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.

Coffee With Sister Vassa -- CHRIST GIVES WOMEN A NEW VOICE

 “Women, hear the voice of gladness: ‘Trampling on the tyrant Hell, I have raised the world from corruption. Run, tell my friends the good tidings, for I wish joy to shine on what I fashioned from the source from which came grief’.” (Exapostilarion of Myrrh-Bearers’ Sunday)

In this hymn, which will be chanted this upcoming Sunday of the Myrrh-Bearing Women, Christ is addressing these Myrrh-Bearers, and through them all women. He tells us not to walk, but to “run,” and tell His “friends” the good news of the resurrection. Thus He grants women a voice we did not properly have, ever since Adam was banished from paradise, – as God says to Adam, “ Because you listened to the voice of your wife.” (Gen 3: 17) Now, right after His resurrection, Christ chooses to spread joy “ from the source from which came grief,” the female voice, employing women as His witnesses and as the first messengers of the resurrection, – not only or primarily to other women, but to His male disciples.

The “voice” of women was not well-received by the Apostles, who thought their words to be “ nonsense, and they did not believe them” (Lk 24: 11). And throughout Church History even up to our time, the voice of women, on the rare occasion that it is heard at all, is received not un-problematically. Hence from apostolic times, when women first reacted to their new vocation by being afraid “ and did not say a word to anyone” (Mk 16:8), it continues to be difficult, both for women to speak in the Church, and for men to hear them. Nonetheless, it happens, by the grace of the risen Lord, Who continues to call us to the perilous business of being His “witnesses,” that we may overcome the brokenness of our communion with Him and one another. So let’s spread His joy today, as He calls us to do, saying: “ Women, hear the voice of gladness!”

Monday Morning Meditation -- A Shuddering Awe

Source: sttekla.org

 

CHRIST IS RISEN! INDEED HE IS RISEN!

In the Gospel According to St. Mark, we hear of the discovery of the empty tomb by the myrrhbearing women "very early on the first day of the week." (16:1) This would be the day after the Sabbath, or our Sunday - the "Lord's Day." Since that astonishing morning until this day, Sunday is the most prominent day of worship for Christians, for it was on this day that the resurrection of the Lord was made manifest to the world. And that manifestation was first made to the group of women disciples we know collectively as "the myrrhbearers." 

St. Mark specifically mentions "Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome" who "bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him." (16:1) These loyal and loving women had come, somewhat counter-intuitively, to anoint the body of the dead Jesus, though they were aware of the large stone that had been rolled "against the door of the tomb." (15:46) Or, perhaps it was a deeper intuition that brought them to the tomb in the hope that they could fulfill their ministry to the Lord. St. Mark narrates: "And very early on the first day of the week they went to the tomb when the sun had risen." (16:2) The "risen sun" is certainly a wonderful anticipation of what the women were soon to discover. Yet, having arrived at the tomb where Jesus had been laid, "looking up, they saw that the stone was rolled back; for it was very large." (16:4)

The myrrhbearing women will now enter an empty tomb. Indeed, why was it empty? The empty tomb needed interpretation, or the women would be lost in distressful and fruitless speculation. The interpretation of the empty tomb will simultaneously be the proclamation of the "Good News." The interpreter and proclaimer will be "a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe" (16:5), clearly an angel. And that means that what he proclaims will be a divine revelation. In his presence, the women "were amazed." (16:5). The strength of the Gk. word for "amazed" (used only here in the entire NT by St. Mark) has been further translated as "a strong feeling of awe and agitation in the face of the numinous" (D. E. Nineham), or even a "shuddering awe." (A. E. J. Rawlinson) It is at this point in the dramatic narrative that we hear the "Good News" referred to above: "And he said to them 'Do not be amazed; you seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen, he is not here; see the place where they laid him'." (16:6) The tomb is empty because Jesus had been raised from the dead! It was the will of God that the women have the privilege of discovering this. In the words of Peter Chrysologus:

