Truth does not change. Truth is one just as God is one, for truth is a person: Jesus Christ. We are living stones that constitute the church, which is the body of Jesus Christ, He who is the truth. When we start building the Church with something other than the truth, as something other than ourselves founded in truth and holiness, then the church clearly becomes something other than the Truth. The Church is the Pillar and Foundation of that Truth, so it must embody that Truth in both word and deed; in both practice and praxis of faith; in both her prayers and her sacraments; in both beauty and holiness; in both purity and chastity of mind and body.
Truth is rigid and unchanging, without deformity of word or character. Yet, the means by which truth is conveyed, taught, expressed and known, is through the unending and unquenchable fire of God’s love. It is in this crucible of love, of which we are all partakers and participants of, that the coldness of this world melts away; the chaff of the wheat is burned to naught; the wax is softened and we are molded to the truth like potters clay. It is in love that truth is revealed, that truth takes shape in us, and that truth is known; for, God is love.
We are conformed to the Truth, molded in love. Once truth has taken shape within us, and once we have become molded to it become and an incarnation of Truth, it is by the crucibles of this world that we are tried, tested, formed, and refined. The potter’s clay is hardened into its new shape. Like in a refiner’s fire we are purified. We shall all become vessels of Truth, those who allow themselves to be subject to the fires of God’s love.
Everyone loves Truth when it is revealed about the world around them, but no one loves Truth when it is revealed about themselves. Likewise, everyone wants love to be given to them, but because love requires sacrifice on both sides, no one wants to give it in return. So, in this understanding, conformity to the truth requires sacrifice, which is perhaps why so many work so hard to make concessions with the truth, so that they may conform the truth to themselves instead. In the end, this is not love, but a hatred of the Truth, a hatred of Christ, for He is the Truth.
“Those who are forgiven much, loves much.” This is a lesson heard in the latter part of our Gospel reading for today (Luke 7:36-50), and it is fitting that we should receive them on this day. In my humble opinion, few in the scriptures exemplifies these words, than that of Mary Magdalene, whose feast day we celebrate today. She is a woman who bears many titles or cognomens within the Church. She is one of the eight Myrrh Bearing Women whom the Church also celebrates. She is the first to see the risen Christ, going to the tomb to anoint His body in a final act of love and devotion, only to find that He was not there. She is the first to preach the risen Christ, preached first to the Apostles, and is likely the first person ever to utter those glorious words we say so joyously each year: He is risen! She proclaimed to the Apostles, “I have seen the Lord,” and so she is the Apostle to the Apostles because she preached to them the risen Christ. She is equal to the Apostles for her ministry and aid to not only to the apostles, but to the other women in the temple, the women in a society where women are often overlooked.
Who is this woman? Who is Mary Magdalene? She was born of the town Magdala, along the shore of Lake Gennesaret, of the tribe of Issachar. Tradition informs us that she was young and pretty, but led a sinful life wherein she was tormented by seven evil spirits – from which she was healed and released from their torment, and made whole by our Lord Jesus Christ. From this point forward she followed Christ in His ministry, and as the following chapter attests, she ministers to Christ (and the apostles) out of her own resources, leading us to believe that Mary was a woman of wealth. We know little else about her, yet she is mentioned twelve times in the Gospels, which turns out to be more occasions than most of the apostles are mentioned. It also tells us that she was likely vital to the ministry of Christ, and that she was important in the eyes of the evangelists.
She performed no great works. No miracles are attributed to her in the Gospels. She was a woman of seemingly low stature in the bigger picture of the ministry of Christ. Even at the foot of the cross, when the Evangelists detail those that were standing there, listing the myriad women followers of Christ, all of them mention her first. This indicates that she stood out from the other women who followed Christ. Some would attest she stood out because of her beauty. I agree with this in part, but not because of any worldly beauty, for indeed she carried a true beauty, a beauty which is only found in holiness. She stood out from the rest because of her great faith in Christ our God.
Faith. Hebrews Chapter 11 tells us that “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Put in another way, our faith is the underlying reality of our lives, those things we do serving to prove that which we believe by incarnating Christ into the world. The two words commonly translated as faith in the scriptures are Πίστις and πιστεύω. One is a noun, and the other is a verb. One lends the idea that one becomes their faith, they become the living embodiment of that which they believe. The other presents faith as that which we do, that our faith is made evident by word and deed in our day to day lives. Perhaps a “better” translation would be “faithing.” For ours is not a faith of mind or mental ascent alone, but ours is a faith of action. We are to incarnate Christ into this world. The Church is to incarnate Christ into this world.
