Almighty Lord, I know that it was through penance and mortification that your holy martyrs overcame the disorder of their burning passions and that during their lifetime they received Your help because they opened their hearts and minds to Your Spirit. Help me to truly understand that I am the temple of Your Holy Spirit and to open my mind and heart to Your presence. I know that You desire only that I come to know You as my loving God. As I request Your help, O God, I offer my praise to You, Who I know to be Father, Son and Holy Spirit, not only now but forever and ever. Amen.
Heavenly Father, as I begin this third week of the Fast, I beg the spiritual strength to sing hymns of praise to You so that I might complete this Fast in the spirit of joy. Help me to master my body’s passions so that I might be prepared to truly enter into the celebration not only the Great and Holy Week but also Easter, which is the goal of my present effort. It is truly my desire to exalt Christ as the triumphant Conqueror of Death. Help me, by the end of this week, to turn my full attention to the revelation you have made to me about life through Your Son’s Cross. As I request Your help, O God, I offer my praise to You, Who I know to be Father, Son and Holy Spirit, not only now but forever and ever. Amen.
On this second weekend of the Great Fast, the Gospel reading appointed is that of the cure of the paralytic at Capernaum. In this miracle story, Jesus approaches the healing in a different manner. The story states that When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “My son, your sins are forgiven”. One can only imagine that when the friends of the paralyzed man heard these words, especially after all the efforts they made to bring the man into the presence of Jesus, they were probably stunned. In their efforts to help their friend find a cure for his paralysis, they had truly expended a great deal of effort.
While this story may refer to a single incident in Jesus’ ministry, it may have been conflated from a miracle story and a pronouncement story in order to teach something, namely that when we judge others, as some of the witnessing scribes did Jesus, the act of judgment paralyzes the human spirit, not allowing it to witness to the love of God. The story seems to vividly contrast the faith of the friends of the paralyzed man with the judgmental attitude of the scribes. The very words of Jesus saying your sins are forgiven are meant to highlight what the act of judging others does to us. When we voluntarily engage in judgment of others, we actually paralyze our spirits and lessen us as children of God. This act of judging others truly diminishes us as children of God. Why? Because one of the hallmarks of a person who is striving to be a real child of God, is his/her willingness to allow any and all judgments about others to God. He alone can judge us.
We hear these words from Jesus:
If you want to avoid judgment, stop passing judgment.
Your verdict on others will be the verdict passed on you.
The measure with which you measure will be used to measure you.
Why look at the speck in your brother’s eye when you miss the plank in your own.
The context in which this miracle story is presented, I think, gives us some idea of what Mark was attempting to teach by recalling this story in the manner in which he did. If we remember that when the Gospels were written the followers of Jesus had not come to the conclusion that He was God incarnate, these miracle stories were used for two, basic reasons: (1) to highlight the exceptional power that Jesus had, thus highlighting the truthfulness of His message, and (2) to teach others about the attitudes and behaviors they must have in order to be followers of Jesus and children of God.
Judge not if you don’t want to be judged.
Mystical Supper
As I have shared in this article, Holy Communion in the Eastern Church is still the same coming and presence, the same joy and burning of heart, the same transrational yet absolute knowledge that the Risen Lord makes Himself known in the breaking of the bread. As shared, the celebration of the Eucharist is incompatible with fasting. So why is Communion still distributed during fasting days at the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts? Does this custom or liturgical tradition not contradict the principle of not celebrating the Eucharist during a period of fasting? There is a second understanding of Communion that comes into play and that is its meaning as the source and the sustaining power of our spiritual effort. If Communion is the fulfillment of all our efforts, the goal toward which we strive, the ultimate joy of our Christ life, it is also and of necessity the source and beginning of our spiritual effort itself, the Divine gift which makes it possible for us to know, to desire, and to strive for a more perfect communion in the day without evening of God’s Kingdom. For the Kingdom, although it has come, although it comes in the Church, is yet to be fulfilled and consummated at the end of time when God will fill all things with Himself. We know it and we partake of it in anticipation. We partake now of the Kingdom which is still to come. We foresee and foretaste its glory and blessedness but we are still on earth, and our entire earthly existence is thus a long and often painful journey toward the ultimate Lord’s Day. On this journey we need help and support. The Body and Blood of Christ becomes the essential food which keeps us spiritually alive, sustains us and helps us become Christ’s followers.
In several of the priestly prayers of the Presanctified Liturgy we pray: That partaking … [of] these consecrated Gifts … we may be united to Your Christ Himself…. We may worthily partake of Your Holy Things for the enlightenment of soul and body and for the inheritance of the Kingdom of heaven….O Lord…You have…made us communicants of Your dread Mysteries: unite us to Your spiritual flock and make us heirs of Your Kingdom….