He did not roll back the stone to provide a way of escape for the Lord but to show the world that the Lord had already risen. He rolled back the stone to help his fellow servants believe, not to help the Lord rise from the dead. He rolled the stone for the sake of faith, because it had been rolled over the tomb for the sake of unbelief. He rolled back the stone so that he who took death captive might hold the title of Life. SERMON 75.4

This is a bodily resurrection, and not in some vague spiritual or "metaphorical" sense. Jesus of Nazareth, who had been crucified and buried, had been raised. The "Jesus of history" and the "Christ of faith" are one and the same. The resurrection reveals an awesome transformation, but it is Jesus of Nazareth who is transformed, thus assuring the continuity that is essential to reveal the victory over death that occurs in the resurrection.

The myrrhbearers then hear a further revelation from the angel: "But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you." (16:7) This is in fulfillment of Christ's earlier words: "But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee." (14:28) The Gospel According St. Matthew will record such an appearance of the Risen Lord to His disciples in Galilee. (MATT. 28:16-20) Then the women, apparently in that same state of amazement "fled from the tomb; for trembling and astonishment had come upon them; and they said nothing to any one, for they were afraid." (16:8) I hope and pray that at some point in the paschal season; or at any time during the year - or during our lifetime! - we too can "tremble" and be filled with "astonishment" that Jesus has been raised from the dead. Is this an enigmatic ending to the initial discovery of the empty tomb and the proclamation of the resurrection? Did the myrrhbearing women fail in their ministry as "apostles to the apostles" because of their (initial) silence? I believe that St. Mark is leaving us with the overwhelming sense of precisely encountering a divine reality that initially did leave the women speechless. As a scholar of this Gospel has written:

The women's profound emotion is described in order to bring out the overwhelming and sheerly supernatural character of that to which it was the response (see also 4:41, 6:30, 9:15), and perhaps to suggest to the reader that if he has even begun to understand the full significance of what had occurred, he too will be bound to respond with amazement and godly fear." (D. E. Nineham, St. Mark, Pelican New Testament Commentaries, p. 447-448).

It is the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead that the Orthodox Church proclaims to this day with faith, conviction and the certainty that God has acted "in Christ Jesus" within history in a decisive and "eschatological" manner in order to reclaim, restore and renew God's fallen creation. Of course, other Christian churches proclaim the very same victory over death in the Resurrection of Christ. However, the Resurrection understood as the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ has been challenged, "reinterpreted," or rejected by a fair share of biblical scholars and theologians. We need to be fully aware that the bodily resurrection of Christ does not refer to a resuscitated corpse. There is a tremendous element of transformation in the "spiritual body" of the Lord. The mysterious aspect of this transformation is conveyed in many of the scriptural texts that try and describe - perhaps less than adequately, or at least not exhaustively - the risen life of the Lord. Also, a resuscitated Jesus would have died again, as did Lazarus, the daughter of the elder Jairus, and the son of the widow of Nain. 

But St. Paul affirms: "For we know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him." (ROM. 6:9) There has "arisen" a sad division amongst Christians over this essential issue. To follow Jesus or to believe in Him apart from His bodily resurrection and all that that implies for Christology, anthropology, and eschatology, is to follow "another Gospel." (GAL. 1:7) Such a Jesus did not "trample down death by death." 

The further words of Peter Chrysologus captures the choice before us when contemplating the empty tomb:

Pray that the angel would descend now and roll away all the hardness of our hearts and open up our closed senses and declare to our minds that Christ has risen, for just as the heart in which Christ lives and reigns is heaven, so also the heart in which Christ remains dead and buried is a grave. May it be believed that just as he died, so was he transformed. Christ the man suffered, died and was buried; as God he lives, reigns, is and will be forever. SERMONS 75.4

CHRIST IS RISEN! INDEED HE IS RISEN!

Coffee with Sister Vassa -- WHY ARE THE RISEN LORD’S WOUNDS FAITH-AFFIRMING?