So, Mary Magdalene had faith not because she believed in her mind, or believed because she saw Christ in his ministry, but it is said she had faith because she became what she believed. She had faith, for when the lord was praised, lauded, and celebrated by the people, she was with him. It is easy to have faith in such times. She had faith, for when the teachings became difficult, or the way became too hard, she stayed by His side when others left him. She had faith, for when Christ was accused and the Apostles scattered, she stayed near him, she did not abandon Him. She had faith when Christ was accused to die, and marched with Him among the weeping women on the way to his crucifixion. She had faith, and she was there when Christ died, standing with His All-Pure and most holy mother. She had faith, and she was still there when Christ was laid in the tomb. She had faith, that even in His death, she went to attend to Him one last time, even though by doing so she would gain nothing in this world, but in doing so she gained Christ. In gaining Christ, she gained the whole world.
Her faith is a shining example for us all. She was not called to magnificent works, but simply to be faithful to him in in our day to day lives whatever circumstances she faced. We all have reason to love Christ, for we have all been healed of infirmities we ourselves have inflicted upon our very Souls. Mary knew that her life was not her own, owing her entire life to the One who healed her, and supporting Christ and the apostles in their ministry. It was her day to day devotion and her seemingly small acts of faith and love – staying with Christ regardless of the temperament of the times – that made her worthy to be the first to proclaim the resurrected Christ. She was faithful in even the smallest things, and for her faith she was given all things. It is by her example of humility that we should not set aside or dismiss the great importance of even those small opportunities in our own lives for serving Christ, making manifest His love into the world. For, our lives are not a series of grand moments and encounters, or great adventures and fairy tale endings, but more often than not our lives are a pattern of laborious responsibilities and repititious routines we carry out from day to day. So, while grand gestures and opportunities of faith are of benefit in the right context, if we are not faithful to Christ with even the smallest occasions in our lives to do so, if we are not willing to be faithful to him in even the most unremarkable of ways, then we cannot say that we truly offer up our lives to Christ. For, let us not forget the words of Christ in Luke chapter 16: “He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a little thing is unrighteous also in much.”
Mary Magdalene was faithful in all things, she was faithful in the smallest things, and she was faithful in the most unremarkable things. While she accomplished no remarkable deeds in scripture, she is remarkable and great because of the faith she had in Christ our God. When Christ ascended to sit at the right hand of God the Father, she continued in that faith.
Holy Tradition testifies that Mary departed from Jerusalem with the Apostles to preach to the ends of the earth. Mary went to preach in Rome. She proclaimed the Christ and uplifted and exhorted the people with the teachings of Christ. There were of course many who did not accept her words about the risen Christ, but she repeated those words she preached to the Apostles: “I have seen the Lord!” This is the message she carried across the land of Italy.
Tradition also reveals to us that Mary Magdalene visited the Roman Emperor Tiberius, proclaiming to him the resurrection of Christ. With this she brought a red egg as a symbol of the resurrection, giving it to him with these words: “Christ is Risen!” She then told the Emperor of the man unjustly condemned in his province of Judea, the Galilean named Jesus; who was a holy man and a miracle worker; who was powerful before God and all mankind; who was executed at the instigation of the Jewish authorities, and confirmed by his appointed procurator Pontius Pilate. She repeated to him the words of the Apostles, stating how our life is not found in the things of this world, but in the precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. She audaciously spoke truth to power, and so should we do likewise.
It is from this encounter that we receive our tradition of giving one another those red paschal eggs on the day we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. So, it is of interest to note, that in a particular ancient Greek manuscript, written on parchment, kept in the monastery library of Saint Athanasius near Thessalonica, is a prayer read on the day of Holy Pascha for the blessing of eggs and cheese. In it is indicated that the igumen (ἡγούμενος, head of the monastery) in passing out the blessed eggs says to the brethren: “Thus have we received from the holy Fathers, who preserved this custom from the very time of the holy Apostles, therefore the holy Equal of the Apostles Mary Magdalene first showed believers the example of this joyful offering.” It is a practice we still honor and maintain in the Church today.
After her laboring in Rome had been completed, and already bent with old age, she moved to Ephesus where Saint John the Theologian was continuing his work, and she joined him in the preaching of the Holy Gospel to the world. It is here that she reposed in her earthly life and was buried.
Saint Mary Magdalene is a precious example of faith in action; a compelling example of faith in life in all things both big and small. She shows us that we do not have to be miracle workers; we not have to be great theologians; we do not have to be great intellectuals; and we do not have to be bishops, priests and deacons to make a tremendous impact in the life of the Church, or in the world in which she lives. We must only be faithful with what we have been given. We must be faithful with our whole being and in all things remarkable and unremarkable, and in so doing we will be the brightest of lights shining into the darkness of this world. We make known our faith by what we do in all things, and we show our love of Christ in our obedience to his word and will, doing so when the times are good, or in the face of death. Truth is unchanging. Truth is unwavering. Truth is a person, and that person is Jesus Christ. May we never waver and turn away from the Truth, and remain by his side just as Mary the Magdalene did, and still is.
