Friday, February 29, 2008

Meatfare Week, Friday, 2 John 1:1-13 - Abide in the doctrine of Christ

He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.

What is it to "abide" in the "doctrine" of Christ? To abide is to live with and have intimate knowledge and converse with someone. It is to imitate the noetic life of the Trinity, where each person perfectly abides with the other.


The doctrine of Christ is all these things: Who He is, What He has done, Which commands he has given to us to fulfill. This is a trinity of doctrines, each inseparable from the other.

We cannot follow His commands if we do not know Who He is; This is why true Christian prayer is intensely dogmatic and Christological. In different chants and hymns the church meditates on the immutable dogmas of Who God is, Father Son and Holy Spirit, one in essence and indivisible, and especially concentrates on the Son of God, who, incarnated, made us capable of assimilating and living these dogmas.

If dogma, the "doctrine of Christ", is is only believed in the mind, it is useless for our soul, and indeed, will always become corrupted. We must "abide" in dogma.

To do this we must have three things: proper knowledge of the truths of God, a desire to follow the commandments, and the ability to achieve righteousness.

The first God has revealed through His prophets, the life of the church, the Holy Scriptures, and the Holy Spirit abiding in the soul of the true believer, the second we must supply from our own inward desires, and the third God has supplied, through the God-man fulfilling all righteousness and making our human nature capable of becoming divine.
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Dogma - pertaining to God, His nature, His actions. The entire Symbol of Faith contains a summary of many of the important dogmas of the Christian Faith. All dogma is moral in nature. for instance, we believe that God is our Father, so we must live as sons and daughters of a perfect Father should live. There are innumerable "dogmas", all log which are derived from Who God is. For instance, it is a dogma that we should love all men, since God is love.

Christological. Dogmas pertaining to Jesus Christ.
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2 John 1:1-13 1 The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth; 2 For the truth's sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us for ever. 3 Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love. 4 I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father. 5 And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another. 6 And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it. 7 For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. 8 Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. 9 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. 10 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: 11 For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds. 12 Having many things to write unto you, I would not write with paper and ink: but I trust to come unto you, and speak face to face, that our joy may be full. 13 The children of thy elect sister greet thee. Amen.

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Sunday of the Last Judgement:Meatfare - Matthew 25:31-46 - Be kind

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Matthew 25:31-46 31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. 41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.



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Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Sunday of the Prodigal Son 2008 - Luke 15;11-32 - And When He Came To Himself

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Luke 15:11-32And he said, A certain man had two sons: 12 And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. 13 And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. 14 And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. 15 And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. 16 And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. 17 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, 19 And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. 20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. 21 And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. 22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: 23 And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry. 25 Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing. 26 And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. 27 And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. 28 And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him. 29 And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: 30 But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. 31 And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. 32 It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.



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Audio talk on: Prayers of the church, Vespers, Gladsome Light

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O Gladsome Light of the holy glory of the immortal, heavenly, holy, blessed Father, O Jesus Christ: Having come to the setting of the sun, having beheld the evening light, we praise the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit: God. Meet it is for Thee at all times to be praised with reverent voices, O Son of God, Giver of life. Wherefore, the world doth glorify Thee.



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Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Week of the Prodigal Son - Tuesday - 1 John 3:11-20 - "that we should love one another"

For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. (1 John 3:11)


What is the beginning? From the beginningless beginning, before all things, before all beginnings, the Holy Trinity was... and loved. The very nature of God teaches us to love one-another. God loves Himself perfectly, and as a perfect lover of Himself, He communicates with and submits to His own nature - each person equally loving and submitting to the other. Before all things, there was love.



And God made man, in his image and likeness he made him. (Gen 1:26) And from this beginning of man, the created loved the Creator, and the created loved all possessing his nature, as the Creator loved all three persons possessing His nature.



To be in the image of God is to love as God. From the beginning, man was created to love. Love, like a flame, can spread to others without itself being diminished. So God created and loved his creation, and His love for Himself was in no way diminished, and man, whose nature was created to love himself, loved himself (that is, all those with his nature), and loved God, and man's love emulated God, whose love can fill all things and is in no way diminished. We love Him because he first loved us. (1 John 4:19) He loved us because He first loved Himself. Because of His love, He created us, and from the beginning, we were made to love.



"And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him" (1 John 3:19), and we shall be like him, because we love. It is our nature to love. Our nature compels us to breathe, and eat and drink, and in the same way to love. And what happens to us if we do not live according to our nature?



"He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. 15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him." (1 John 3:14-15)



To not love is to not be human. From the beginning, the FIRST PRINCIPLE of being human is to love, as God loves. Any abrogation of this principle leads to death.



God is love, and man is made in the image and likeness of God. Therefore, to love is not a command, it is a principle of the existence of our nature. To "die the death" is to cease being what we were created for - to love, and therefore to cease being human. To have "eternal life abiding in him" man must love, and his love must be as the flame of God's love - spreading to all things without discrimination, and in no way ever being diminished.



Man's trek through this life is to learn to love as God loves, and in knowing love by loving, knowing God, who is love, and thus fulfilling his destiny: "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." (John 17:3 )



The principle of love is simple, since God is simple, but the action of love is complex and varied. Hate is also simple; It is the absence of love, but the action of hate, is complex and varied. It is expressed as "disliking" someone, envy, calumny, thoughtlessness, greed, and violence against persons, and a thousand other thoughts and actions that bring darkness instead of light to the soul.



The first recorded action of hate was that of Cain, "who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous". (1 John 3:12) The tyrant of envy, one of hate's many children, possessed him, and Cain killed his brother, and in so doing, killed his own soul.



Brethren, we are at the very threshold of the Great Fast, a time when we should be changing to be more like God. Let us make it our goal to pass through Lent in such a way that we pass from our deep darkness into more of the light, closer to the life God created us for. Let this goal be fulfilled by our passing from hate into love, and in so doing, we will have "passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren." (1 John 3:14)




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Gen 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.


1Jn 4:19 We love him, because he first loved us.




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1 John 3:11-20 11 For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 12 Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous. 13 Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you. 14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. 15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. 16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17 But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? 18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. 19 And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. 20 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.





Friday, February 22, 2008

Sunday of the Prodigal Son - How does God receive our repentance?

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In the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen.1

The Church gives us another example today, about repentance. It tells us another part of the story. This is the Sunday of the Prodigal Son, and is yet another Sunday that prepares us for the Great Fast. We are coming quickly upon it. Next week will be the Sunday of the Last Judgment, after which we stop eating meat, and after that is the Sunday of Forgiveness, and we then begin the fast, the following day.

