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 -- 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.

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)

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 -- The Awesome God and the Transfigured Life

 

Source: uncutmountainsupply.com

“Look down from heaven, O Master, upon those who have bowed their heads unto Thee, the awesome God.” (From the Divine Liturgy)

The Afterfeast of the Transfiguration of Christ will continue until the Leavetaking of the Feast on August 13. Having ascended Mt. Tabor with the disciples of the Lord, we will then descend back into the world in order to hopefully witness to the glorious vision that has been vouchsafed to us of Christ shining resplendently in His divine glory (MK. 9:1-8; MATT. 17:1-13; LK. 9:28-36, II Pet.1:16-19). Biblically, the “glory of God,” refers to a palpable “shining forth” of the presence of God that overwhelms the recipient of such a vision. With their spiritual senses purified by the grace of the Holy Spirit, the disciples were able to “see” the glory of God revealed in Christ on Mt. Tabor, and they, too, were overwhelmed. Truly, therefore, the Transfiguration is an “awesome” Feast!

Yet, today, everything is described as “awesome:” the loud, the superficial, the mundane. Are we witnessing a kind of experiential egalitarianism, where nothing is allowed to stand apart from or above anything else? Is even the awesomeness of God succumbing to this leveling effect? How discouraging that would be, for we refer to God liturgically as “the awesome Judge,” the “awesome God;” and the Eucharist as the “Awesome Mysteries of Christ.” This is as it should be, for the word awesome is based on the noun “awe” which remains defined today as “an emotion variously combining dread, veneration, and wonder that is inspired by authority or by the sacred or sublime.” It is God Who is truly awesome! Anything else that can be genuinely described as awesome derives that quality from God.

More specifically, is the awesomeness of the Transfiguration somehow reduced to just one more passing “church event” that comes and goes with an alarmingly insignificant amount of impact on our Christian minds and hearts? Can the awesome Feast of the Transfiguration even “compete” any longer with a new blockbuster film for our attention?Have we maintained the capacity as human beings to be “awed” by the sacred and sublime? I am convinced that when everything is “awesome,” then nothing is really awesome. Inevitably, we will find ourselves calling the most boring of occurrences “awesome,” but with no real enthusiasm or conviction. (Perhaps we can excuse our younger children who are now using the term “awesome,” for the “little things” in life can still fill them with a sense of wonder that we adults have lost).

Be that as it may, the disciples were awed by Christ on Mt. Tabor when “He was transfigured before them, and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became white as light” (MATT. 17:2). This metamorphosis – the Greek word behind our transfiguration - was a direct revelation of Christ’s divine nature or, more precisely, of the uncreated energies of His divinity which now shone through the flesh He assumed in the Incarnation. Jesus did not become something He previously was not, but revealed His true identity as both God and man. To the glory of God, Jesus Christ is a human being fully alive. Such a revelation is unique to the Gospels and clearly prefigures the Lord’s resurrection and the glory of the Age to Come. 

Moses and Elijah appeared flanking the Lord, “talking with Him” (v. 3). Peter wanted to build three booths: one for Christ, one for Moses and one for Elijah. In other words Peter wanted to prolong the vision and the experience. But this was not to be. Interestingly enough, in an apocryphal account of the transfiguration, Peter is openly rebuked for his mistaken desire. Peter and other disciples – James and John – must come down from the mount and witness to Christ through the remainder of their lives and through their deaths ultimately.