This week, throughout which the hymns of Thomas Sunday continue to be chanted in church-services, let’s think about why it is specifically the woundsof the risen Lord that convince Thomas that his Lord and his God is. Thomas had been traumatized, as had been the other Apostles, by the triumph of injustice over Jesus, Who was publicly humiliated, crucified, dead and buried. Jesus, Who was innocent of the charges brought against Him, Who had only done good for others, was executed like a criminal, and those who had committed this crime got away with it. How could God, if He is God, if He is at all, have let this happen?

This question, I mean, the question arising from the senseless, entirely-unjust violence suffered by innocent people, is the one that most often makes it hard to believe in God. Hence the disbelief of Thomas. But here’s why the wounds of the risen Lord renew the Apostle’s faith: The Lord, even after His resurrection, continues to carry the wounds inflicted on Him, on His risen Body. The Body of Christ carries the evidenceof the crimes committed. The evidence, my friends, is not erased, not forgotten by God, not swept under the rug, no. The wounds of all those who suffer at the hands of unjust and mindless violence are carried henceforth on the Body of Christ, no longer harmed by the wounds, but testifying to all the injustice that will, in the end, in God’s time, be judged by Him.

Of course, these wounds are an open invitation to repent, for those who have been inflicting such wounds on the Body of Christ; on human beings in this world that God so loved, that He sent His only-begotten Son into it and into all its madness. These wounds are also enabling us, in communion with Him, to be partakers of the risen-yet-wounded, new Life in Him. We are empowered to carry also the wounds, without being harmed or deadened by them. As we continue to witness, in our unjust world, a lot of injustice that seems to hold power, that seems to be triumphing, at times, we are also given to know and to trust that God’s only-begotten Son holds on to the evidence of the crimes, carrying the wounds on His precious Body. Lord, help us co-carry the wounds, by Your grace, in faith and patience and wisdom and love. Our Lord and our God, glory be to You.

Midweek Morning Meditation

Source: prayerrope.co

 "My Lord and my God!" (Jn. 20:28)

"Who do people men say that the Son of man?" asks Jesus of his disciples (Matt. 16:13). This is a question that still demands an answer to this day, as the figure of Jesus of Nazareth continues to engage the world, if not "haunt" the imagination. In the immediate context of that question being asked, Peter spoke up, seemingly on behalf of the other disciples, and declared: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (v. 16). Today, using a bit of jargon, we would call this a Christological confession of faith. At that moment, and if only momentarily because of his later betrayal of the Master, Peter the fisherman and disciple discerned the true identity of the Son of man, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus makes it clear, though, "flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven" (v. 17). 

Perhaps not quite as well known, but no less powerful in its Christological confession of faith, we hear these words from Mary, the sister of Lazarus: "Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, he who is coming into the world" (Jn. 11:27). Overwhelmed with grief because her beloved brother had just died, Mary had the insight to proclaim these words to Jesus, trusting that he could still do "something" on behalf of her brother. This second confession of faith in Jesus as the Son of God, now comes from a woman who was close to Christ during his ministry. Jesus then demonstrated the truth of her confession by raising her dead brother back to life again.

These two confession of faith in Jesus as the Christ and the Son of God had been made before the Passion and Resurrection. They were deep and incisive confessions of faith that will resonate wherever this Gospel is preached until the end of time. And these confessions of faith shape the way that we see and understand who Jesus is in our personal lives and in our liturgical and theological traditions. 

Yet, following the Death and Resurrection of Christ, there is another confession of faith that reveals the fullness of the identity of the Lord. For Thomas "one of the twelve, called the twin," (Jn. 20:24) will be transformed from unbelief to belief when he encounters the risen Lord in the upper room eight days after the other disciples saw their Lord risen from death. And they "were glad when they saw the Lord." (v. 20) When Thomas encounters Christ and after he is invited to touch the wounds of the Lord, he cries out: "My Lord and my God!" (v. 28). Accepting this confession of faith from Thomas, Jesus utters words that are directed to all of us who throughout the centuries come to faith in him: "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe" (v. 29). 