The church has had something very important to say about repentance the past few Sundays, if you have been listening carefully. Actually, there have been three aspects of repentance that have been shown to us. One aspect is humility. We saw the publican2 whom, in our mind's eye, we may consider to be Zacchaeus3, and we saw how his humility saved him. But this was humility with knowledge, because with humility comes knowledge of God. Although he was humble and would not look up to heaven, he was still bold in his prayer to ask God for mercy, because he knew God would give him mercy.

The Sunday before, we saw Zacchaeus. We saw that he was a very bad man, but he changed. Repentance involves changing the way you live, the way you think. It also involves, truly, making restitution. It is not that restitution will save us. There is nothing that we can do to earn our salvation. Restitution is something that should come from deep within us. We should desire to make ourselves better in those things in which we have been lax. Whether our sin be depriving a man of his goods, as Zacchaeus did, or unclean thoughts, or any other sin, whether our sin be an internal sin, or an external one, or whether it has affected other people or affected no one except ourselves, we must desire and struggle to be better.

Now we see another aspect of repentance that is so important today, especially in light of what we are going to read and contemplate next week. That is, God receives a man's repentance. This may seem to be an obvious statement, hardly worth making, but in actuality, many people do not really believe God will receive their repentance, or that they can truly change. We can see how marvelous God's mercy is in this parable we have before us.

The father who has the two sons is God the Father. The younger of the two sons is humanity. The younger son is you and me. We should see ourselves in this younger son. What did he do? The father was getting old, and the son did not want to wait for him to die. He wanted his inheritance NOW. So he said, "Give me my inheritance now." His father, who loved him, must have grieved over such a request, because he knew it would most probably be harmful to his son, and also he wished to have his son with him, but he gave in to him because of love. God does the same thing with you and me. He gives us things that are good and precious, and we misuse and abuse them, but He gives them nonetheless. He causes the rains to fall on the evil and the good, and He even does much good to the evil, hoping that they will turn and repent. That's what he did with the younger son, knowing what the son was going to do.

The son goes into a FAR country. There is sometimes much meaning in a single word. He went into a FAR country. It was far away, a land full of debauchery and uncleanness, FAR away from God, FAR away from salvation. And, indeed, if the man had died in such a state, he would have perished. He would have died far from God. But when he was in this far country, did he give any thought to God? No. He wasted his living with harlots, as his older son is so careful to point out later, and in debauchery and uncleanness of every kind. He had not thought whatsoever for his father, and how he had caused his father pain. He had no understanding how far away he was from salvation. And that is how we are, too. Maybe not all of the time, but so much of the time what we do is so foolish, so stupid, and yet we do not see this or understand. We might live many, many years and not understand how evil the things we do are.


This son was the same way. He had no understanding of the evil he was doing and of the uncleanness and of how far away he was from God. And then the inevitable happened to him. He had wasted all of his living, and now began to be in want. He had no money, and was hungry and cold. He had to join himself to a citizen of the country who really did not care about him at all, and he was told to feed pigs. And this unclean food, which the pigs were eating, looked appetizing, because he was so hungry.


He began to be in want - what does this really mean? It describes much more that the younger son's penury. Humanity is in want. Remember that this younger son represents humanity - he represents you and me. Both the good and the evil that are in humanity are represented in this man. The debauchery, and also, the dignity of soul, later, when he repents. When the son begins to be in want, he recognizes what his needs are. The unclean food, given him by the devil (for that is who the citizen of that far country is), cannot satisfy him, even though he is hungry for it. He looks back in his mind's eye and he says: "I once lived with my father who loved me, and I had food and clothing and friends. And I was in an atmosphere of love and acceptance and affection. How could I have been so foolish to have left that all behind?" And he grieves and weeps bitterly over his misfortune. But notice that he did not blame anyone for his situation. He did not blame his father for allowing him the inheritance, which, by the way, is something that a lot of people do with God. They blame Him for their sins. They do not understand how much God loves them and gives them all good things for their salvation. Instead, they blame Him if there is something wrong. "Why hasn't God taken this sin away from me? I have been struggling with it for two months, two years. Why is this happening to me? Why don’t these people like me? Why do I have troubles here, troubles there?" Always blaming God.


By the way, as an aside (I am famous for these, unfortunately!), every single evening at Vespers, we pray that we not make "excuse with excuses in sins"4. This shows how prevalent this sin is, and how important the church thinks it is to fight it. But this son did not make excuses. He recognized his want, and what was wrong with him.


Then he "came to himself". This is a very hard thing to understand. A man cannot be saved unless he comes to himself. What does this mean? Well, I have spoken of it many times. In saving our souls, what two things must we know? One is to know God, and other is to know ourselves. The two are learned in parallel. If you learn only of God, you will be filled with pride, and your soul will be paralyzed. If you know only about your sins and your unworthiness and know little about God, you will be filled with despondency and fear, or escapism, and your soul will also be paralyzed, unable to do good. This is the more common sin for Christians, I think. Despondency is very common and happens in each one of us to a greater or lesser degree. And if it happens in too great a degree, I tell you, you won't be saved, because you won't be able to do the things you need to do to learn of God. But if you learn of yourself and God at the same time, God will reveal Himself and self-knowledge also, within you. Then you will believe in the depths of your soul that you are a great sinner, but you will nonetheless say to yourself with confidence, "God will receive my repentance!' and you will see the situation you are in, and you will want to be better, and you will know that you CAN become better!


I see this again and again, where people do not ACCEPT that they CAN change. Sometimes, to be perfectly honest, people don’t want to change. They have an inkling, a desire, a little bit, to change. "I want to stop this sin. But I like this sin." And they don’t have the gumption to make the effort. God even understands this! This is why we have a "baseline" of things we must do as Christians - keeping the fasts, saying our prayers, coming to church - because without those things we would truly fall far away. But that is not enough, mind you, because a man must make an inner change. He must know of God and he must come to himself. And he must say exactly what the younger son said. He said, "I will arise and I will go to my father. I will make an effort. I will not only talk about my sins and lament about them and do nothing. I will arise and make a great effort."


And then the son realized how far away he was. He was in a far country. And he still had to travel a long way, even until his father would see him, from a long way off. So that was a great struggle. That is what we must do. We pile sin upon sin in our soul. Everything that we pile onto our soul we must painstakingly take off, one brick at a time. So the more we pile on ourselves, the more difficult it is, and the further away we are, and the further we must travel back. But this younger son was great of soul, because he struggled back.


