all attention is given to the Bridegroom - Christ - so that He may "increase" in the minds and hearts of the parish faithful. There is no room for egosim and unhealthy vanity. In the presence of the Bridegroom it would be unseemly to draw attention to ourselves at the expense of His saving, healing and transforming presence. All of that is indicative of a shallowness and "self-love" that has no place in the presence of Christ. If "among those born of women, none is greater than he" (LK.. 7:28), then St. John remains the truest image of faithfulness to God, genuine humility and of that friendship that Christ offers to all of us.

St. John, Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord, pray to God for us!

Fr. Steven

Thursday's Theological Thoughts

Source: ancientfaith.com

In anticipation of Saturday's Liturgy in commemoration of the Beheading of St. John the Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord, I am sharing a fine paragraph from the biblical scholar, Brendan Byrne. This is from is larger commentary on the Gospel According to St. Mark:

"The account of John's death (Mk. 6:17-29) is unique in that it is the only sustained episode in the gospel from which Jesus himself is absent. It is also distinctive in the sense that none of the players in it - save John himself, the totally passive victim - emerges with any credit. On the contrary, we have a superbly told story about a banquet of sensual voyeurism that comes to a horrific climax with the "serving up" of a severed human head presented by a young woman to her mother (Herodias) "on a dish" (v. 28). Through a combination of vengeful cruelty(Herodias) and rash folly (Herod) a righteous prophet (John) suffers a violent death when a weak ruler is compelled by circumstances he himself has created to act against his own better judgment and inclination." 

From A Costly Freedom by Brendan Byrne, p. 113

Monday Morning Meditation -- A Challenging Answer to the Right Question

Source: orthochristian.com

"With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

Matt. 19:26

In Sunday's Gospel (Matt. 19:16-26) we heard of the (rich) young man, who asked the best of all possible questions: "Teacher, what good deed must I do, to have eternal life?" (19:16) What a fine way to inaugurate a dialogue with Jesus the Messiah, whose very purpose is to bring us the gift of eternal life! This is a question that is hardly to be expected to be asked today. It would seem quaint or irrelevant. Or, something of an embarrassment in a secular society. Perhaps we (Orthodox Christians) think that the question is unnecessary since we move and have our being within the realm of eternal life - the Church. That is fine, as long as we maintain vigilance in keeping our "eyes of the prize:" eternal life in Christ Jesus.

However, having asked that essential question of Jesus, and hearing the Lord remind him of some of the great commandments (v. 18-19), the young man pressed ahead with a question/request that would take him beyond the Lord's reinforcement of the great commandments: "All these I have observed; what do I still lack?" (v. 20) Asking for "more" from Jesus, he was forced to hear the following:  "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." (v.2) And this proved to be deflating. 

Unable to respond to the Lord with the same alacrity as before, he withdraws, for he was "sorrowful" because he owned "great possessions." (v. 22) Even though an exemplary and pious observer of the Torah, his capacity for radical self-renunciation had been stretched far too broadly by the Lord's "invitation" to reach to a higher level. Admittedly, what he heard from Jesus was not necessarily a new, universal commandment of total renunciation for all. Yet, knowing who he was speaking to, the Lord pronounced what the young man needed to hear then and there. This allowed Jesus to utter one of his more well-known saying that is characteristic of his effective use of hyperbole: "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." (v. 24)

Unless we are suffering from a serious bout of self-righteousness or hypocrisy, it would be difficult indeed for one of us to criticize the young man's reaction. When we hear these words of the Lord, there is every possibility that they sail right over our heads, as if they had no real meaning for us. As stated above, the words of Jesus to the young man may not have a direct bearing upon our quest for the "good deed" that leads to "eternal life." But the words of Christ certainly challenge the fact of our deep dependency on our possessions and our inability to let go even to a very modest degree. The grip of many possessions can be tenacious, indeed!

Met. John Zizioulas wrote of "all the useless things that we carry around with us in this life" (only to be released in the eschaton). To draw up a catalogue of those "useless things" on a personal basis would perhaps be convicting. As in: I never quite realized the extent of all the useless things that I do carry around in this life. I am therefore unwilling to ascribe a total failure to the (rich) young man's unfilled quest to find that one "good deed" that would lead to "eternal life." It is to the credit of young man that he at least walked away from the Lord feeling "sorrowful." If not a fleeting feeling, sorrow can lead to repentance. And repentance can go a long way in realizing that with God all things are possible. (v. 26

Monday Morning Meditation -- Blessed Feast of the Dormition of our Most Holy and Ever-Virgin Mary, the Theotokos!