At the beginning of the Gospel, the evangelist John reveals the true nature of Jesus Christ as the Word of God incarnate (Jn. 1:1-18). At the end of the Gospel, a human being - the disciple Thomas - now accepts that revelation and knows if for himself within the depths of his being. When we make that same confusion of faith - openly or inwardly - we join countless believers throughout the ages who believe "that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name" (Jn. 20:31).

Coffee with Sister Vassa -- BELIEVING ONE ANOTHER

 

“… Eight days later, his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. The doors were shut, but Jesus came and stood among them, and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side; do not be faithless, but believing.’ Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.’ Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.” (Jn 20: 26-31)

“ These are written,” – thus St. John explains to us the purpose of his Gospel, – “ that you may believe…, and that believing you may have life…” We do not “see” the risen Lord in the same way that Thomas and the other eye-witnesses saw Him. But we believe their eye-witness accounts, their life-giving testimony to His new life, because God willed it so, that we receive the gift of faith from one another, from other human beings. “ Blessed are those who have not seen,” He says about us, “ and yet believe” because of the testimony of other human beings. In Christ’s one Body that is the Church, His Spirit breathes new life into us, by fostering faith not only in Him, but also in one another, in human testimony to Him. This is a particularly precious gift in our “ post-truth” world of “ fake news,” which threatens to destroy our faith in the human capacity to receive and pass on truth; to bear trustworthy witness to God’s “ good news” that is Truth.

“ That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you may have fellowship/communion (κοινωνίαν) with us,” St. John reminds us elsewhere (1 Jn 1: 3). Thank You, Lord, for uniting us, and teaching us to trust one another, by entrusting Your good news to merely-human beings. Holy Apostles, pray to God for us!

Monday Morning Meditation -- The Glorious First and Eighth Day of the Week

Source: oca.org

 CHRIST IS RISEN!  INDEED HE IS RISEN!

In St. John's account of the first appearance of the Risen Lord to the disciples as a group (Jn. 20:19-31), we find the liturgical structure of the Church as it exists to this very day in his account of this incredible encounter. For St. John records: "On the evening of that day, the first day of the week ..." (20:19). The first day of the week is the day after the Sabbath, and that would be our Sunday.

It was on this day that the risen Christ appeared to his bewildered, dejected, and frightened disciples in order to convince them that He was risen from the dead. "Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord" (20:20). Jesus returned to further convince the unbelieving Thomas that He was indeed risen. And significantly, this next appearance was "eight days later" (20:26). Which means, of course, the following Sunday.

Since those memorable two days until today, we use the language - with all of its symbolic meaning - of the First and Eighth Day of the week for our liturgical assemblies on the Lord's Day - Sunday. In a deep sense, the first day of the week is the eighth day, if we understand the "eighth day" as taking us beyond the seven days of the week as a kind of anticipation of the Kingdom of God which is beyond the "time" of this world.

St. Gregory Palamas (+1359), Archbishop of Thessaloniki, in a homily entitled "On the Sabbath and the Lord's Day," explains it like this:

You will see that it was Sunday when the disciples assembled and the Lord came to them. On Sunday He approached them for the first time as they were gathered together and eight day later, when Sunday came around again, He appeared to their assembly. Christ's Church continually reflects these gatherings by holding its meetings mostly on Sundays and we come among you and preach what pertains to salvation and lead you towards piety and a godly way of life.

Yet, as a pastor, St. Gregory continued his homily with this admonition:

Let no one out of laziness or continuous worldly occupations miss these holy Sunday gatherings, which God Himself handed down to us, lest he be justly abandoned by God and suffer like Thomas, who did not come at the right time. If you are detained and do not attend on one occasion, make up for it the next time, bringing yourself to Christ's Church. Otherwise you may remain uncured, suffering unbelief in your soul because of deeds or words, and failing to approach Christ's surgery to receive, like divine Thomas, holy healing.