What was his attitude? It was not absolutely correct, but his misunderstanding was corrected by his father later. He went and said " I will go to my father and say I have sinned against heaven and earth, and I am not worthy to be called your son". So far, he is absolutely correct. But then he said, "Make me as one of thy hired servants," and God will not do that! That's not our God! He will make us friends!5 This son, as he was walking back to his father, did not understand this. But we can understand, because we have the perspective of history and the Holy Scriptures to tell us: God will not make us as hired servants! Jesus Christ said He would make us friends. "I will call you friends, and there are many mansions in my father's house."6 So we will not be hired servants. We will have everything that our Father has available for us!


And this is the meaning when the father saw his son and ran out to him. Can you imagine this meeting? The son is bedraggled and poor, starving, faint both of heart and of body, and the father comes to him and embraces him and kisses him. He puts the ring on his finger, a token of the father's love and his authority; He kills the fatted calf, and makes merry because his son has come home. The son was only expecting to stay in the shack with the hired hands, and maybe to have a little bit of meat once in a while and his father gave him back EVERYTHNG that he had lost, and more than he had lost. That is what our Father will do for us.
The Church tells us about it right now, because we are now about to enter into a period of time when we had better think about our sins quite a bit. Next week we will talk about the Last Judgement, and it is terrifying what will happen in the Last Judgement for those who do not repent. But, if you only read that, and do not understand from today that the Father will accept your repentance, then you have lost the most important part of the story. This part is that God will accept you, if you arise, and go. And I can speak honestly here, that the major problem is that most people don’t want to "arise and go". And therefore when they don’t arise and go, they cook up in their minds all kinds of ideas, about why they cannot stop a certain sin, or do better. And yet, they are not doing the things that God has laid out for them to do to bring them back to Him. If this fits any one of you, then may it be that you would understand the things that you must do, and that you would have a firmer resolve to arise and go. A man cannot do something with full effort unless he believes it with full conviction. Our life is difficult. It is painful. And we have trouble fighting our sins, and some are so pleasurable that we have trouble wanting to fight them. The question is, "Why bother?" If we do not know what God will do for us, then we do not have the resolve to really, really attack our sins, and enter into the kingdom of heaven. So the Church tells us what God will do. He shows us, as a loving Father, He will take us in His arms, and will put the ring upon our finger, which is His authority, you know, and His dignity, and His image. The ring has an image on it, doesn’t it? That is the image of God, which is within man. And He will kill the fatted calf, and we will feast sumptuously for all eternity.


But we're not at that point yet because we're still wearing flesh, and we're still having difficulty with our sins. So, most of us are somewhere in that journey from the far country. And we must continue that journey. It is described with only a few words here in the Scriptures. He starts to journey, and then his Father comes upon him. Well … that's not the way it really happened! He had to journey for quite some way before his Father saw him. He was quite a ways away, and he still had to travel a long way. Rectifying our life is like that. It takes a long time, and a lot of effort, but the Church tells us clearly what the effect of it will be, what the outcome will be. Keep this in your mind. It's very important to remember these kinds of readings in the Scriptures because when you start to think of your sins, they will overwhelm you if you don't realize the love of God. And next Sunday, and then the Sunday after that, and all the Sundays of Great Lent and all of the services of Great Lent, are full of recounting and remembering our sins and our unrighteousness and our wickedness. It's good to know those things; it's good to remember those things, because it keeps us from pride. But if you only learn those things, and you don't know of God's mercy, then you will fall away. Vast amounts of people that call themselves Christian have fallen away already, because they cannot understand the greatness of God in parallel with their wickedness. They either cast one away, or the other. They dumb down God, or they have exalted pride in themselves -- one or the other. And you can see that many modern day heresies are because of these two things.


So, arise! Today, decide to arise. And when you fall down tomorrow, get up out of the dust and continue to walk. And if you cannot walk, then crawl, but keep going towards God. And if you have fixed in your mind what God has promised, then God will help you. And you will have the strength. No matter how weak you feel, you will have the strength to be saved. Amen.


Luke 15:11-32
And he said, A certain man had two sons: {12} And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. {13} And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. {14} And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. {15} And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. {16} And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. {17} And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! {18} I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, {19} And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. {20} And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. {21} And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. {22} But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: {23} And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: {24} For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry. {25} Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing. {26} And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. {27} And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. {28} And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and entreated him. {29} And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: {30} But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. {31} And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. {32} It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.
1 This homily was transcribed from one given in 1997, on the Sunday of the Prodigal Son. This Sunday is part of a five Sunday sequence that precedes Great Lent. There are some stylistic changes and minor corrections made and several footnotes have been added, but otherwise, it is essentially in a colloquial, “spoken” style.
It is hoped that something in these words will help and edify the reader, but a sermon read from a page cannot enlighten a soul as much as attendance and reverent worship at the Vigil service, which prepares the soul for the Holy Liturgy, and the hearing of the scriptures and the preaching of them in the context of the Holy Divine Liturgy. In such circumstances the soul is enlightened much more than when words are read on a page.
2 Luke 18:10-14
3 Luke 19:1-10
4 This is sung at "Lord I have cried" in Vespers
5 John 15:14-15
6 John 14:2

Sunday of the Prodigal Son - Luke 15:11-32

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Luke 15:11-32 11 And he said, A certain man had two sons: 12 And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. 13 And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. 14 And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. 15 And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. 16 And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. 17 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, 19 And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. 20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. 21 And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. 22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: 23 And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry. 25 Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing. 26 And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. 27 And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. 28 And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him. 29 And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: 30 But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. 31 And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. 32 It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.



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Week of the Publican and Pharisee: Friday - 1 John 2:7-17 - And the world passeth away.

1John 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.

The scriptures have a marvelous capability to apply truth to each of us in unique ways, wholly suited to our personalities. This does not mean that there are different truths for each person, as he reads the scriptures, but the Holy Spirit, "blowing where it will" (John 3:8), and speaking to us in "groanings which cannot be uttered" (Romans 8:26), impresses upon the soul the truth in such a way that it can be assimilated and put to use.

The verse above, from today's epistle reading, has always communicated to me an essential "tool" to resist temptation. The theological content of this verse is profound, but I have found immense practical value by using the phrase "And the world passeth away" as a sort of play on words and mnemonic device.

The lust of the eyes is a pernicious and tireless foe, but I have found it immensely easier to combat this often SHORT ACTING temptation by clinging to this verse. Oftentimes, we are presented with a person, or image in a billboard, or advertisement, or magazine cover, which will be within our field of vision for only a small moment, if we recall that just as the beauty in that image will pass away, so will we pass away from the proximity of that image. If we are in a car, and see a billboard, in only a moment, we are carried at 65 miles and hour away so that literally it has "passed away"; we could not look at the image after we have passed it even if we tried to. In the same way, a person what we may be tempted to stare at will turn a corner, or better yet, we will move away, and no longer can their image tempt us, because it has passed away. In the grocery line, all we need do is take one step forward and the magazine cover has passed away. Even if we only avert our eyes for a very little while, or even push the "back" button on our browser, we are assured that the tempting image will literally "pass away", as we continue about our business.