The idea of the Church as a hospital for our souls is nothing new. This was an ideation voiced by Saint John Chrysostom; an idea embodied by Saint Basil the Great; an idea echoed all throughout the writings of the Holy Fathers of our faith:
“For indeed the school of the Church is an admirable surgery – a surgery, not for bodies, but for souls. For it is spiritual, and sets right, not fleshly wounds, but errors of the mind, and of these errors and wounds the medicine is the word.”
~Saint John Chrysostom.
The idea and understanding of the Church as hospital for the soul requires a proper understanding of our humanity, but also a proper understanding of the Church. Christ is the great physician, He who came to heal the sick, the sinner, the ill and infirmed. The Church, as the body of Christ, is by extension the very Hospital of our Great Physician, Jesus Christ. The priests work as her doctors and administers of medicine, the healing salve of confession applied to the wounds of sin which we have inflicted upon ourselves, and the Eucharist as food for the soul. Towards this end, the theology of the Church is a therapeutic science. As the doctor cannot know what remedies to apply to what wounds without proper education and training, neither can the priest do likewise to the myriad spiritual wounds of sin. The Priest or spiritual director is no different in this, in the work of diagnosing those wounds, identifying the illnesses that ail us, so that the priest may apply the correct remedy. One cannot find the wounds and identify the illnesses if he does not know what to look for. The goal is holiness (wholeness) and is the direct result of our having submitted in all humility to a life of repentance, a life to which we are directed by the loving guidance of a spiritual director.
The Church is ultimately a part of the medicine for the whole human being, and is preoccupied with the fate of human beings. A humanity plagued by sinfulness, the passions of the flesh, and destructive behaviors, is an overall abnormal state of existence. The end to which all humans must go to, death, is an unnatural state from the created order, separating body from spirit. Through Christ we are given a way to purification, cleansed of our sins by repentance, confession, baptism, and continued participation in the divine nature of God, but he has also conquered death by death, that in the resurrection we may be reunited soul with body, and return to that state in which we were created, and were always intended to exist.
“Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
This idea of Church has all but disappeared among much of the various groupings of mainline Christianity. No longer are people healed and prepared for their encounter with God. The Sacraments are gone. The doctors have been evicted. This fleshly sentiment of individuality identity taking precedent over our personhood, over the restoration of our humanity in the image and likeness of God, has all but destroyed the Christian faith. No longer are people conforming to the healing prescriptions of the Church, recognizing that we are wounded; recognizing that we are sick and fallen in our human nature; recognizing that we are all sinners. Instead, people approach God with their open wounds, because “it’s ok, I am forgiven.” Their minds never get beyond the Cross, that Christ died for the sins of all mankind, and never get to the joyousness that lies behind it. The Church has become a courtroom in some respects, a place of worship where people in wait of judgement. In other respects, instead of a hospital, it has become a hospice, where people turn towards the cross and simply wait to die. They are made to feel better through emotional appeals, like an opiate for the terminally ill to ease the pain. They are enraptured by the words they are given, not hearing the words of the Doctors who have gone before them, the Great Physician who died for them:
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
~ Matthew 3:2
“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”
~ James 5:16
“Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”
~ Mark 16:17
“Take; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. And he said to them, “This is my blood of the[a] covenant, which is poured out for many.”
~ Mark 14:22-25
These directives, these prescriptions given to us are not unique to the scriptures, but are echoed through the centuries and millennia of Christians who have gone before us. The Historical witness of the Christian faith paints a very clear picture as to the soul and purpose of the divine-human institution of the Church. Though, one has to enter the doors first before healing can occur.
We must identify those wounds we have inflicted upon ourselves (repent). We just receive the salve of healing, applied to those very would by our confession before God (confession). We are then baptized, cleansed of the stain of this world, by the very waters of creation the lord sanctified for us by virtue of his own baptism in the Jordan. We are then Chrismated to seal the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Properly adorned in the garments of righteousness, we approach the Lord’s table to receive that precious and eternal life giving medicine of the Eucharist.
Much of mainline and consumer Christianity simply tells and teaches us how to die. The pain of our wounds is lessened, but the wounds in many cases are not healed. It is a passivity of faith that accepts there is a cure, but then does nothing to receive it. Yet, the Christian faith is a faith of action, and should tell us how to live. The Church tells us how to live in this life and the next. The entirety of this life should be a preparation for life in the kingdom of heaven, for it is indeed at hand. It is with us now, it is among us, because we as the Church should be living our lives to incarnate Christ into the world. We do not come to Church to prepare to die as a hospice, but we come to Church as a Hospital, that we may be healed and made whole for a life eternal in Jesus Christ.
“Virtues exist in us also by nature, and the soul has affinity with them not by education, but by nature herself. We do not need lessons to hate illness, but by ourselves we repel what afflicts us, the soul has no need of a master to teach us to avoid vice. Now all vice is sickness of soul as virtue is its health.”