 

Source: uncutmountainsupply.com

The feast of the Dormition is the sign, the guarantee, and the celebration that Mary’s fate is the destiny of all those of “low estate” whose souls magnify the Lord, whose spirits rejoice in God the Saviour, whose lives are totally dedicated to hearing and keeping the Word of God which is given to men in Mary’s child, the Saviour and Redeemer of the world.

Finally it must be stressed that, in all of the feasts of the Virgin Mother of God in the Church, the Orthodox Christians celebrate facts of their own lives in Christ and the Holy Spirit. What happens to Mary happens to all who imitate her holy life of humility, obedience, and love. With her all people will be “blessed” to be “more honorable than the cherubim and beyond compare more glorious than the seraphim” if they follow her example. All will have Christ born in them by the Holy Spirit. All will become temples of the living God. All will share in the eternal life of His Kingdom who live the life that Mary lived.

In this sense everything that is praised and glorified in Mary is a sign of what is offered to all persons in the life of the Church.

—Protopresbyter Thomas Hopko (+2015), The Orthodox Faith, Vol. 2: Worship

Fragments for Friday -- Beyond Death and Judgment' - The Dormition of the Theotokos

 

Source: uncutmountainsupply.com

The Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos has come to be experienced as something of a "summer pascha," and as such has steadily become an integral event of our parish life. And this is "meet and right."

American Christianity has been shaped by the Protestant ethos, and that basically means that there is no real place for the veneration of the Mother of God. This was primarily based upon a reaction against the perceived excesses of the medieval West's Marian piety by the early Protestant reformers. In a short time, this reaction became a thorough rejection - at times quite vehement - in many Protestant circles. So the Virgin Mary pretty much disappeared from Protestant worship and piety. Perhaps the classic example within Church history of "throwing out the baby with the bath water."

Orthodox Christians cannot succumb to any such truncated form of the Church's living Tradition. (However, there have been clear signs recently of a "recovery" of the role of the Virgin Mary in some Evangelical circles). One of my beloved professors from seminary always used to say that a sign of a spiritually strong parish is that parish's devotion to the Mother of God. For she is the personal image of the Church - warm, embracing, nurturing, protecting.

Since the Dormition has no biblical source, this feast slowly developed over the course of the first five centuries of the Church's history on the basis of a wide variety of sources - primarily narratives, rhetorical homilies and theological poetry/hymnography. (Much of this material now exists in English translation). There is no one authoritative text or document.

However, though details may differ, a tradition emerged that tells of how the apostles were miraculously brought back to Jerusalem in order to surround the bedside of the Virgin Mary as she lay dying. Upon commending her holy soul to her Son and Savior, she peacefully "fell asleep" in death (the meaning of the word dormition) in the presence of the apostles who stood weeping and grief-stricken by her bedside. With great solemnity they buried her pure body which had itself been the "tabernacle" of the King. The traditional place of her burial is a tomb close to Gethsemane. When the tomb was opened on the third day so that the Apostle Thomas, who arrived late, could venerate the body of the Theotokos, it was found to be empty. The "Mother of Life" was thus "translated to life!"

Archbishop Kallistos Ware summarizes the Church's understanding of this tradition in the following manner:

Without insisting on the literal truth of every element in this account, Orthodox tradition is clear and unwavering in regard to the central point: the Holy Virgin underwent, as did her Son, a physical death, but her body - like His - was afterwards raised from the dead and she was taken up into heaven, in her body as well as in her soul. She has passed beyond death and judgement, and lives wholly in the Age to Come.

The Resurrection of the Body, which all Christians await, has in her case been anticipated and is already an accomplished fact. That does not mean, however, that she is dissociated from the rest of humanity and placed in a wholly different category: for we all hope to share one day in that same glory of the Resurrection of the Body which she enjoys even now. ( The Festal Menaion, p. 64)

Fr. Thomas Hopko further elaborates on the meaning of this beautiful Feast and how it "relates" to every generation of Christians:

Thus, the feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos is the celebration of the fact that all men are "highly exalted" in the blessedness of the victorious Christ, and that this high exaltation has already been accomplished in Mary the Theotokos.