And what happens to us when these images pass way? We have suffered no loss, and our soul feels immense relief, and although the temptation has passed away, our will has been strengthened against this type of temptation, and that strength will not pass away, if we continue to be vigilant.

1 John 2:7-17 Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning. 8 Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth. 9 He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. 10 He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. 11 But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes. 12 I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake. 13 I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father. 14 I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one. 15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Audio talk on: Prayers of the church, Vespers, Lord I have Cried

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Monday, February 18, 2008

Monday before the Prodigal Son - 2 Peter 1:20-2:9 - No Scripture is of private interpretation

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2 Peter 1:20-2:9 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. 21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. 1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. 2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. 3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. 4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; 5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; 6 And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly; 7 And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: 8 (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;) 9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:




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Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee - Luke 18:10-14 - Two Ways

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Luke 18:10-14 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. 12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. 13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.



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Saturday, February 16, 2008

Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee - Luke 18:10-14 - The rest of the story, How was the publican justified?

In the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Today is the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee. It is a formal beginning to our preparation for the Holy Fast, and is the first day we read anything from the Triodion this year. We are now in a period of time to prepare ourselves – 4 more weeks. Next week follows the Prodigal Son, then the Sunday of the Last Judgment, then the last Sunday before the Holy Fast begins – the Sunday of Forgiveness. There is not much more time, and this time is given for us to reflect upon what it is that we need to do to improve ourselves.

The church gives us some help here. The Sunday before this day is always the Sunday of Zacchaeus, who was a publican. Today, we read about another publican, just a nameless person in a parable. This event never actually occurred; it is a parable our Lord used to teach us. However, it has extra meaning when we think of it in light of the story of Zacchaeus, and in our mind’s eye, equate the publican in this parable with Zacchaeus.

In this parable we see two kinds of humility - or rather, humility and its evil opposite, pride - and two kinds of knowledge. We see the pride of the Pharisee, and the church in its hymnology points out the differences between his pride and the humility of the publican. In order to fully understand the lesson we must see that the Pharisee was not completely wrong and the publican was not completely virtuous, and yet, one of them was justified and the other was not.

The Pharisee was not condemned for keeping the fasts. He was not condemned for doing righteous good works. The publican was not praised for the life of sin that he had led. Rather, the Pharisee was condemned for judging another man, for using a measure in measuring that he was not capable of truly fulfilling himself. He was condemned because he was either unaware or did not care about the hidden sins that he had in his life, and how he truly was impure before God. He should have been in his demeanor just as the publican.

And the publican – why was he justified? He was justified because of his humility, but there is a very interesting aspect to his humility that we must know. He certainly did not judge another man, but he was well aware of his sin. There is something I see over and over again in our society and even in those who are Orthodox in our world as well, since we breathe poisoned air and hear poisoned ideas and we have some of that poison accumulate in us. I see this problem constantly. That is, that people, because of their sins, even though they know that they are wrong, and they want to do better, and have an inner conviction that something is wrong and unholy – instead of struggling against them, because they fail so often – they find a way to avoid being continually pricked by their conscience and being made aware of their sin.

This happens among profligate people. Why do you thing that people drink, or find themselves lost in promiscuity or other debauchery? This is to lose themselves from the reality of who they are and how far they are away from virtue. Everyone knows internally what virtue is – it is built into our hearts; it is built into our character. The Apostle Paul talks about it in Romans, and it is very evident that all men know what is right. But when he falls so far short of virtue he is afraid to really tackle the problem, as it is a very difficult one. So, in extreme cases, he falls away through debauchery, disbelief, falling into extremely wrong doctrines and ideologies and ways of life. And if we get into this state (and it is easy to fall into it: beware!) we deny and deny and deny the reality of who we are, and Who God is. Because generally someone must be blamed, and you can bet that we do not like to blame ourselves very often.

Another thing that people do when they are aware of their sins and wish to do better and continually fail – they fall into despondency. This is not so much where they blame someone else, or fall into impure activities without any heedfulness at all, but their despondency eats them alive. Truly, despondency kills more than any other sin.

Let us imagine now that the publican of today's parable IS Zacchaeus. One of the fathers I read quite often, the Blessed Archbishop Andrei, draws this parallel and it is a striking one. Imagine the life of Zacchaeus before he was enlightened by Christ. He was the chief among the publicans. He was the biggest sinner. This meant that he had been guilty of murder and of defrauding widows and orphans. Howso murder? He may not have killed a man with his own hands, but he caused people to starve, widows and orphans with no money, who had no means to live, and they starved or became sick and died. Their murder was on his head. And of course, he was a thief, and a man in his situation, with so much abundance, would fall into every kind of sin. Certainly he had his pick of any wealthy courtesan he wanted, who feigned affection towards him because of his money, and he certainly ate the finest of foods, and drank great quantities of the finest of wines. There was much that he did that was wicked and abased. We can probably truly say, without being guilty of a sin, that we are not as bad as that!

What happened to this bad man? He was enlightened by God in a way that was wondrous and miraculous and totally outside of what he expected. Therefore, he in his zeal said, "I will restore fourfold to anyone I have defrauded, and I will give half of my goods to the poor", and he had great warmth in his heart when he was in the presence of Christ, and he wanted to do better.

And then came tomorrow, the next day. He fell back into his bad habits. He still had avarice, and he still had lust, and he still had a desire for wine. He still had a weakness for all the things that he wished to get away from, so certainly he would have fallen, again and again and again. Look at the life of St Mary of Egypt. Can any one of us say we were as bad as she was? I don’t think so. Look what happened to her. When she realized how evil she had been and she desired to change, she went into the desert and for 18 years (if you read her story, you can see this) – EIGHTEEN YEARS! - she spent these years struggling with lustful imaginations and hearing songs that she used to hear when she was in drunken orgies, again and again in her head, and desiring to have flesh meats and wine which she used to drink in abundance. Eighteen years! So many of us, if we had to spend only a year struggling against lust and being unsuccessful – we would just throw in the towel, and go back across our Jordan, back to the former life we had been living, because we were not “cuttin” it. She spent 18 years doing this, till finally God removed from her this lust and this depravity which she had so carefully cultivated from the time she was a maiden. It took 18 years. Very few of us in this room have been Orthodox 18 years, much less struggled 18 years against our passions.