Frequent is the argument made by Protestants that nothing is required of us, that our salvation is assured, and is a free gift of God. It is an extremism of Lutheranism stemming from the argument that we cannot earn our salvation, that we cannot work our way into heaven as the Pharisees tried to do. It is a generational perversion of what the reformers taught.
Many argue as follows:
“I do good works because I’m already saved. I also do good works so that others can see Christ through me and hopefully find Him. I do not do good works in order to be saved. I have already received it.”
These are the same people that also argue a salvation that cannot be lost. Yet, by that logic of argument, if you say one stops doing good works, then they are no longer saved. That is the logical conclusion. It is an asinine and contradictory argument.
It’s a garbage theology and understanding of the free gift of grace.
We repent, and that confession is the salve that brings healing to our wounds of sin. We are healed. That healing is the free gift of God, provided by the sacrifice of God the Son on the Cross, which was also freely given. Yet, for us to stand with God? We must walk in Godliness before we ever stand with God. We are freely healed, but unless we walk in Godliness afterwards, what good is being healed if you will just wound yourself again by the same means as before?
The Church is the Hospital for our souls. Yet, if you do not abide by the prescription given, how can you be healed? If you do not reach out to take what is given, how can you receive?
You can put gas in the car, but it does not drive itself.
Why would we be exhorted to work out our faith with fear and trembling if we already have what we came for? Why would we be exhorted to finish the race if we have already received the prize? No, it is foolishness to believe as they do. Theirs is an idea that came out of a broken and fractured Christianity. They have no understanding of the Church, which is evident by their poor understanding of theology.
Homily: Nativity of John the Baptist – July 7th, 2019
“There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.”
We hear these words, a few among many read to us every Sunday, found in the final Gospel reading of the Divine Liturgy, taken from John chapter 1. Indeed he was sent from God and today we celebrate his being sent. Today we celebrate the Feast of the Nativity of the Holy, Glorious, Forerunner and Baptist John. He is the first joy sent to the human race by God. He is the voice of one crying in the wilderness, just as the prophet Isaiah foretold, a voice crying “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God …And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
Regarding the Nativity of Saint John, Saint Ephraim the Syrian had this to say:
“He who was to baptize with water would proclaim him who would baptize with fire and with the Holy Spirit. The light, which was not obscure, would proclaim the Sun of Justice. The one filled with the Spirit would proclaim concerning him who gives the Spirit. The priest calling with the trumpet would proclaim concerning the one who is to come at the sound of the trumpet at the end. The voice would proclaim concerning the Word, and the one who saw the dove would proclaim concerning him upon whom the dove rested, like the lightning before the thunder.”
Saint John was the first prophet since the time of Malachi, with no prophetic word of God having been uttered for hundreds of years since then. God was silent. Now, the priest of the temple was also silent, having no voice to speak with, silenced by an Angel of the Lord.. Also, the King who ruled all of Judea was not even Jewish, and sat as a false and illegitimate king. These three offices, later fulfilled in Christ, were currently vacant (the prophets), silent (the priest), or without validity (the king). So, it was time to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord, and so he sent his prophet John, uttering those words we hear throughout the whole of the Old Testament: Repent!
The entirety of the Old Testament points forward to the coming of Christ. Saint John is the final voice of proclamation before His coming. John would baptize for the remission of sins, but Christ would come to remove them. Saint John would point to the Law, he was a finger pointing at God who exhorted all who would hear him to repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. Then, the Kingdom of Heaven would arrive, and Christ would come to assume the mantle of the Law, becoming the Law of the Spirit of Life. John would orient us towards God, who would then come as the Son of God incarnate in the flesh, and we would be expected to follow. We would follow Christ because He is the Son of the living God, He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
The timing of the Forerunner’s birth, exactly half a year before the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, depicts his mission and ministry of preparation, to prepare the way for the Lord. During this time of year, our days grow shorter after the Solstice of the summer Season. Looking forward to the birth of Christ, the days then begin to grow longer. We see embodied the living psalter of God, written across the colors and creatures of all creation, those words later spoken by John at the inception of Christ’s ministry: “He must increase, but I must decrease.”
The birth of Saint John is closely intertwined with the birth of our Lord. The aged Elizabeth gave birth to John, who would live to become the last of the prophets. The Virgin Mary was a young girl, who would give birth to He who is the word of God, the author of Creation, the breather of stars. Elizabeth, the daughter of Aaron, would give birth to the voice crying in the wilderness. Mary, the daughter of David, would give birth to the very voice and word of God. Elizabeth gave birth to he who would strive to reconcile men through repentance, but the Mother of God bore He who purify all of creation, an act completed by both John and Jesus through baptism – John through the baptism of Men, and Christ through His own baptism, sanctifying all the waters of creation. One would baptize with the waters of creation, and the other would baptize with fire and the Holy Spirit through which creation would be perfected and cleansed.