To our modern sensibilities, even these words of pastoral admonition may seem over-stated if not harsh to us today. But the saint was trying to reinforce the sense of commitment that the believer needs to have to the Lord's Day Liturgy which brings us directly into the presence of the Risen Christ - "Christ is in our midst!" - as we joyfully exclaim at the Liturgy.

St. Gregory's homily clearly places commitment over convenience. This is our first priority. He was writing to a Christian society that was not as pluralistic or diverse as our own, there is no doubt. That means that the pressure for us is "out there" to conform to those "worldly occupations" that St. Gregory warns us about. Today, that could even have a bearing on our presence at the Sunday morning Liturgy. As one example from among many: How many Orthodox parents have to deal with their child's sports events scheduled these days on Sunday morning? So, we can see that the challenges are out there.

In the light of the Gospel revelation about the glorious first and eighth day of the week, we should at least think hard about any such choices.

Fragments for Friday

Source: orthodoxroad.com

 Christ is Risen!

Today we should give thought to one important thing that not everyone remarks upon when turning to Holy Scripture, when reading about those bright days during which the Lord appeared after His Resurrection. He appeared to many, and to each person differently. In one circumstance it was the weeping Mary Magdalene, lonely and grieving at the empty tomb; in another it was Peter, bewildered and confused, having returned from the garden where He had found the stone rolled away from the tomb. Then we see the disciples on the sea. John senses Him in his heart and recognizes Him, while Peter throws himself into the sea and hurries to Him. And, as we read in the epistles of the Apostle Paul, among the last to whom the Lord appeared was he, Paul-Saul, who had persecuted the Church of God. 

This continues even now. Christ, risen invisibly, appears tangibly to each person. In the lives of each of us who has felt the proximity of other worlds if only for a moment, a meeting with the Risen Lord.

Fr. Alexander Men

_____

Fr. Alexander was an Orthodox priest who was brutally murdered in 1990. Born Jewish but raised Christian, he and his mother were part of the underground church in Russia. He was instrumental in speaking to a new generation of young people, and he brought many back to the Church.

A Reflection -- IN DEFENSE OF THE POPE

Source: oca.org

 Christ is Risen!

"Peace be with you!" (Jn. 20:19)

As Orthodox Christians, we have some real differences with the Roman Catholic Church. Simply stated, these are both ecclesiological and theological. Yet, in the recent ongoing tension between the Pope and the President - played out very publicly through interviews and social media communications - I would clearly defend the pope for injecting an authoritative "religious" voice into this debate. In a Christian spirit, the pope criticized the choice of war in Iran (which does not meet the criteria in the Roman Catholic Church for a “just war”), and in the process he exhorted all world leaders to seek peaceful resolutions to the seemingly endless conflicts engulfing the contemporary world. The pope brought a voice of sanity into an increasingly insane world. 

It would be purely cynical to mistrust his sincerity in upholding the Gospel teaching that "blessed are the peacemakers." His voice represents the voice of Christ speaking to the world a word of peace and reconciliation. This is not pious or ethereal idealism. It is the Gospel proclamation of the "peace of God which surpasses all understanding" (Phil. 4:7) to a world deeply wounded by sin and death. And whatever one thinks of the papacy, the pope is clearly the most renowned universal religious figure in the world. His voice is respected.

It would also be cynical to challenge his honest claim that he is not making political pronouncements, or trying to determine any government's foreign policy. When life and death decisions are being made on a political level, profound moral and ethical issues are at the heart of these decisions. And those moral and ethical issues cannot be ignored. If they are, we can make no claims at being civilized. War means death and destruction, and beyond that, profound mistrust and open hostility against one's enemies that endure for generations. As Pope Leo recently reminded us: “Too many innocent people are being killed. Someone has to stand up and say there’s a better way.” 