Why did she do such a thing, and why did the publican Zacchaeus (shall we say), struggle so, and go into the temple and say, “God be merciful to me a sinner?” Why didn’t he just give up? That’s the most likely thing to happen in this world: most people give up. The reason they give up is because they do not have salvific knowledge of Who God is and what He has done, and what He will do. I said this so many times – our life is spent in learning TWO pieces of knowledge that are critical to our salvation. And they must be done in parallel and a little bit at a time. Too much of one or two much of the other will cause our death. The pieces of knowledge are of ourselves and of God. As a man grows in knowledge of God he learns how great God is and he develops confidence, and he develops this overwhelming desire to become holy. As he grows in knowledge of himself he sees those areas in his life that are not in keeping with Who God is, and he desires to change them.

But if a man learns of himself outside of learning about God, you can see in our society what happens. You can see the depravity of people. You can see their angst and anguish over their life’s situation for it is outside of God. Many very poetic things are said by people in music or literature that are TRUE, but they do not give the solution; they only know (and this just partially) the problem! If they do not know the solution, they cannot gain salvation. And the solution is the God-man Jesus Christ, Who has enlightened us and come to all of us, unworthy ones. He came not to the worthy, but the unworthy. Not to the pure, but to the impure! And as we grow in knowledge of that, then we will become pure.

The problem with sin in Christians is not so much that they just want to do it and don’t care. The problem is that they don’t understand really truly Who God is. The knowledge of God cannot be learned from a book or listening to preaching or teaching – it is learned from within. All these things help – the services of the church, preaching in the context of the services, keeping the fasts. They are all essential, absolutely. I have said this before, and I suppose I should learn to stop saying it, since it scares some people, but I believe that if a man does not fast, and if he does not value the services, it is very unlikely that he will be saved. Not because of the sin of not fasting or of missing the services because of frivolous reasons or laziness, but because you won’t know God if you eschew these things, because this is how God reveals Himself to us. And if you don’t know Him, then when there is a sin that you have trouble with – it will devour you. You will have no chance against it whatsoever, because you will not know how to fight it.

This publican UNDERSTOOD God. He also knew himself. This man was guilty of murder, of theft, of lying, of cheating, of every kind of debauchery and sin, but he wanted to change. So he went to the temple knowing that he was unworthy, but at the same time knowing Who God is, and since he knew who God is, there was hope in his breast, and he knew that God could change him. That is why he came into the temple and that is why he did not think about anything else except his own sin, and that is why he looked at the ground and did not care about the virtues or the vices of anyone else. He was too consumed with his own pressing problem. And he was justified, because of his faith. Because he had faith in God – in a true Being, not in some phantom or fantasy. Because he was living according to Who God is. Was he failing? Was he still falling into lust, and even debauchery? Most probably. Did he still have the lust of avarice in his heart? Oh yes! It takes a long time to divulge yourself of your passions. It is a hard lesson to learn. When I became Orthodox I thought some things I had difficulty with… well, I would not have trouble with them any more. And even now I struggle against them.

But I know that God can save and God will save. That was his purpose for becoming incarnate, to save sinners, like me, and like you. And the only way to know this in your heart is to live according to it. Christian knowledge is not static. It is not words on a page; it is life. Salvation is to be had in living, in living according to God is.

This is what the publican did. He knew who God is, and he knew himself, and the thought of who he was sickened him and made him sad, but he still went to the temple even though he could not look up to heaven because he could not behold the brightness of God because of his impurity. Even though he was in fear and trembling, he had confidence in God’s mercy, because of making even a small effort. That is where you gain knowledge of God, brothers and sisters. That is where you gain confidence that you can be saved. It is by making an effort. I did not say – being successful in your effort – because if that was the criteria, then we all indeed should fall into deep despondency because none of us would be saved.

It is not how good we are at change by which God judges, but is us how good we are at making an effort to repent. And it is a miraculous thing – we will change, but we not see ourselves change. Things happen so quickly. Consider our children. One moment they are just laying in the crib and making incomprehensible noises, and the next moment, they are young adults and saying things that touch our souls in ways that we never knew that they could be touched. It happens overnight. That is how it happens with our souls. We think we are muddy and filthy and unclean, and we struggle and we think that we are making no progress whatsoever, but unknown to us, although sometimes known to those who love us, we make changes, and we come closer and closer to God. And there will be a day when we have sweet release from those things that beset us.

If I did not believe that, then I would have no reason to live – none whatsoever. And that is why so many people blow their heads off – they have no reason – no hope at all. If all that life is, is this life, then it is a cruel joke, and a cruel comedy. But we know we are Christians. We know that God lives in us, and even if we sin, God will hear our repentance and receive us time and time again. And if you are not sure of that fact than you have not learned enough of Who God is. And you had best study this very important subject – it is called Theology – to study God, to learn of God, the science of sciences. And the laboratory in which you learn is your own life! Live life in Christ. That is what this publican was doing. The Pharisee, although he had great knowledge, (but knowledge without humility just puffeth up), he did not have the feelings that we should often have, of feeling incredibly unworthy. He lived in an externally righteous way and thought himself righteous, but he was even more depraved than a man who visits a brothel every night, because he had not real fear of God in his eyes.

Do you see the contrast? Do you see what made the Pharisee fall away and what made the publican cleave to Christ? And why are we considering them now? Why is this reading today? Well, we are going to be speaking of the last judgment soon, and we will also consider another repentance – that of the prodigal son. These are hard subjects. The church is trying to prepare us so we can look inside ourselves and learn of ourselves and learn of God during the great fast, by struggling as much as we are able, and even BEYOND what we are able. In fact, the Christian life is continually living beyond what we are capable of. God said unto us, "be ye perfect for I am perfect." And through the Apostle He says, "pray without ceasing," and He says, "turn the other cheek" when someone smites us, and, "if our enemy has us go with him one mile, to go with him two." He tells us impossible things – things that cannot be accomplished and yet they WILL be accomplished because He lives in us.

If you have any doubts whatsoever those doubts are because you are not living with enough effort, and if you make the effort – I tell you – that you will become absolutely sure that God lives in you and He will save even you, a sinner. You know your sins better than anyone else does, and if you have sensitivity, they hurt. They make us very sad, but despondency does not belong in a Christian’s character. And if is in your life, this just means that you have not learned enough of God. So you must study Him more. Study Him in keeping the fasts. Study Him in the services. Study him in pulling your mind back to prayer after it has wandered away into the ravine and onto the mountainsides. If you have one minute of prayer in a three-hour vigil service, then you have accomplished something great that day. It's true.

God help us to be like this publican in his virtue. Yea, I say his virtue. It is a great virtue when a man knows himself and when he knows God. I tell you, when those two pieces of knowledge are in a man, he WILL be saved. Amen.



