Coffee With Sister Vassa -- THE FAITH OF THE SAMARITAN WOMAN

 “The Samaritan Woman came to the well in/by faith; she saw You, the Water of Wisdom, and drank abundantly she inherited the Kingdom on High and is ever glorified!” (Kontakion, Sunday of the Samaritan Woman)

How is it that the Samaritan Woman came to the well “in faith” or “by faith” (πίστει / верою)? Did it take faith to perform a vital, daily chore, like coming out to this well in the middle of the day to draw water? Not necessarily. But the author of this hymn is saying that she already had faith, even before she encountered the One in Whom she believed. As she said to Christ: “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will tell us all things.” (Jn 4:25) So, although she was not from the ‘orthodox’ Jewish tradition, but a Samaritan, she did receive the seed of faith in the Coming One, from a ‘not-orthodox’ tradition in which she was raised. And this is a phenomenon to which our Lord points, when He says to His disciples (right after the departure of the Samaritan Woman) that they “will reap where they have not sown...,” where ‘others’ have labored. 

As we prepare for the upcoming Sunday of the Samaritan Woman, this morning I’m inspired by her also to have faith and hope, as I go about my daily chores and responsibilities, so that I am ready to recognize Christ in our midst; also in the midst of the ‘not orthodox’; and to “drink abundantly” of the Water of Wisdom that He offers us in our various blessings and challenges. “Lord, give me this water, that I may not thirst!”

Coffee With Sister Vassa -- HAVE NO HUSBAND

How did St. John the Evangelist know, what exactly was said in the conversation of our Lord with the Samaritan Woman, when he wasn’t there, but he is the one who later recorded it in his Gospel? I think she told him. John explicitly says that the disciples did not ask the Lord about the conversation (Jn 4:27), so - she must have told the story. We do know that she immediately began to tell others in her own city about it. Thus, the rather long conversation of our Lord with the Samaritan Woman, - the longest recorded conversation He has with another person, - can be described as an example (to us and for us) of one woman’s account of “How I Met Jesus Christ.” It can help us recognize how it is that we, also, can “meet” Him, and come to know and believe in Him. 

The conversation has several revelatory moments, at which He gradually reveals important things about Himself, but she also gradually reveals major things about herself. Her “things” are her questions or issues, while His “things” are answers to those questions or issues. The thing about her that I am thinking aboutthis morning, is her admission, (after He pretends not to know this), that “I have no husband.” I think this was her main issue, or what she felt was her major issue, which Christ prompts her to reveal, along with her theological questions. It is reminiscent of the paralytic’s issue at the Pool of Bethesda, “I have no man,” he says, “to put me into the pool…” (Jn 5:7) The woman’s admission clears the way for our Lord to reveal Himself to her, as her Lord; as One who already knows everything about her, but in nowise despises her for any of it. Because here He is, talking to her, and opening to her a new Way that is her vocation.

This morning I’m thinking, I also have no husband. Many people “have no husband” (or wife), either by choice or otherwise. Let us not mistake the presence or absence of certain “others” in our lives for an obstacle to “meeting” Christ, entering into a conversation with Him, and drinking of His “living water.” He already knows everything about us, and does not despise us for it. “Lord, give me this water” this morning, “that I may not thirst!”

Akathist to the Resurrection

 

Source: athoniteusa.com

Christ is Risen!

We chanted the Akathist Hymn this morning "To the Resurrection." In Eikos 2, the praises of the Risen Lord were based on some of the scriptural texts that reveal to us the encounter of the Risen Christ with various of his disciples. But these praises are also wonderful applications of those profoundly meaningful encounters to our own lives today, as we struggle against sin and attempt to purify our hearts with the presence and love of Christ. I am setting forth the praises from Eikos 2 here, and citing the Gospel texts which are their basis:

Jesus, Who passed through locked doors, enter the house of my soul! (Jn. 20:19)

Jesus, Who met Your disciples on a journey, meet me on the journey of life! (Lk. 24:13)

Jesus, Who inflamed their hearts with Your words, set my cold heart on fire too!(Lk. 24:32)

Jesus, Who made yourself known in the breaking of the bread, grant me to know You in the Divine Eucharist! (Lk. 24:30-31)

Jesus, Who promised the Holy Spirit to Your disciples, send down to me too thisSpirit Comforter from the Father! (Lk. 24:49; Jn. 14:26; 15:26; 16:13) 

It is the risen and glorified Christ who is "in our midst!"