The same is true of us. If we have not lost our capacity to be awed in the presence of God, perhaps primarily in the Liturgy, but also when reading the Scriptures, praying alone, looking into the face of another and seeing the “image and likeness of God;” then we must take that awesome experience with us into the everyday flow of events and encounters that mark our lives. We must come down from those metaphorical mountains that we climb, seeing only Jesus after the vision vouchsafed to us by God; and bear witness to that presence and experience by the quality of our Christian lives:

O Christ our God, who was transfigured in glory on Mount Tabor showing to Thy disciples the splendor of Thy Godhead, do Thou enlighten us also with the light of Thy knowledge and guide us in the path of Thy commandments, for Thou alone art good and lovest mankind. (Litiya verse of the Feast)

The fact that it is in the Orthodox Church that the Transfiguration is considered a great Feast is meaningless if the experience of the Feast does not have an impact on us. The goodness, truth and beauty that shine forth from Christ are the uncreated energies that free us from apathy and cynicism; and free us further to pursue the virtue of Christ that “has covered the heavens.” (Liturgy of Preparation)

Dormition Fast Meditation -- Afterfeast of the Transfiguration

Source: uncutmountainsupply.com

Do evil to nobody nor keep any evil in your heart against anyone. Do not belittle a wrong-doer; do not be influenced by one who does wrong to his neighbor. Do not slander anybody but say: “God knows each one.” Do not agree with one who slanders; neither rejoice with him in his slandering nor hate him who slanders his neighbor—and this is “judge not [that you be not judged”] (Lk. 6:37). 

Do not be at enmity with anybody and do not foster enmity in your heart; do not hate one who is at enmity with his neighbor—and this is peace. Console yourself with this: there is labor for a short while then repose for eternity, by the grace of the divine Word. Amen.

—Abba Moses, Give Me a Word: The Alphabetical Sayings of the Desert Fathers

Dormition Fast Meditation (Transfiguration) -- The Holy Transfiguration of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ

Source: oca.org

The Lord does not always appear in glory to all who stand before Him. To beginners He appears in the form of a servant (Phil. 2:7); to those able to follow Him as He climbs the high mountain of His transfiguration He appears in the form of God, the form in which He existed before the world came to be (John 17:5).

It is therefore possible for the same Lord not to appear in the same way to all who stand before Him, but to appear to some in one way and to others in another way, according to the measure of each person’s faith.

When the Logos of God becomes manifest and radiant in us, and His face shines like the sun, then His clothes will also look white. That is to say, the words of the Gospel will then be clear and distinct, with nothing concealed. And Moses and Elijah—the more spiritual principles of the Law and the Prophets—will also be present with Him.

—St. Maximus the Confessor, Second Century on Theology

Apostles Fast Meditation - Holy Apostle Jude, the brother of the Lord

Source: legacyicons.com

How, if He is not risen but is dead, does He stop and drive out and cast down those false gods said by the unbelievers to be alive and the demons they worship? For where Christ and His faith are named, there all idolatry is purged away, every deceit of demons refuted and no demon endures the name but fleeing, only hearing it, disappears. This is not the work of one dead, but of one alive, and especially of God. …

For if it is true that one dead can effect nothing, but the Savior effects such great things every day—drawing to piety, persuading to virtue, teaching about immortality, leading to a desire for heavenly things, revealing the knowledge of the Father, inspiring power against death, showing Himself to each.

—St. Athanasius of Alexandria, On the Incarnation

Apostles fast Meditation - All Saints of America

 

Source: oca.org

Now the will of God is precisely what Christ both did and taught. It entails being humble in our lifestyle, steadfast in our faith, modest in our words, just in our actions, merciful in our dealings, disciplined in our conduct, incapable of inflicting a wrong but able to bear one inflicted on us; keeping peace with our brothers; loving God with all our heart; cherishing Him as Father while fearing Him as God; putting absolutely nothing before Christ, since He put nothing before us; clinging tenaciously to His love; standing, brave and confident, by His cross; and whenever His name and honor are involved, displaying in our speech the constancy to confess Him, under torture the courage to fight for Him, and in death patience for which we shall be crowned.

—St. Cyprian of Carthage, On the Lord’s Prayer

Apostles Fast Meditation

Source: orthodoxartsjournal.org

Worship God in spirit and in truth; in truth, for instance when you say, “Hallowed by Thy Name.” Do you really desire that God’s name should be hallowed by the good works of others and by your own? When you say, “Thy kingdom come,” do you indeed desire the coming of God’s kingdom? Do you wish to be the abode of the Spirit of God, and not the abode of sin?