Public voices invoking the Old Testament image of a "Warrior God," or quoting Old Testament texts to the effect of vanquishing one's enemy are hardly consistent with the image of Christ in the New Testament. In fact, once the bombs start raining down, I prefer that the sacred Name of Jesus Christ remain unspoken. 

Attacking the pope for his plea for peace makes no real sense, especially when accusations are made against him with no basis in reality. Such accusations go far beyond genuine disagreements. We should bear in mind that the pope is not speaking only of America's involvement in the Middle East and the current war with Iran. He is clearly speaking to such dictators as Vladimir Putin and his murderous assault on Ukraine, in which thousands of innocent Ukrainians have been and are being killed, wounded or displaced on a daily basis. 

In early 2025, I defended an Episcopal bishop for challenging our administration to treat immigrants with "compassion." There was nothing wrong with that challenge, and it was not an example of a religious person meddling in politics. It also was a call to moral and ethical thinking and action. The current pope, Leo XIV, is simply doing the same thing about our war of choice with Iran and beyond. That is far more helpful than harmful.

Death's Dominion Has Been Shattered -- The Two Icons of the Resurrection and the Destruction of Death

Source: sttekla.org

CHRIST IS RISEN!      INDEED HE IS RISEN!

The souls bound in the chains of hades, O Christ, seeing Thy compassion without measure, pressed onward to the light with joyful steps, praising the eternal pascha.
(Matins, Paschal Canon of St. John of Damascus)

The awesome mystery of the Lord’s bodily resurrection from the dead was providentially kept hidden from human eyes. Although there were many eyewitnesses to the Resurrected One, there were none of the actual “moment” of the resurrection. There was no access to the tomb until the stone had been rolled away and its emptiness was revealed to the myrrhbearing women. The emptiness of the tomb was a “sign” of the resurrection of Christ; while the angelic voice – “He has risen, he is not here” – was the first announcement of the Gospel of the Risen Lord, thus interpreting the sign. The Lord then appeared to both the myrrhbearing women and the disciples, fully affirming the meaning of the empty tomb and the angelic proclamation. Yet, to repeat, the “moment” of the resurrection remains inaccessible to human perception.

For this reason, artistic depictions of Christ emerging from the tomb, banner in hand, rising in a blinding light over the hapless and sprawling bodies of the guard, are “later” and inauthentic images of the resurrection, though they contain the truth that the “Lord has risen indeed!” In the Western artistic tradition, the most famous of such depictions is probably that of Matthias Grunewald. Such images have also become popular in Orthodox iconography over the centuries, as seen on processional banners, portable icons and walls. Once such images enter the Church, they stubbornly refuse to leave!

There do exist two authentic icons of the Resurrection, one being of a more historical nature and the other theological. The historical icon of the Resurrection is that of the myrrhbearing women gazing in wonder at the empty grave cloths of Christ lying in the tomb while an angel (or two) is further depicted sitting inside the tomb as recorded in the Gospels. This icon captures the startling moment when the myrrhbearers are overcome with “fear and trembling” together with wonder and concern at not seeing the body of the Lord in the tomb.

The theological icon simply entitled the “Anastasis” or “Resurrection,” is also referred to as the “Descent Into Hades.” Here the victorious Christ, resplendent in white garments, Cross in hand, is depicted shattering the gates of the biblical realm of the dead (sheol in Hebrew; hades in Greek; often, though imprecisely, translated as “Hell”) decisively and forcefully grabbing Adam and Eve – representative of humanity and the righteous awaiting deliverance (cf. HEB. 11:39-40) – by the hand and pulling them out of this darkened realm restored to fellowship with God. As iconography and hymnography complement one another, a paschal hymn from the Vespers of Holy Saturday illuminates the meaning of this powerful icon: 

Today Hell cries our groaning:
My power has been trampled upon.
The Shepherd is crucified and Adam is raised.
I have been deprived of those whom I ruled.
Those whom I swallowed in my strength I have given up.
He who was crucified has emptied the tombs.
The power of death has been vanquished.
Glory to Thy Cross and Resurrection, O Lord.