“Today the formerly barren woman gives birth to Christ¹s Forerunner, who is the fulfillment of every prophecy; for in the Jordan, when he laid his hand on the One foretold by the prophets, he was revealed as Prophet, Herald, and Forerunner of God the Word.”
~ Kontakion of the feast
Saint John is a prophet, but Christ has said that he is greater than a prophet. Saint John is but a man, but Christ has said “among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist.” For, as Saint John Chrysostom has said , indeed “he lived as though he were already in heaven, and having got above the necessities of nature, he travelled as it were a new way, spending all his time in hymns and prayers, and holding intercourse with none among men, but with God alone continually.” Saint John was the Forerunner of God both in life, and in death. He preceded the Son of God in life in this world, so would he also precede the Song of God in death at his beheading by Herod, another day the Church will remember later this year. Though I could find no writings saying as much, I believe that Saint John continued even in death his proclamation of repentance even in Hades. I envision him making straight the way of the Lord from this life into the next, preaching Christ to those who had not yet heard the good news, so that when the good news finally arrived, they were ready to accept it.
We who are the body of Christ are called like the forerunner to proclaim the miraculous and wonderful works of God, the good news of salvation, the healing of soul and body, and life eternal in Jesus Christ our Lord. We are called to follow Christ and incarnate the Love of God into the world created by Him, because the world knows Him not. We heed the words of the Forerunner, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand,” for repentance begins our walk of faith as we turn Godward away from the things of this world. Our walk of faith brings forth the Kingdom of Heaven on earth as the Church serves to incarnate Christ into the world.
“O Prophet and Forerunner of the coming of Christ, we who venerate thee with love, are in perplexity how worthily to praise thee; for the barrenness of her who bore thee and the dumbness of thy father are loosed by thy glorious and precious nativity, and the incarnation of the Son of God is preached to the world.”
~Troparion of the feast
Oh glorious John the Baptist and Forerunner, may we deem to follow you on those paths you have lain straight in preparation for our Lord Jesus Christ, that we too should follow you into death, and unto life eternal.
All things fall under the providence of God. All things are according to His will, and His timing. That being said, I find our lesson from first Peter (1 Peter 4:7-11) to be most fitting for us, and this very Church in our time of growth; it is fitting in our time of transition, as we move from what we were, and towards that which we can be in the fullness of God. And with that in mind, taking into consideration all that has been said, all that has been done, this passage from Peter could very well have been written to us.
Let’s work our way through that lesson for today.
“The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers”
First and foremost, we need to pray. We need to be praying. I can say from my own experience that prayer is hard UNLESS you are sober minded. A sober minded person takes truth seriously; keeps the Laws of God ever before them, just as the Psalms and wisdom books exhort us to do; considers the challenges of incarnating Christ in our own lives. A sober minded person has no regard for his own way, but rather how his life may conform to God’s. Sober mindedness orients us godward, making us more capable, more ready and suitable for whatever prayers we have to offer. Above all, it is to be watchful of our own thoughts, and guarding the heart from those thoughts that seek to destroy our inner peace. (musing)
“Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.”
We all know that God is Love. Love is the key to following the whole law. Love is defined within each of us by what we do. It is not an irrational emotion that we follow simply because it feels good, because it brings as a sense of elation, but Love is something we do. Even Christ himself told us, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Our Love for him is known, is proven, by what we do. Words are empty without action.
What we do as a Church is vital to the growth of virtue, and to the growth of God’s One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. Most importantly, it is how we incarnate Christ into the world; how we as God’s people exist to be a light unto the world, incarnating Christ, and bringing light to where there is none. Yet, what we do is wholly dependant on each of us, for each is endowed with different gifts, and each is imbued with the capacity for a ministry of their own making, and according to the will of God.
“Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.”
I can say that we have shown our capacity for love, our genuine willingness for hospitality to those in need of it. When Father Gregory’s house burned down, there was almost no delay in this community stepping up to do what was needed. In that moment of darkness, a light shined to dispel it. So should we be to the rest of the world.
”.As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.”
Ministry is important to the life of the Church. As of current, we have none. Our ministries allow us to incarnate Christ into the world, to manifest the love of God and bring light to wherever it is needed. Ministry allows each of us the opportunity to not only speak our love of God, but to do it as well. The ministry of the Church, as the body of Christ, as the Hospital for our souls, allows us to go into the world and be Christ to those who have never known him; to bring a taste, a sample, of the healing which the world cannot give, and the Church provides. It is by our ministry that the love of God will be known to the world, and it is by our love for one another that the world will know Christ through us.