Would you not more willingly live in sin? When you say, “Thy will be done,” do you not rather seek your own will than that of God? Ay, it is so! When you say, “Give us this day our daily bread,” do you not say something like this in your heart, “I do not need to ask this of Thee—I have enough without asking; let the poor ask for this?” Or else, do we not greedily seek for more, and are not satisfied with the little or with that which God has given us?

We do not thank God for what we have as we ought to.

—St. John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ

Meditation for the Apostles Fast

Source: athoniteusa.com

 Somebody asked Abba Anthony: “By observing which [precept] shall I be well-pleasing to God?” The elder answered: “Observe what I am telling you: Always have God before your eyes wherever you go. Whatever you are doing, have the testimony from Holy Scripture to hand. Wherever you are living, do not be in a hurry to move away. Observe these three [precepts] and you will be saved.”

—Abba Anthony, Give Me a Word: The Alphabetical Sayings of the Desert Fathers

Coffee With Sister Vassa - SCATTERED, AND YET UNIFIED

This Thursday morning I’m thinking about how divided we are these days, scattered to our own little information-bubbles in a world that we perceive more through the screen of a mobile phone or computer than face-to-face. One might wonder, how can any church-community survive as one, in our Internet Age?

In today’s Gospel-reading our Lord consoles us, that we may have “ good cheer” and peace in Him, even while we go through this “tribulation”: “ Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own,” he says, “ and will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (Jn 16:32-33)

Church-unity is not realized by “us,” because we are powerless over “ the world” and cannot overcome it by our own lights, try as we might. God, on the other hand, in His human-divine Son and by the grace of His Spirit, is and always will be One. He offers us one-ness in the Sacrament of Unity that is the Church, in its countless “sacraments” both within and beyond the walls of church-buildings. And by “sacraments” I mean those moments of communion or one-ness with Him, offered to us in various ways in our traditioned faith. It is in Him that we cease to be fragmented, both within ourselves and with one another. His unconditional love for us, and His hope and faith in us, even when we remain scattered, rubs off on us, so to say, when we do not hesitate to reach out to Him and nourish our love, hope, and faith in Him. We can carry His faith, hope, and love into our immediate and online “communities,” by focusing and re-focusing on His presence in our midst.

Let me not just talk or write about this today, but reach out for conscious contact with Him in a bit of healthy reading, contemplation, and prayer sprinkled throughout my day. The unity of the Church is fine, as our Lord reminds us, because He is “ not alone,” remaining the undivided Trinity always, regardless of how many times we scatter into our own little screens and its tribulation(s). “ In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

Coffee With Sister Vassa - WE ARE NOT GOD’S GATEKEEPERS

“All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.” (Jn 6:37-39)

In the above-quoted Gospel-reading, our Lord Jesus Christ promises us that He does not come into our midst, in the flesh, in order to act as a gatekeeper at the gates of His Father’s kingdom. Christ sees “all” of us who come to Him as a gift from His Father, “given” to Him by the Father, so He will “ by no means cast out” this gift, because it is given Him by the will of His Father. As He so often reminds us in this Gospel, He has come not to do His own will, but the will of Him who sent Him.

Why does the God Man share this point with us so often, that He is doing not His own will (as if it were not sufficient), but that of His Father? I think it's because, as one of us, He is offering us an example of how we, whenever we are called to carry His message, are to perceive ourselves and allthose who might come to Him, via this message that is not from us, but from God. It is easy for us, both personally and collectively, as Orthodox Christians, to slip into carrying ourmessage according to ourwill, rather than His message according to His will. Our own baggage, - personal, ideological, and/or political, can obstruct the way to Him if we lose sight of the fact that weare not called to bring anyone to ourideas and ideologies, but to manifest Christ, Whose power and presence endures beyond all that. “ He must increase, but I must decrease,” as John the Baptist says of the Lamb of God and himself. (Jn 3:30) So let us not fear being “decreased,” as we carry His message today, the message of One who does not cast us out, as we sometimes tend to do to one another.