The Fathers found a clear allusion of this descent into hades in a passage from I Peter:

For Christ also died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit; in which he went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formally did not obey … For this is why the gospel was preached even to the dead, that though judged in the flesh like men, they might live in the spirit like God. (I PETER 3:18-4:6)

Surprisingly, however, the main source for this icon appears to be the 2nd c. apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus. Here we find a dramatic and rather humanly touching description of this profound theological truth:

And behold, suddenly Hades trembled, and the gates of death and the bolts were shattered, and the iron bars were broken and fell to the ground, and everything was laid open … Then the Lord Jesus, the Savior of all, affectionate and most mild saluting Adam kindly, said to him: “Peace be to you, Adam, with your children, through immeasurable ages to ages!” Amen.

Then father Adam, falling forward at the feet of the Lord, and being raised erect, kissed his hands, and shed many tears, saying, testifying to all: “Behold, the hands which fashioned me!” And he said to the Lord: “You have come, O King of glory, delivering men, and bringing them into Your everlasting Kingdom.”

Then also our mother Eve in like manner fell forward at the feet of the Lord, and was raised erect, and kissed His hands, and poured forth tears in abundance, and said, testifying to all: “Behold the hands which made me!”

In other words, “Death’s dominion has been shattered.” Can Christianity survive without this being the ultimate “Good News:”

That through death he might destroy him who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong bondage. (HEB. 2:14-15)

What of the non-resurrected Christ emerging from certain biblical scholars and other circles now demanding equal time in the popular press and visual media? Is this even remotely consistent with the full content of the New Testament? Does such a “Christ” truly inspire and offer hope to the hopeless? I would answer my own questions with decisive “NO!” 

However, the apostle Paul reminds us that: “all the promises of God find their Yes in him.” (II COR. 1:20) This 'Yes' seems fully convincing when we acknowledge Christ as:

… the faithful witness, the first-born of the dead, and the ruler of kings of the earth.

CHRIST IS RISEN! INDEED HE IS RISEN!

Bright Monday Meditation -- HE KNOWS MY NAME

 

Source: oca.org

“But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ She said to them, ‘They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.’ When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?’ Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbouni!’ (which means Teacher).” (Jn 20: 11-16)

Mary Magdalene does not recognize our Lord, nor does she stop weeping, until He says her name: “Mary!” Because He said it like nobody else. In His divine love and omniscience, the Lord really “knew” her name; He knew, and understood, her entire identity, – what and who she was, and what and who she wasn’t. So, she takes great consolation in hearing Him call her name.

Today I take great consolation in being “known,” understood, and called, as all of us are, by our one-and-only Creator and Teacher. He does not torment me by “ not understanding” me. So I can be myself, and let go of any masks I may wear for other, simply-human beings, as I approach Him today, in simple and heartfelt prayer.

“Woman, why are you weeping?” He asks me today, and “Whom are you looking for?” I can stop weeping, and stop looking, because my Teacher is alive and well today, for my sake. Christ is risen from the dead, dear friends, “and cannot die again” (Rom 6: 9). So let me respond to Him, Who loves and knows me, as I am.

Holy Saturday Meditation

Source: royaldoors.net

Great and Holy Saturday is the day on which Christ reposed in the tomb. The Church calls this day the Blessed Sabbath.

By using this title the Church links Holy Saturday with the creative act of God. In the initial account of creation as found in the book of Genesis, God made man in his own image and likeness. To be truly himself, man was to live in constant communion with the source and dynamic power of that image: God. Man fell from God. Now Christ, the Son of God through whom all things were created, has come to restore man to communion with God. He thereby completes creation. All things are again as they should be. His mission is consummated. On the Blessed Sabbath he rests from all his works.