Each of us has the capacity and capability to use those gifts we have been given to Glory of God. Not to repeat what Paul said, but to provide a little modern context: to those who can build, build up the Church to the glory of God; to those who are artists, create things of beauty to incarnation of the beauty and glory of God; to those who can write, write truth and increase understanding; to those who can speak, speak well and truthfully to the edification of all who hear; to those gifted with the skills of administration, keep in order the business of the Church and her people; to those who serve, do so in humility; to those with the fortitude to labor, labor for one another in love, and be the strength of the body of Christ. I can go on, for the gifts and abilities of the children of God are limitless, and maybe some yet undiscovered.
As we go through a time of growth, a time of change, and this time of transformation, may we grow into the praxis of our Orthodox faith and the teachings of the Church. As we embark upon this godward journey, let us also grow into ourselves, making use of whatever gifts we have been endowed with, whether they be physical, spiritual, or material in nature. As we move towards him, may we as the body of Christ be transfigured into the children of God we were created to be.
Pondering on truth and grace in light of imperfect man. – June 14, 2019
To think an impurity of mind, or even a lingering stain of sin upon one’s very soul, somehow renders one unsuited to speaking against moral fallacies and failures is a false idea. Such a belief is kin to the Donatist ideal that the same makes one unsuitable for the administration of the sacraments. The failures of man do not diminish the grace of God, nor do they diminish a truth spoken. Any darkness in man does not in any way diminish the light he carries. A man standing in the way of the light does not cause the essence of that light to decrease, the brightness of its rays to cease, but simply stands in its way from reaching its full potential and exposure. Likewise, we are not diminished or exhorted to retreat from speaking truth because of our own moral failures, but indeed we should be more imbued with the necessity of fervor to speak it with greater exuberance. Then perhaps by our own words, when speaking truth to power, when speaking truth to an enemy adored, we may not only save them from the condemnation of their lie, but also save ourselves from our own lie in the process.
May we never water down our words, turning our faith into a sales pitch. May we never be afraid to speak truth to power, and into the face of the enemy. May we never be afraid to shine the light because of our own darkness, but continue to do so in spite of it. May we always bring light to the darkness, so that darkness may not reign. If the darkness overcomes our bodies, may the light we left behind continue to shine.
In our Gospel and Epistle readings this morning, we hear two different stories, with two different messages, yet both of them are related in that they point towards the same end. Though, I will admit that one story with the message “the last shall be first, and the first shall be last,” when held against another story about racing, seems somewhat counter productive, but I digress. That aside, they both point towards the same end, the same reward, and that is the crown of everlasting life promised to those who love him, Jesus Christ our Lord.
In both stories we see a labor for the reward received, not that we should believe that we receive it by what we do, but we shall receive nothing if we do nothing, for a faith without works is dead (James 2:16). In the Gospel reading all the laborers worked, though not all equally, and all received the same reward. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians is speaking of a race, in which all compete, but will only receive the reward if they finish the race. In both cases, the plurality of voices found within the patristic witness of the Church agrees that these are active analogies of our faith, that the reward is indeed eternal life in Christ our God. I say they are active analogies because the case is clearly and plainly presented that our faith is an active faith. We must do something with our faith. A mental ascent and acquiescence to the teachings of the faith alone is not enough. Simply saying “we believe” and “we love” is not enough. Our faith is not a feeling. Simply checking the box and showing up on Sundays is not enough. Indeed our faith is an active faith, for an idle mind is the seed of many sins, but an idle body is the field from which they grow. We must remember the words of Christ, who himself exhorted, “if you love me, you will obey my commandments.”
So, in Paul’s first epistle to the Corinthians he uses the imagery of a race. It would not have been lost upon those hearing this letter read to them, that in those races Paul uses as an analogy, in order to race within those races, one must first be a Roman citizen in order to participate. So, before one can even participate in this race, our race to which Paul speaks, one must first be a citizen within the kingdom of heaven – a theme alluded to in some of his other writings – which is accomplished through our baptism and Chrismation into the body of Christ. So, this is a letter not only to the Corinthians, but to all baptized Christians to complete the race as athletes in Christ, so that they may receive the crown of glory as their prize. Yet, one cannot hope to succeed in any race, as I am sure some of our runners here can attest, unless they become proficient and practiced athletes. Yet, we do not run with sore feet, we do not lift heavy weights, we do not exert ourselves to physical feats of fortitude and glory, but our athleticism is a spiritual one; our training is found in the ascesis of the Church; our strength is found in Christ who grows in each of us, as we ourselves willingly and sacrificially decrease.
In the words of Tertullian of Carthage, in his own commentaries on these verses, he speaks to the same sentiment here:
“Your master, Jesus Christ has anointed you with the Spirit and has brought you to this training ground. He determined long before the day of the contest to take you from a softer way of life to a harsher regimen, that your strength may increase. Athletes are set apart for more rigid training to apply themselves to the building up of their strength. They are kept from lavish living, from more tempting dishes, from more pleasurable drinks. They are urged on, they are subjected to tortuous toils, they are worn out. The more strenuously they have exerted themselves, the greater is their hope of victory.”