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Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee - Luke 18:10-14 - "Zacchaeus" is saved by his humility

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Thoughts on the Scriptures - 38th (33nd) Saturday after Pentecost

In today's Gospel reading, our Lord tells us a parable about the importance of continual, persistent prayer. We saw this same lesson in action in the few Sunday Gospels, when both the blind man and the woman of Canaan persistently cried out, "Son of David, have mercy on me," despite all manner of reproofs. Now, we hear the same lesson directly from the mouth of our Lord.

How are we to understand this parable? Are we to think of God as an unjust judge who hearkens unto us only because we trouble him? Certainly not - rather, our Lord is using an earthly example to teach us a lesson about God. We cannot understand God's perspective, so we are presented with a human perspective. And truly, if even the unjust judge avenged the widow eventually, "shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?" We may not understand God's actions in our lives, and we may not be able to see the answers to our prayers because our eyes are clouded by sin - but we know by faith that God does hear our prayers, and that prayer itself unites us closer to him. For this reason, we must cling to prayer, praying persistently in season and out. St. James tells us, "Draw near unto God, and He will draw near unto you," and instructs that we pray to God always - giving thanks and glory to him in good times, and beseeching his help in bad times. And we know that he will hear us.

Tomorrow's Gospel reading, about the publican and the pharisee, will tell us more about prayer - it will show us how to pray. Remarkably, the first words in the Lenten Triodion - the book of hymns and prayers for Great Lent - are "brethren, let us not pray...." They go on, of course: "Brethren, let us not pray as the pharisee." (We will sing these words at tonight's Vigil Service.) In other words, let us not pray in a prideful manner, giving thanks for our supposed virtues, but let us rather emulate the humility of the publican, the blind man, and the Canaanite woman, crying out, "Lord, have mercy!"

Reading:
Luke 18:2-8

2 There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: 3 And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. 4 And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; 5 Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. 6 And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. 7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? 8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

The Demon of Noonday and the Sixth Hour

The hours are 10 minute prayer services appointed by the Church for certain hours of the day. While most of us do not generally have time to pray these prayers regularly, they are a valuable resource for reflection and prayer.

The sixth hour is the prayer appointed for noontime. This is a time when many of us may be able to set aside five minutes for reflection, reading and prayer. It is also a time when we can be prone to despondency or depression, which the fathers call "the demon of noonday." In the morning, we may have awoken with high hopes for the day. Reading our morning prayers, we gave glory to God for a new day and asked to be guided on the path of his commandments. But since then we have been exposed to numerous temptations, and are probably conscious of a number of sins. The prayers of the sixth hour reflect this struggle, and they also remind us that the answer, the solution, is to hope in God. In the words of Psalm 90, "thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night, nor for the arrow that flieth by day. Nor for the thing that walketh in darkness, nor for the mishap and demon of noonday."

We also read the sixth hour in church just before the Divine Liturgy every Sunday. We also read the third hour (the church's mid-morning prayer) at that time.

I've included below several of the prayers of the sixth hour, any of which could be an excellent resource for us in the middle of a difficult day.

Psalm 54

Give ear, O God, unto my prayer, and disdain not my supplication; attend unto me, and hear me. I was grieved in my meditation, and I was troubled at the voice of the enemy and at the oppression of the sinner; Because they have turned iniquity upon me, and with wrath were they angry against me. My heart is troubled within me, and the terror of death is fallen upon me. Fear and trembling are come upon me, and darkness hath covered me. And I said: Who will give me wings like a dove? And I will fly, and be at rest. Lo, I have fled afar off and have dwelt in the wilderness. I waited for God that saveth me from faintheartedness and from tempest. Plunge them into the depths, O Lord, and divide their tongues, for I have seen iniquity and gainsaying in the city. Day and night they go round about her upon her walls; iniquity and toil and unrighteousness are in the midst of her. And usury and deceit have not departed from her streets. For if mine enemy had reviled me, I might have endured it. And if he that hateth me had spoken boastful words against me, I might have hid myself from him. But thou it was, O man of like soul with me, my guide and my familiar friend, Thou who together with me didst sweeten my repasts; in the house of God I walked with thee in oneness of mind. Let death come upon such ones, and let them go down alive into hades. For wickedness is in their dwellings, and in the midst of them. As for me, unto God have I cried, and the Lord hearkened unto me. Evening, morning, and noonday will I tell of it and will declare it, and He will hear my voice. He will redeem my soul in peace from them that draw nigh unto me, for they among many were with me. God will hear, and He will humble them, He that is before the ages. For to them there is no requital, because they have not feared God; He hath stretched forth His hand in retribution. They have defiled His covenant; they were scattered by the wrath of His countenance, and their hearts have convened. Their words were smoother than oil, and yet they are darts. Cast thy care upon the Lord, and He will nourish thee; He will never permit the righteous to be shaken. But Thou, O God, shalt bring those men down into the pit of destruction. Bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but as for me, O Lord, I will hope in Thee.

Psalm 90

He that dwelleth in the help of the Most High shall abide in the shelter of the God of heaven. He shall say unto the Lord: Thou art my helper and my refuge. He is my God, and I will hope in Him. For He shall deliver thee from the snare of the hunters and from every troubling word. With His shoulders shall He overshadow thee, and under His wings shalt thou have hope. With a shield will His truth encompass thee; thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night, nor for the arrow that flieth by day. Nor for the thing that walketh in darkness, nor for the mishap and demon of noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousands at thy right hand, but unto thee shall it not come nigh. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold, and thou shalt see the reward of sinners. For Thou, O Lord, art my hope. Thou madest the Most High thy refuge; No evils shall come nigh unto thee, and no scourge shall draw nigh unto thy dwelling. For He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. On their hands shall they bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Upon the asp and basilisk shalt thou tread, and thou shalt trample upon the lion and dragon. For he hath set his hope on Me, and I will deliver him; I will shelter him because he hath known my name. He shall cry unto me, and I will hearken unto him. I am with him in affliction, and I will rescue him and glorify him. With length of days will I satisfy him, and I will show him My salvation.

Seeing that we have no boldness on account of our many sins, do thou beseech Him that was born of thee, O Virgin Theotokos for the supplication of a mother availeth much to win the Master's favor. Disdain not the prayers of sinners, O all-pure one, for merciful and mighty to save is He Who deigned also to suffer for our sake.

Let Thy compassions quickly go before us, O Lord, for we are become exceedingly poor. Help us, O God our Savior, for the sake of the glory of Thy name. O Lord, deliver us and be gracious unto our sins for Thy name's sake.