Holy Saturday is a neglected day in parish life. Few people attend the services. Popular piety usually reduces Holy Week to one day—Holy Friday. This day is quickly replaced by another—Easter Sunday. Christ is dead and then suddenly alive. Great sorrow is suddenly replaced by great joy. In such a scheme HolySaturday is lost.

In the understanding of the Church, sorrow is not replaced by joy; it is transformed into joy. This distinction indicates that it is precisely within death that Christ continues to effect triumph.

We sing that Christ is "...trampling down death by death" in the troparion of Easter. This phrase gives great meaning to Holy Saturday. Christ’s repose in the tomb is an "active" repose. He comes in search of his fallen friend, Adam, who represents all men. Not finding him on earth, he descends to the realm of death, known as Hades in the Old Testament. There he finds him and brings him life once again. This is the victory: the dead are given life. The tomb is no longer a forsaken, lifeless place. By his death Christ tramples down death.

—Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann, Great and Holy Saturday

Great & Holy Friday Mediation -- It is Finished (τετελεσται)

 

Source: oca.org

With his death, all that was involved in his earthly ministry was complete: becoming incarnate, growing from infancy to adulthood, the calling of disciples, the constant teaching, preaching and healing of thousands, his instruction to the Twelve, patiently enduring the debates, arguments, opposition, and accusations of the religious authorities, his institution of the Eucharist, the betrayal, the arrest, the trials, the beatings, the scourging, the mocking, the humiliation, and lastly the excruciating pain of the crucifixion itself. It was over. It was accomplished. His work was done, complete to perfection, exactly according to plan. He had achieved his goal:Tetelestai.

Eugenia Constantinou, The Crucifixion of the King of Glory, p. 284

Great & Holy Friday Meditation -- The Tearing of the Veil

 

Source: goarch.org

Hebrews 10 explains that since Christ has offered himself as a sacrifice, we now have confidence to enter the sanctuary,"by the new and living way which he opened for us through the curtain (katapetasma), that is, through his flesh" (Heb. 10:20). In that verse, Hebrews is telling us that the curtain is the flesh of Christ, through which we enter the sanctuary - the place of intimate encounter with God. It is this flesh, which he assumed as God for our salvation, that was torn and hanging on the cross. Through the breaking of the body of Christ, the tearing of the veil of his flesh, the sacred, the divine, is opened to us. This happened, not because someone had to pay for sin but because God loved the world and chose the cross to graphically demonstrate that his love is without limits. We directly participate in the life of God, because Christ was incarnate, and through the sacrament of Holy Communion we physically commune and dwell with him and he in us.The depth of meaning is profound and inexpressible.

Eugenia Constantinou, The Crucifixion of the King of Glory

Great & Holy Friday Meditation

Source: legacyicons.com

Today our Lord Jesus Christ is on the cross, and we celebrate the festival, so that you may learn that the cross is a festival and a spiritual celebration. For previously the cross was a name of condemnation, but now it has become a thing of honor; previously a sign of sentencing, but now the basis of salvation. …

Not from the cross alone, but also from the very sayings on the cross can one see His unspeakable love of humanity. For even while He was nailed, made into a joke, and ridiculed, at the time He said: Father, forgive them the sin, for they do not know what they are doing. Even while being crucified He prays for those who crucified. … 

Hence, so that we also may enjoy His love of humanity, let us not be ashamed to confess our own sins fully. … For behold this person also confessed fully, and he found paradise opened. 

Whence, tell me, O bandit, were you reminded of a kingdom? … Nails and cross are visible, and accusations of jests and insults. “Yes,” he says, “for the cross itself seems to me to be a sign of a kingdom. For this reason I call Him king, because I see Him crucified. For it belongs to a king to die on behalf of those ruled. … Therefore, because He has laid down His soul, for this reason I call Him king: Remember me, Lord, when You come into Your kingdom.”

—St. John Chrysostom, On the Cross and the Bandit, as found in Behold the Thief with the Eyes of Faith