In order to acquire the mind of Christ, one of the first things we must do is to enter into the very heart of the Eastern Christian faith, the Divine Liturgy. It is in the Liturgy where we meet the Lord and learn to abide and live with Him. Not only this. It is through the Liturgy that one finds and works out one’s salvation. In the liturgical life of our Church, we find the Mind of the Church, which is the Mind of Christ. Through regular participation in the cycle of feasts throughout the year, we absorb and acquire this Mind and make it our own, enabling us to learn how not only to think, but also how to understand the world, God, ourselves and each other. We must never see the Liturgy and the liturgical life of the Church as something extra. It is through the grace that we receive at each Liturgy that we are enabled to enter eternity, and are empowered to escape corruption, sin and death, because what we are offered and receive is nothing other that the Life of God Himself.

This requires that we see the Liturgy as our true opportunity to encounter our living God by “actively remembering” that He came into our world to model, through the Person of Jesus, how we must live. It is important that we don’t try to find ways to object to the vision of Christ about how to live.

He clearly showed us, through His life and death, that we must UNCONDITIONALLY learn how to love and forgive all others, regardless of how they live, regardless of how they act, regardless of what threat they present even to our actual existence. Jesus showed us, by the way that He endured His crucifixion and death, that it is important how we come to live, think and behave. We cannot let the ignorance and hatred of others change or resolve to be like Jesus. He is the model God has given us about how humans should live if they desire to enter into the fullness of life. This means not judging others and, absolutely, not allowing their behavior to steer us away from the model of how humans should live, namely Jesus Christ. We are called to strive to live like Him, with His attitudes of mind and heart and with His way of responding to the challenges of life. If we allow the hatred of others to change our commitment to a life “LIKE JESUS”, then we have failed to hear the message of God about why He became a human in the Person of Jesus. Think about this and become determined!