Coffee With Sister Vassa - THE SEEING MAN IS CAST OUT

After the man born blind was empowered by our Lord to see, he is “ cast out” or excommunicated by the Pharisees. Why did they excommunicate him? Because blind men were useful to their agenda, while “seeing” ones were not.

They first questioned him about his healing on the Sabbath, then called his parents to ascertain that he indeed had been born blind. Finally, they again question the healed man, reviling him and trying to get him to condemn the One who healed him as a “sinner,” who broke their rules about the Sabbath. “ Then they reviled him and said, ‘You are His disciple, but we are Moses’ disciples. We know that God spoke to Moses; as for this fellow, we do not know where He is from.” (Jn 9:28-29) In response to their willful ignorance, the now-seeing man testifies: “Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes! …If this man were not from God, He could do nothing. They answered and said to him, ‘You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?’ And they cast him out.” Note that they say precisely the opposite of what Christ said, about the man’s birth. The Lord said that “ neither this man nor his parents sinned,” that he was born blind (Jn 9:3).

In the Russian Orthodox Church, these days “seeing” men are also being reviled and “ cast out,” for testifying to the Word of God. For example, a priest in Moscow, Fr. John Koval, was defrocked for replacing the word “victory” in Patriarch Kirill’s war-prayer with the word “peace.” The message is, priests are to serve the Patriarch’s “words” to the letter, while serving the Word of God is reviled. But let us not be discouraged nor scandalized, because our Lord prepared us for this type of thing: “ These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble. They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me. But these things I have told you, that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them.” (Jn 16:1-4) Happy upcoming Sunday of the Blind Man!

Coffee With Sister Vassa - RESENTMENTS & SELF-ISOLATION

 

“…Jesus said to her, ‘You have well said, ‘I have no husband,’ for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.’ The woman said to Him, ‘Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship...’” (Jn 4:17b-20)

Here is another thing about the Samaritan Woman: she does not react negatively, when the Lord exposes her whole story with men. We don’t know the details of that story, but it probably involved at least some pain or anguish for her. And yet, she expresses no defensiveness, self-justification, annoyance, embarrassment, or anything else that would suggest she harbored any resentments (against herself or others) on this subject, when Christ talks about it. Instead, she honors Him with this recognition, albeit not entirely an accurate one, that He is “a prophet.” And she immediately starts seeking answers to questions that did disturb her, questions not about her personal life, but about proper worship. What follows in Christ’s response is His “living water,” and His other revelations to her. She is able to receive this “living water,” because its flow is not blocked from her heart by resentments against herself or others. 

Resentments against ourselves and others block our communion with God and others. We cannot learn from Him or through others that which we might learn, were we to clear away our sometimes deep-seated resentments through forgiveness. Resentments lead us to self-isolation, making us either physically, emotionally, or spiritually unavailable. They can also block us intellectually, so we cannot see anybody else’s perspective on various issues, or honor anybody else’s wisdom on various issues. This morning, let me take a look at any resentments that may be hiding their ugly heads somewhere deep in my heart. How can I know they are there? One red flag is when I feel disturbed, annoyed, or even angered, by my or someone else’s behavior or words; when I feel personally degraded or threatened, by this behavior or words, and seek to retaliate or just self-isolate, because of this. Let me embrace God’s forgiveness of me and others this morning, because I can, and because I don’t want to waste time. I want to participate in the flow of God’s creative energies today, in His grace, that I may be useful to God, to myself and others. “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors,” including ourselves, dear Lord, “and give me this water, that I may not thirst!”

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!”

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.