We who are on the cusp of great Lent, are about to enter into the Marathon of our faith in the coming weeks, where we test our spirits, strengthen our resolve, and temper our very bodies and souls into the image and likeness of Christ. Yet, when Holy Week comes and goes, and Pascha passes us by, it is yet just another lap completed in the sacramental life we live within the sacramental rhythm of the Church. It is race we keep running till the day we take our last breath, and it is a reward not received until the day of the dread judgement when we can finally hear those sweet and gentle words of our Lord and Savior – well done my good and faithful servant.
So, how do we as mortal men and women become spiritual athletes in the eternal arena of our faith? How do we as Christians accomplish this in the scope and context of our faith? Using the words of Saint Seraphim of Sarov, we do this through the acquisition of the Holy Spirit.
“Prayer, fasting, vigils and all the other Christian practices may be, they do not constitute the aim of our Christian life. Although it is true that they serve as the indispensable means of reaching this end, the true aim of our Christian life consists of the acquisition of the Holy Spirit of God. As for fasts, and vigils, and prayer, and almsgiving, and every good deed done for Christ’s sake, are the only means of acquiring the Holy Spirit of God.”
Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving; these are the practices of our Christian faith that strengthen the spirit in those qualities virtue and goodness, and make us stronger spiritual athletes, with which we can overcome all obstacles of faith. These are the means by which we obtain the rewards promised to those who love him.
In our struggle to become better spiritual athletes, I will go over the three main spiritual exercises that strengthen us for the race ahead.
Exercise one – Prayer
“Prayer alone will give your soul the strength… In order to acquire spiritual muscles, you have to go to the spiritual gym.” – Elder Sergei of Vanves
Our prayer life is our spiritual gym. Our prayer is the locus by which all virtue is obtained, and in the words of Theophan the recluse:
“If you are not successful in your prayer, you will not be successful in anything, for prayer is the root of everything”
By prayer we unite the mind and heart, and also the mind and the heart with God. We pray so that God’s will would be done in this life; that whatever we have need of would be given; that whatever we do and all that we do, we do with full awareness that we depend God in all that he is, in all that we are.
Without prayer, there is no spiritual life alive within us. For, in the words of Saint Tikhon, “As a bird without wings, as a soldier without arms, so is a Christian without prayer.” So in his words we understand that without prayer we cannot rise to the heavens without wings, and we cannot engage in battle without arms, and so it is without prayer that we are flightless, defenseless, and without aid from on high. Yet, Prayer consisting of words alone is not of any assistance to us if the heart does not participate in prayer.
Our faith, our prayer, should become a state of being – it is not enough to say prayers, to simply be a Christian, but we must become our prayer, become a Christian, and incarnate our faith by word AND deed. Our prayer life should be lived, and our prayers should be interwoven with our life, otherwise they become vestigial words and phrases that we simply offer in our short periods we turn towards God. Our prayers and our actions should become two expressions of the same situation. Also, We must approach our prayer life as a mutual relationship of friendship. God must be the object of our prayer, our wanting, for the intensity and elation of our prayer is often about the object of our prayer rather than the one to whom our prayer is addressed.
“All of life, each and every act, every gesture, even the smile of the human face, must become a hymn of adoration, an offering, a prayer. One should offer not what one has, but what one is.”
This is the gift we give, our lives. We do this because it is the only gift we can give which is reciprocal of itself, given in response to the gift which we have received ourselves – which is eternal life.
Exercise two – Fasting
In addition to prayer, we find fasting as a prescription of the Church. We fast, in addition to, and in conjunction with prayer, in order to train the body, to train ourselves in resisting the passions of the flesh. For, If we cannot resist even the smallest morsel of food, then we have no hope in battling the greater temptations in our own lives. Start with the small act of fasting, and your foundation of iniquity will erode and collapse as though a house built on sand.
In a hymn by Saint Basil the Great, we hear the following words:
“Let us fast an acceptable and very pleasing fast to the Lord. True fast is the estrangement from evil, temperance of tongue, abstinence from anger, separation from desires, slander, falsehood perjury. Privation of these is true fasting.”
We fast from food to strengthen us in fasting from all things harmful and unneeded to our spiritual lives. Fasting is a means in which to practice self control on our path towards conquering the passions of the flesh. Fasting is an exercise of both penitence and sacrifice (for there is no love without sacrifice), which assist in conquering of self, and being more attentive to those in need. Indeed, fasting was a practice often commended by the Fathers of the early Church, and was considered a universally applied spiritual discipline, as can be seen in some following quotes:
“Just as the most bitter medicine drives out poisonous creatures, so prayer joined to fasting drives even sinful thoughts away.” – Amma Syncletia – Desert Mother.
“If a man goes about fasting and hungry, the enemies of his soul grow weak.” Abba John the Dwarf – Desert Father.