Prayer of the 6th Hour, by St. Basil the Great

O God and Lord of Hosts, and Maker of all Creation, Who by the tender compassion of Thy mercy which transcendeth comprehension, didst send down Thine only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, for the salvation of our race, and by His precious Cross didst tear asunder the handwriting of our sins, and thereby didst triumph over the principalities and powers of darkness: Do Thou Thyself, O Master, Lover of mankind, accept also from us sinners these prayers of thanksgiving and entreaty, and deliver us from every destructive and dark transgression, and from all enemies, both visible and invisible, that seek to do us evil. Nail down our flesh with the fear of Thee, and incline not our hearts unto words or thoughts of evil, but pierce our souls with longing for Thee, so that ever looking to Thee, and being guided by Thy Light as we behold Thee, the unapproachable and everlasting Light, we may send up unceasing praise and thanksgiving unto Thee, the Unoriginate Father, with Thine Only-begotten Son, and Thine All-holy and good and life-creating Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.


The entire text can be found here: http://www.saintjonah.org/services/third&sixth.htm.


St John Cassian talks about the demon of noonday: http://hagioipateres.wordpress.com/2005/06/17/the-demon-of-the-noonday/

see also http://orthodoxwiki.org/Akedia/ While we are not a desert dweller, many of us know this demon too well.

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Meeting of the Lord

We have just finished the Vigil Service for the Meeting of the Lord. This is an event in our Lord's life that should truly inspire our awe and wonder. The following selections from the service say more than any of my own words could:

O Thou Who didst hallow the Virgin’s womb by Thy birth and didst bless the hands of Symeon as was meet, by anticipation Thou hast even now saved us, O Christ God. But in the midst of battle grant peace to Thy community, and strengthen the Orthodox Christians whom Thou hast loved, O Thou Who alone lovest mankind.

Let the gates of heaven be opened today; for the unoriginate Word of the Father, receiving a beginning under time, without abandoning His divinity, is of His own will borne by His Virgin Mother into the temple of the law as a babe forty days old. And Symeon taketh Him in his arms, crying: "Let Thy servant depart, O Master, for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation! O Lord Who hast come into the world to save the human race, glory be to Thee!"

He Who loveth mankind, fulfilling the law of the Scriptures, is now borne into the temple; and the elder Symeon receiveth Him in his arms, crying: "Now Thou lettest me depart to Thy blessedness, for today I have seen clad in mortal flesh Him Who hath dominion over life and mastery over death!"

Without being separated from the bosom of the Father in Thy divinity, incarnate, as Thou didst so will, Thou wast held in the embrace of the Ever-virgin, and wast given into the arms of Symeon the God-receiver, O Thou Who holdest all things in Thy hands. Wherefore, he cried aloud with joy: "Now Thou lettest me, Thy servant, depart in peace, for I have seen Thee, O Master!"

Divine Liturgy will be at 8am tomorrow!



Redeeming the Time - February 2008

Redeeming the Time

St Nicholas Orthodox Church, Dallas TX

Rector: Priest Seraphim Holland 972-529-2754 cell:972 658-5433 seraphim@orthodox.net

St Nicholas Web Site: http://www.orthodox.net



See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. (Ephes.5:16)

February 2008

A Word from the rector

Brothers and sisters:

I am pleased with the response to our Wednesday liturgies and Tuesday evening Vespers and catechetical talks. Let me share with you some more thoughts about our prayer services, because they are at the core of who we are and what we will become.

Christianity is all about "becoming". Salvation is the untouchable being touched, the invisible being seen, the incomprehensible being comprehended, the impossible being accomplished. But we are straw, and will burn when we touch the fire, and our eyes are too weak to see God, our minds too dull to understand him, and we are so full of infirmities that we can barely do one good thing an hour and yet we are called to "be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect".

What to do? Pray! Pray in our closets, pray together, support one another in public and private prayer, talk about prayer, aid one another in our daily lives so we are more able to pray. Without prayer, we as a parish will accomplish nothing, and no person can advance in the spiritual life without fervent prayer.

Our problem, our shared human condition, is that we, individually and collectively are weak, ineffectual and inconsistent at prayer. The very thing we need the most we barely know how to do!

Here is where our faith must drive us. Let us be like Nathanael , and "come and see" what the fruits of prayer will be for our community, and ourselves.

We have many needs as a community. Our income is low (and increasing a little since our last journal, by the grace of God and your attention), we have a thousand obstacles to building our new temple, we do not yet have the "critical mass' necessary for our community to have a continuing legacy for ourselves and or children's children. We all have our own personal struggles, and we get tired.

I see only one solution to my personal struggles, and yours, and those of our community. It is prayer and the more effectual living of the spiritual life. I cannot figure out almost any of this on my own, and neither can you. We are all too weak apart from one-another, but together, we gather strength.

Do you believe this? I do, and that is why I have instituted Wednesday liturgies.

We cannot fathom the grace that God gives to those who beseech His mercy as one. At the Wednesday liturgies, I mention by name all those in the parish three times. Twice all names are mentioned aloud in the Fervent Ectenia right after the Gospel is read, and I read all names before the altar immediately after the Epiclesis.

I count it a great privilege to pray for all of you before the altar, and in my daily private prayers also. I believe with all my heart that at those moments when I pray for others, I am closest to God, and my soul is warmed and strengthened for the struggle. It is the same with all of you. Don't you agree that when we pray for another person we are acting without the self-interest that so plagues us in our daily lives in almost every other act during the day? Our prayers for one another help those we pray for and ourselves in invisible, mystical ways.

I beg each one of you to increase your participation in our parish life in any way you can. Some ideas:

  • Select 1 Wednesday liturgy a month to attend faithfully, and pray with us.

  • Attend the Tuesday Vespers and catechetical talks.

  • Confess more often, and receive communion more often.

  • Come to the Saturday Vigil more often, or start coming if you are not in the habit.

  • Print off our parish diptychs, which I previously sent. Pray for portion of the names daily, simple saying "Lord have mercy on ____"

  • ESPECIALLY! Come to church on time. It is disruptive to have people filter in, even after the Gospel has been read. I will be perfectly honest with you – it discourages greatly me to see our church less than half full as Divine Liturgy begins, with the other half arriving sometime before the end of liturgy. “My brethren, these things ought not so to be.” (James 3:10)



Lent is soon approaching. Please see the schedule; there are lots of services. I will be sending some things about fasting and the Lenten services on the BLOG and mailing list soon.

PLEASE PLAN TO ATTEND THE FORGIVENESS VESPERS. This service marks our entry into Great Lent. As a community, we must ask forgiveness of one another and stand in solidarity in prayer before the great fast begins. Forgiveness Sunday is Feb 25/Mar 09. After liturgy, we will enjoy blini, then gather for Vespers at 1 PM.

We will have a moleben and erect a cross on the Land on the Sunday of the Precious Cross (third Sunday in Great Lent). We will go to the land after Trapeza.