COFFEE WITH SISTER VASSA -- 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…”

These days, when some disturbing piece of news comes out, say, about a political or religious leader doing or saying something preposterous, sometimes people share on social media how their “faith in humanity” is waning. But 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 entrusted with God’s revelation of Himself to us; with receiving it and passing it on, from generation to generation, based on human testimony, language, and other fallible human capacities, like hymnography, iconography and other forms of art. We are free to reject and deride these capacities, but that means embracing iconoclasm, which is considered the sum of all heresies. Why? Not because it denies God, but because it denies the human capacity to pass on His revelation of Himself to us.

May I believe in us today, and embrace at least a bit of the hope, love and patience with us, which God unchangeably has and extends to each of us daily. I can do that, by opening up to Him in prayer, and letting His faith, good will and 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 Pentecost.

Monday Morning Meditation -- Do You Want to be Healed?

 

Source: ancientfaith.com

CHRIST IS RISEN! 

INDEED HE IS RISEN!

“Do you want to be healed?” (JN. 5:6)

We have already reached the Fourth Sunday of Pascha, with the Midfeast approaching on Wednesday. The Fourth Sunday is known as the "Sunday of the Paralytic" based upon the “sign” of the healing of the paralytic by the Pool of Bethesda near the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem and the profound discourse to follow (JN. 5). Archeologists have fairly recently discovered this pool demonstrating the accuracy of St. John’s description. The paralytic had taken his place among a human throng of chronic misery, described by the evangelist as “a multitude of invalids, blind, lame, paralyzed” (v. 3). Being there for thirty-eight years and not being able to experience what were believed to be the healing capacities of the waters of the pool, the paralytic seemed resigned to his destiny. 

Then Jesus appeared. He saw the paralytic and He knew of his plight. Jesus asked the paralytic a very pointed and even poignant question:  “Do you want to be healed?” (v. 6). Surprisingly, considering what must have been his own misery, the paralytic’s answer was less than direct and not exactly enthusiastic:  “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is troubled, and while I am going another steps down before me” (v. 7). Nevertheless, and even though the paralytic does not commit himself to an act of faith in the healing power of Jesus, he receives the following directive from Jesus:  “Rise, take up your pallet, and walk.” And then, in that somewhat laconic style of describing the healing power of Christ that characterizes the Gospel accounts, we read simply:  “And at once the man was healed, and he took up his pallet and walked” (v. 9). The “sign” is that Christ can restore wholeness to those in need.

I believe that we need to concentrate on the question Jesus posed to the paralytic: “Do you want to be healed?” (The King James version of the question is: “Wilt thou be made whole?”). For, if the various characters that Jesus encountered in the Gospels are also representatives or “types” of a particular human condition, dilemma, or state of being; then the question of Jesus remains alive in each generation and is thus posed to each of us today. If sin is a sickness, then we are “paralyzed” by that sin to one degree or another of intensity. But do we really want to be healed of the paralyzing effect of sin in our lives? The answer seems obvious, even a “no-brainer,” but is that truly the case? Or, are we more-or-less content with continuing as we are, satisfied that perhaps this is “as good as it gets” in terms of our relationship with God and our neighbors? Do we manage to politely deflect the probing question of Christ elsewhere, counter-posing a reasonable excuse as to what prevents us from exerting the necessary energy from our side? 

Our teaching claims that we must also contribute to the synergistic process of divine grace and human freedom that works together harmoniously for our healing. Perhaps it is easier and more comfortable to stay as we are – after all, it’s really not that bad - a position reflected in the noncommittal response of the paralytic. For to be further healed of sin will mean that we will have to make some changes in our life, in our interior attitudes and in our relationships. It certainly means that we will have to confess our faith in Christ with a greater intensity, urgency and commitment. None of that sounds very "convenient." Are we up to that challenge?

Actually, we could more accurately say that we have already been healed. That happened when we were baptized into Christ. (There are baptismal allusions in the healing of the paralytic by the pool of water). Every human person is paralyzed by the consequences of sin, distorting the image of God in which we were initially created. Baptism was meant to put to death the sin that is within us. We were healed, in that baptism is the pledge to life everlasting, where death itself is swallowed up in the victory of Christ over death. For we are baptized into the Death and Resurrection of Christ. So, with a slight variation, the question of Christ could also imply: 

Do you rejoice in the fact that you have been healed, and does your way of life reflect the faith and joy that that great healing from sin and death has imparted to you?

Are you willing to continue in the struggle that is necessary to keep that healing “alive” within you?

Direct and simple questions can get complicated, often by the paralyzing effect of sin in our lives. We can then get confused as to how to respond to such essential questions. Every time we walk into the church we are being asked by Christ:  “Do you want to be healed?” Responding with a resounding “Yes!” would be a “sign” of the faith, hope and love that are within us by the grace of God.