“There are three levels of partaking of food: abstinence, adequacy, and satiety. To abstain means to remain a little hungry after eating; to eat adequately means neither to be hungry nor to be weighed down; to be satiated means to be slightly weighed down. But eating beyond satiety is the door to belly-madness, through which lust comes in. But you, firm in this knowledge, choose what is best for you, according to you powers, without overstepping the limits.” Saint Gregory of Sinai
Last but certainly not least, Saint Basil the Great:
“Be cheerful since the physician has given you sin-destroying medicine. For just as worms breeding in the intestines of children are utterly eradicated by the most pungent medicines, so too, when a fast truly worthy of this designation is introduced into the soul, it kills the sin that lurks deep within.”
Fasting builds a quality of character in the Christian life through the mortification of the flesh. We conquer ourselves in the defeat of gluttony, for indeed the appetites of the flesh are roots of much evil. So, we counter sin with virtue, gluttony with fasting, and develop our ability for self control.
Exercise three – Almsgiving
Almsgiving is a practice of virtue that goes hand in hand with fasting, and prayer. When one practices virtue through prayer and fasting, one must also show our love of Christ, our love of one another through active and sacrificial giving to others. Like our prayers, like our fasting, we must remember to keep them always in secret, for what we do we do not for man, but in the presence of God alone.
We know that love fulfills the whole law, and is the greatest of the commandments, but scripture also tells us that there is no real love if we do not share what we have and/or have in excess with those who do not:
“But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?” ~1 John 3:17
“A Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” ~James 1:27
“So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin” ~ James 4:17
There are many other verses in scripture that attest to the necessity of our attention and care to others in need. A spiritual man must give of his own sustenance cheerfully and not reluctantly to those who are poor, and in need. The giving of alms must also be sacrificial (for again there is no love without sacrifice), so we must take from ourselves when we give to others. We give for the sake of others, for if we first do not see ourselves in the other, then we may never see Christ, for “your neighbor is your true self. You have no self in yourself.” Also, in the words of Saint Basil, “If every man took only what was sufficient for nis needs, leaving the rest to those in want, there would be no rich and, and there would be no poor.”
All earthly possessions are not our own, but belong to the creator of all things. As such, men are but stewards and caretakers of all that belongs to the Lord, and as such we should be good stewards with what we have been entrusted with, that we would be rewarded with even greater treasures in heaven. Saint Basil the Great says that a man who has two coats or two pair of shoes, when his neighbor has none, is a thief. For us to store up earthly possessions, Christ has told us, is foolishness.
For those who strive for the perfection of Christ, to give is to gain. He who is truly perfect as his Father in heaven is perfect is one who gives, and who has given all things for the sake of others. Such a man is truly living a spiritual life, for he has no attachment to the things of this world, and it is man’s attachment to the things of this world that causes much suffering, both to ourselves and to others.
In Conclusion:
Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, the three great ascetic practices of our faith, the exercise and growth of our spiritual lives in the race we run towards the reward of our eternal life. If we grow in our spiritual lives, grow in strength through the acquisition of the Holy Spirit, we become able athletes in the race of faith that lies before us. Yet, our spiritual life is far more than just our thoughts and feelings, and in fact it is comprised of the whole human experience, the full depth of our humanity: thought, feeling, heart, soul, vision, mind, and body. Not only this, our spiritual lives should be comprised of our everyday experiences – work, school, our social life, family life, home life – and not just be compartmentalized to Church on Sunday mornings. We should live our life cognizant of the sacramental rhythm in which we exist as Orthodox Christians, and incarnating Christ in our lives not just on Sunday, but in everything that we do. The spiritual life is important for all Christians, because it is the only life that a Christian can live, it is the only life that directs our whole being towards Jesus Christ. Any other life lived is but a poor imitation, and a life lived beneath our intended human dignity.
We must be cognizant that spiritual growth only happens by patient struggle, struggles with temptation, pride, the passions, and ourselves. Though, in fighting through our myriad struggles, we must remember to have faith in spite of what happens, and not because of it, for our faith is what brings us hope.
There is a stark difference between the Christianity that certain Protestant pundits uphold, and that of the Orthodox faith. They see and treat the Christian faith a Juridical terms, and treat it more so a moral code that must be upheld.
This is not, and never has been the patristic treatment or view of the Christian faith.
The Church is the Hospital for our very souls, and her doctrines and theology a therapeutic science working towards that end. We see our faith in a divine medicine.
As the priests – the pastors of the Church – are responsible for those under them, there is a reason that we do not have open communion. The Church may be the hospital for the soul, but if we do not follow the prescriptions of the Church, then no healing will take place, just as if you don’t follow the orders of your regular doctor.
I had a short meditation of mine published last month in The Wonderworker, the publication of the Western Rite Communities of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia. It is presented below.