Holy Communion is given to us during the Great Fast as a means of supporting us in our efforts to spiritually grow and truly become God’s children.
I believe that one of the statements in the last installment of this article bears repeating: Christianity was meant by Jesus to be a living experience of abiding in and loved infinitely by our Triune God Who is a community of love. I don’t know about you, but these words are so very important to me. It is truly my hope that this is the real message that I convey to all through my bulletin and especially in my ministry. I believe in the power of God’s love and believe that if people come to a true experience of His love they will do everything in their power to live in a manner that brings honor and praise to Him, our loving God.
In earlier centuries of Christianity, theology was the expression of a living, ongoing mystical experience of the indwelling Trinity. In other words, the study of God (i.e., theology) focused on the experiences that people, who were dedicated to the service of the Church, had of our living God. The central teaching of the Church revolved around the concept of Theosis, the deification of the Christian through the work of the Holy Spirit released by the risen Jesus Christ. In this process one becomes a child of God (1 John 3:1) and an heir, with Christ, of heaven.
We might ask this twofold question: What does it mean to be a child of God and an heir of heaven. It is my belief that each of us, who are truly intent in growing spiritually, must find answers to this two-fold question for ourselves. I know that too many this may seem wrong since we have been led to believe that the Church has all the answers. Those that believe this way fail to realize that they, together with others who believe that Jesus was and is God incarnate as a human being, are the Church. It is in the process of finding an answer to such a question, with the help of the Church that we spiritually grow!
Think about your answer to this question
Our Church, as all Churches that use and follow the rituals of the Byzantine Church of Constantinople, approaches the period of preparation for Easter in a very intense manner. It is probably the most liturgically developed part of the Church year. For example, each week of the Great Fast presents us not only a particular theme but also with specific commemorations. The themes presented each week are connected to the Gospel passages which are read on the weekends – passages that were used to teach early converts about the faith.
We must remember that the Great Fast, once it was developed, was a time when persons who were becoming Christian were taught about the Good News that Jesus revealed. It was a time of learning and preparation for initiation into the Church. We do well, therefore, to think about the Gospel message each week and ask ourselves what the Church is attempting to teach us about our faith.
Each week of the Great Fast also has special commemorations, largely based on historical events. For example, on the very first weekend of the Great Fast we remembered the end of iconoclasm and the reestablishment of the veneration of icons. The commemoration of this event also has great meaning for us today as we engage in the use of icons to help us in prayer.
On the second week of the Great Fast we our Father among the Saints, St. Gregory Palamas. The condemnation of his enemies and the vindication of his teachings by the Church in the 14th century was acclaimed as a second triumph of the true faith. I would hasten to note that the vindication of Gregory took place after the Great Schism and so we find that the Western Church does not always recognize him. He is, however, one of the preeminent Fathers of the Eastern Church.
I believe that one of the reasons why the Western Church has had difficulty dealing with the writings of Gregory is that they are very mystical. For example, Gregory addresses the question of how it is possible for humans to have knowledge of God Who is transcendent and unknowable, he drew a distinction between knowing God in his essence (in Greek, ουσία) and knowing God in his energies (in Greek, ενέργειαι), that is to know what God does, and who he is in relation to the creation and to mankind.
A fourth help in the process of finding the right path that leads to holiness, is the community of disciples. We can get feedback from the people on the journey with us, especially from a spiritual guide or friend. If we have someone who cares for us, knows us and is honest with us, that person can give us feedback on the decision we are considering or on the course of action we have been following. If we have a friend who has had to make the same or a similar decision and is willing to share what worked and what didn’t work, we are very fortunate. If our spiritual friend is learned, he or she can suggest various options that we may not have considered. What we do not need in making decisions is someone who tells us what we are supposed to do or not to do. It is not easy to trust another with our secrets. It is very easy to think that our problems and choices are unique, but when we do find a person or a small group with whom we can be honest, we find that our problems are both unique and common.
Universal Call to Holiness
One of the problems in our modern world is that we don’t necessarily talk about religion with others, even our best friends. Another problem that seems to be rampant in our modern world is the ability to trust others.
Trust seems to be difficult to establish in our modern world because trust can make us vulnerable. Not only do we dislike the feeling of vulnerability, we know that we are vulnerable to being hurt. And yet the reality is this: if we can’t learn to trust, which is only done in the present moment with real persons, we can never really learn to trust God.
Learning how to take the risk to trust others helps us to develop the ability to trust God. I know that people don’t like to hear this and want to assert that they trust God but don’t trust other human beings. This is really and truly impossible. If you can’t trust people who you see, what makes you think that you can trust someone, even a God, who you cannot see.