The feast of the Dormition is the sign, the guarantee, and the celebration that Mary's fate is the destiny of all those of "low estate" whose souls magnify the Lord, whose spirits rejoice in God the Savior, whose lives are totally dedicated to hearing and keeping the Word of God which is given to men in Mary's child, the Savior and Redeemer of the world.

Dormition, of course, means "falling asleep," the Christian term par excellence for how we approach the mystery of death. And here we further approach the paradox, from a Christian perspective, of death itself - the "last enemy" that causes great anguish and grief; but yet which now serves as a passage to life everlasting, and thus a cause for festal celebration in the death of the Mother of God. For the Virgin Mary truly died, as is the fate of all human beings; and yet "neither the tomb nor death could hold the Theotokos" who has been "translated to life by the One who dwelt in her virginal womb!" Without for a moment losing sight of the reality of death (notice the weeping apostles around the body of the Theotokos on the Dormition icon), from within the Church we can actually celebrate death during this "summer pascha" because of the Resurrection of Christ.

Thus, the Feast of the Dormition clearly raises the issue of death and dying, and what we mean by a “Christian ending to our life.” For the moment, though, here is a challenging paragraph from Fr. Thomas Hopko about some of our own misconceptions – basically our fears – that often find us wandering far from an Orthodox approach to death and dying:

I believe that the issue of death and dying is in need of serious attention in contemporary Orthodoxy, especially in the West, where most members of the Church seem to be “pagan” before people die and “Platonists” afterwards. By this I mean that they beg the Church to keep people alive, healthy, and happy as long as possible, and then demand that the Church assure them after people die that their immortal souls are “in a better place, basking in heavenly bliss” no matter what they may have done in their earthly lives.

To add a bit more to this, here is a passage from Bp. Ilarion Alfeyev, that reinforces the Christian understanding – and hope – that accompanies us at the moment of death:

For the non-believing person, death is a catastrophe and a tragedy, a rupture and a break. For the Christian, though, death is neither a catastrophe nor something evil. Death is a “falling asleep,” a temporary condition of separation from the body until the final unification with it. As Isaac the Syrian emphasizes, the sleep of death is short in comparison with the expectant eternity of a person. — From Orthodox Christianity, Vol. 2, p. 496.

St. Gregory of Nyssa states this Christian hope with clarity:

By the divine Providence death has been introduced as a dispensation into the nature of man, so that, sin having flowed away at the dissolution of the union of soul and body, man, through the resurrection, might be refashioned, sound, passionless, stainless, and removed from any touch of evil. – Great Catechetical Oration, 35.

This is precisely why we can call the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos, “pascha in the summer!” The Virgin Mary and Theotokos died a “deathless death.” Now we have the opportunity to participate in this mystery in the celebration of this event as nothing less than a Feast. The Leave-taking of the Feast is on August 23. That means that we continue to sing and chant the troparion and kontakion of the Feast in our liturgical services until then, in addition to other hymnography of the Feast. I would strongly urge everyone to incorporate these hymns into your daily rule of prayer, including their use when you bless your meals as a family, replacing the Lord's Prayer up until the Leave-taking. If you can't sing these hymns, you can certainly recite them! The troparia and kontakia or the major Feasts are included in many Orthodox Prayer Books, but if you do not have the texts available at home, I am including them here:

Troparion of the Dormition

In giving birth, you preserved your virginity!
In falling asleep you did not
forsake the world, O Theotokos!
You were translated to life, O Mother of Life,
and by your prayers you deliver our souls from death!


Kontakion of the Dormition

Neither the tomb, nor death, could hold the Theotokos,
who is constant in prayer and our firm hope in her intercessions.
For being the Mother of Life, she was translated to life
by the One who dwelt in her virginal womb!

The decorated tomb of the Theotokos, containing an icon of her sacred body in blessed repose, will be in the center of the church this evening; and then back in its usual place and open for our veneration whenever we enter the church. The great Feasts extend in time, giving us the opportunity of integrating them into our lives in a meaningful way.