May God bless you and help you in all things.


Priest Seraphim, who prays for you and needs your prayers.



Name Days this month

We are not aware of any name days this month. If we have missed you, let us know!

Repentance

Already three weeks before Great Lent begins, a call to repentance sounds, both in the Sunday Gospel readings and in the texts of the Divine Services. We encounter the examples of Zacchaeus and the publican, men who came to recognize the utter baseness of their lives. We hear of the father who joyously forgives and receives the prodigal son, returned from a distant land to his father’s home. During these days, in the church we hear the prayer which begins with the words “Open unto me the doors of repentance, O Giver of Life…” What are these doors? Why, in the sermon which begins with the words “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand…” (Matthew 4:17), does Christ specifically choose to begin with a call to repentance?



The Greek word metanoia, rendered in Church Slavonic and Russian as pokayanie and in English as “repentance,” literally means “change of mind.” Its sense lies in the fact that our mind and our will move along a faithless, ruinous path toward a false goal, and that we should change their direction and move along the correct, saving path.

No less profound are the Russian words pokayanie or raskayanie. Like the word okayanstvo [being cursed], these concepts are linked to the name of the murderer Cain, of whom we read near the beginning of Genesis, the first book of the Old Testament. Not only did he, like his parents Adam and Eve, disobey the will of God and violate His injunction, but he fell even farther, defiling both his conscience and the earth itself by shedding the blood of his brother Abel. Thus, repentance, pokayanie, means one’s personal rejection of the example of Cain, one’s removal of the mark of Cain from one’s heart.

Repentance begins with a clear recognition of the chasm which we, of our own will, have established between our conscience and the perfect radiant truth of God. Until we have come to that recognition, it is possible to utterly fail to recognize our sinfulness, and to be completely imprisoned by it. In this state, man’s soul is as if wrapped in a deep sleep, like unto death; if the soul does not awaken from this bondage, it becomes actual spiritual death. In his pagan blindness, and not wanting to recognize sin in himself, man hates even the very idea of sin and, when he hears the term, is filled with irritation. There is no escape, however, from the evil and untruth which lie within us. We can force ourselves to forget them for a time, but sooner or later our conscience reminds us of them, and the unhealed wound of the spirit leads to new, ever-heavier forms of spiritual illness.

Healing begins when within our darkened soul there begins to burn a light, a light through which man both simultaneously sees himself before the judgment of God’s truth and feels the mercy of God directed to all of us. God sees us through our conscience and bears witness to Himself through the voice of our conscience. The Apostle Paul states that this enormous gift, this capacity to hear the voice of the conscience, is given to each person, not only to the Christian, but also to the pagans. When man ceases to be complacent, that complacency is replaced with shame, embarrassment, and even fear at what has been revealed to him about himself. All experienced teachers of spiritual life talk about this first step as a dangerous one, the hour before the dawn. In it a person may encounter feelings of deep despair, loss of faith in man’s capacity to correct himself and become different from what he had been. Awareness of one’s own sin, without acting upon that awareness, is not yet repentance. In His call to repentance, Christ also indicates the goal to which we are called, and because of which we have been called to move forward, “for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” In the Gospel according to Mark, we find this same call, expressed in different terms: “Repent and believe on the Gospel.”

Man can truly repent, change, and receive liberation from the burden of sin, if he hears the Word of God, and sees before him the image of incarnate truth and perfect love which was revealed to us in Christ. One cannot help but love that image. It proclaims to the soul of men that will to rebirth which is the true repentance, liberation from the mark of Cain. That is the emanation of the glorious energy of the soul for which no obstacle is insurmountable. Archpriest Victor Potapov. February, 2000.

Gleanings for the Fathers on Repentance

Someone asked Abba Poemen to explain what repentance means exactly? "Not to commit the same sin again in the future," the Elder replied. Sayings of the Desert Fathers


It is always possible to make a new start by means of repentance. 'For a righteous man may fall seven times And rise again' (Prov. 24:16). And if you fall again, then rise again, without despairing at all of your salvation, no matter what happens. So long as you do not surrender yourself willingly to the enemy, your patient endurance, combined with self-reproach, will suffice for your salvation. 'For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient,'says St. Paul, '...not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us' (Tit. 3:3,5). St. Peter of Damaskos.



...it is impossible for a man to be freed from the habit of sin before he hates it, just as it is impossible to receive forgiveness before confessing his trespasses... Monks Callistus and Ignatius (Directions to Hesychasts no. 28, Writings from the Philokalia on Prayer of the Heart; Faber and Faber pg. 199)



Repentance signifies regret, change of mind. The distinguishing marks of repentance are contrition, tears, aversion towards sin, and love of the good. "Modern Orthodox Saints, St. Nectarios of Aegina", Dr. Constantine Cavarnos, Institute for Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies, Belmont, Massachusetts., 1981., pp. 154-187


One must condescend to the soul in its infirmities and imperfections, and bear its defects as we bear those of others; one must not, however, become lazy, but should spur oneself to do better. Perhaps one has eaten too much, or done something similar to this which is natural to human weakness - do not be disturbed at this, and do not add injury to injury; but bestir yourself to correction and at the same time strive to preserve peace of soul, according to the word of the Apostle: 'Blessed is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth' (Rom. 14:22). St. Seraphim of Sarov, Little Russian Philokalia, Vol. 1



Regular Announcements

  • Fr. Seraphim asks that everyone would try to read each week's readings, according to the church calendar. We will discuss these on occasion, provide commentaries when possible, and provide a list of these readings each week. Keep an eye on the BLOG, because many of these readings are discussed there. In addition, you can find the readings each day at these web sites:

  • Please use our bookstore. We have books, icons, CD's, Pascha and Nativity cards, souveniers and other items. To make a purchase, please put the following into the donation box, together with the payment: the item name and the dollar ($) amount of the payment. There are pads for your use for this purpose in the bookstore.

  • We also have a library of books and CDs for your use. When you borrow from the library, please write the name of the book or CD on the clipboard, and return the items within four weeks. If you have materials to donate to the library, please speak to Natalia Hawthorne or email to stnatalia (at) hotmail (dot) com

  • The sisterhood is always open to new members! To join, please speak to Raisa Dudar.

  • We welcome new choir members! To join, please speak to Genevieve (Jenny) Park or email her at parknj (at) basicisp (dot) net

  • Please remember to support the parish financially.

  • Our building fund is our means of financing our land and building efforts. This fund currently contains $95,790. This is insufficient to pay for our land and building, but our goals are in reach if we put our trust in the Lord and give generously. To make a contribution, make out a check to St. Nicholas Orthodox Church, and write in the memo line, "Building Fund."


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