So this is one of the challenges that face us as we journey through life. O God, help us learn to trust!
This ongoing article has been presenting ideas during the past several weeks, about the Letter of Paul to the Hebrews. With this installment I will conclude the consideration of this Letter.
The ending chapters (12-13) of the Letter contain practical counsel for the specific community for which it was written. Some of it can be seen as definite encouragement to a community that was under pressure. Recipients of the Letter are told to persevere, to endure trials, to lift their drooping hands and strengthen their weak knees, to avoid bitterness and definitely not to sell their birthright.
Some of it is a reminder of ethical teachings that are to shape their lives. They are to let mutual love continue, show hospitality to strangers and remember those in prison; be faithful in marriage, free from the love of money and content with what they have; and do good and share. In the midst of these is one of the best-known verses from Hebrews: Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. The context is ethical; they are to remember what they had been taught. Thus after its unique presentation of Jesus as high priest and sacrifice, Hebrews ends with ethical teachings common to early Christianity.
To many modern readers and even scholars, Hebrews is a strange book filled with references to ancient practices, with the presuppositions of a wholly different culture and with images that evoke no recognition in the 21st century. It is true that to understand Hebrews the reader must understand the Old Testament. Yet for all its strangeness, the book continues to truly fascinate modern readers because of its very vivid images, its relentless argument that refuses to detour from the main point, its very stirring remembrances of the heroes of the faith and most of all, its almost breathtaking portrait of Jesus – the ultimate priest who, for ourselves for a time, was made a little lower than the angels. This Jesus captivates the mind and imagination of thoughtful readers – this Jesus who not only gave strength to those enduring persecution two thousand years ago, but who still today gives strength to those facing the possibility of persecution.
How does one write to suffering Christians and tell them to stay faithful despite the price they are paying? The author simply points them to Jesus and says: This is the right thing to do since God Himself willingly endured suffering to show us His love.
In this article I have been sharing ideas about Jesus Christ that have been derived from such Eastern Fathers of the Church as John of Damascus. I would continue sharing these ideas.
The three days when Christ’s humanity suffered the common fate of man (i.e., death) and yet remained mysteriously en-hypostasized in the one divine hypostasis of the Logos, is graphically represented in the traditional Byzantine icon of the Resurrection, that is Christ trampling down the gates of Hades (i.e., Sheol) and lifting Adam and Eve back to life. It should be noted that in the Western world the Resurrection is always represented by Christ coming out of the tomb. In the Eastern world, the Resurrection is always represented by the impact that the Lord’s resurrection had on creation, namely restoring life to Adam and Eve who, since Genesis, were seen as the original parents of humanity. Better than any conceptual language and better than the image of any particular event or aspect of the mystery — such as the empty tomb or even the crucifixion itself – this icon points to the dynamic, soteriological dimension of Christ’s death: God’s intrusion into His creation. The mystery of the hypostatic unity, which remained unbroken in death itself, is also expressed in the Byzantine liturgy of Great and Holy Week. Our Church prays at Jerusalem Matins, which are traditionally prayed on the evening of Great and Good Friday:
The fall of Adam resulted in the Death of a man, not God. For, though the substance of Your earthly body suffered, Your Divinity remained passionless, transforming the corrupt to incorruptibility and, by Your Resurrection, You uncovered the incorrupt fountain of life. AND…
Mourn not for me, Mother, as You behold Me in the grave. For I, Your Son, Whom you conceived in your womb without seed, shall rise and shall be glorified and, being God, will ceaselessly exalt and ennoble those who, in faith and longing, magnify you. AND… The earth, O my mother, has hidden me by my own will and the gate-keepers of Hades trembled at behold Me clothed with a robe spattered with revenge. For I, being God, have vanquished my enemies with the Cross and I will rise again and magnify you.
The hidden, yet decisive, triumph over death permeates all of the Great Week liturgical celebrations. Our Church never sees the crucifixion separate from the resurrection. One discovered in the texts of our services the ultimate reason why Cyril’s theopaschite formula became a criterion of eastern theology in the sixth century: death was vanquished precisely because God Himself had tasted of it hypostatically in the humanity which He had assumed. This is the paschal message of Christianity.
Hopefully this idea will enhance not only our journey of preparation for the Great Day (Easter) but also cause us to be filled with great joy when we come to celebrate the Lord’s Resurrection.
During this week, attempt to find some way to help those who are homeless or poor. It might mean making a small donation to some organization that helps the poor. There are several big parishes that have outreach programs. Part of this practice is to discover ways and means to help those who are less fortunate that you. Seek and you will find