The Divine Liturgy and Our Worship of God — 20141221

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It is truly proper and just to worship our Triune God. This is what Jesus revealed to us. Our Divine Liturgy continues that which Jesus began, namely the worship of our Triune God by offering our very lives to Him in thanksgiving for the Gift of Life. This requires, however, that we are truly thankful for the life we have. So the one very important disposition we must have when we come to the Divine Liturgy is that of gratitude for the life we have been given, even with all of its struggles and challenges. The beginning sequence of the Anaphora duly reminds us of this.

Having stated that we are grateful for the life we have, we then symbolically join our voices with those of the angels standing before the Throne of God and sing: Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts.

The first line of this prayer comes from the hymn of the seraphim in Isaiah 6:3 and Revelation 4:8. The second part is what the crowd cried to Jesus at his triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Mt 21:9), which is modeled after Psalm 118:25. Hosanna is a Hebrew term which is derived from the words yasha, which means save, and na, which is an expression of entreaty or request. The Hebrew terms were combined – yasha na (O Save), as in Psalm 118:25 – and this became hosanna.

It was used as part of the Jewish temple liturgy during the feast of Tabernacles, when the priests carried willow branches and cried Hosanna while processing around the altar of burnt offering. Over time, the crowd gathered to worship picked it up and it became a cry of joy.

palm sunday Thus the crowd greeted the Messiah by waving palm branches and joyfully crying Hosanna to him as he entered Jerusalem. The expression Hosanna to the Son of David was an exhortation to acclaim or praise the Messiah in hopes of deliverance probably from the hated Romans in the mind of the crowd.

The expression Hosanna in the highest is more mysterious. Suggestions have included the idea that it is an exhortation (1) to us to cry Hosanna to God, (2) to the angels to cry Hosanna to God and (3) for there to be songs of praise in heaven. Hosanna has been used as part of Christian worship since the first century. It appears in the Didache (70 CE).

It is critical, I think, that we realize that when we celebrate the Divine Liturgy we are joined by the heavenly host in offering praise and worship to God. The Divine Liturgy calls us to remember what the Lord did and is doing right now in our lives. He is calling us to worship God by offering our very lives, as Jesus did, back to God in thanksgiving for the wondrous gift of life. This, I would remind you, calls us to be thankful for the life we are experiencing right now and not some life we would like to have!   Gratitude is essential for worship!

 

Gaining a Deeper Understanding of the New Testament — 20141221

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Gospel-of-Matthew-BannerIn the last issue of this article I shared an impression about Matthew’s gospel. Although the most Jewish in nature, it   conveys a heightened hostility toward Jews. This calls for further comment.

The conflict between the early Christians and the Jewish community was particularly intense in and near the Jewish homeland, where there were, of course, large Jewish communities. The early Jewish-Christians, as you might guess, were typically from outlying areas like Galilee. Two factors were primarily responsible for this hostility. The first was the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in the year 70. Not only did the Roman reconquest mean the loss of the temple, the traditional center of Judaism, it also resulted in a decrease in the Jewish population. Many were killed. These particular circumstances naturally led to a greater emphasis on Jewish identity and the social boundaries that maintained that identity and distinguished Jews from non-Jews.

The second reason was the growing number of Gentile Christians, especially outside of the homeland. Though Gentiles were still a minority of Christians and would remain so for perhaps another century or so, early Christian communities increasingly included Gentiles who had not become Jews. The men remained uncircumcised and adherence to Jewish food and purity laws were not required.

The more Gentiles there were, the less the movement struck other Jews as a form of Judaism. Rather, it seemed to transgress and transcend the boundaries of Judaism. Its success in the Gentile world began the process of separation from Judaism, the parting of the ways.

The conflict led to what has been called the “Jewish persecution of Christians.” It began in the decades around the time Matthew wrote. Compared to the much later Christian persecution of Jews, it was mild and seldom lethal. We have only two stories of Jewish followers of Jesus being killed by other Jews, in   both cases by temple authorities: the martyrdom of Stephen (Acts 7) and of James (executed in the early 60s). That is all.

Jewish persecution of Christian Jews in the decades after 70 took the form of social ostracism, called “expulsion from the synagogue.” It was far more serious than being expelled from a church today. We can always find another church. To be expelled from the synagogue, that is “the gathering” or “assembly”, which is what the word meant, resulted in exclusion from the Jewish community. Though we do not know the details of what this included,   presumably it meant no marriage between Christian Jews and non-Christians Jews and perhaps the severing of family and economic relationships. These are the reasons Matthew sounds more hostile.

The result: Christianity as a religion!

The Spirituality of the Christian East — 20141221

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Perhaps the one thing that differentiates Eastern Spirituality from the all others is its concept of Theosis. I have, over that past several years, written much about this idea. However, no matter how much I write and read about it the more I discover. I would like, over the next several weeks, to reintroduce the topic and have us look at it and think about it again.

Eastern theology calls the potential for which God created us Theosis. It’s really a very simple concept, namely the core of the Good News. It means strengthening and increasing God’s likeness in us. It understands that God came in the Person of Jesus, the Christ, to show us how to live so that the reality of God’s Spirit within us might truly direct our lives and become evident to us.

Theosis is, in truth, the positive aspect of salvation, which deals with the personal transformation that earthly life is designed to promote and support. St. Gregory of Nazianzus, one of the great Cappadocian Fathers, defines a human being as “a being in the process of being deified”. Man alone, out of all of God’s creations, was created in such a way that the task of existence is to spiritually grow and to actualize the potential of becoming like God. Our calling to become partakers of the divine nature, is what sets us apart from the rest of creation. Created in the image of the Triune God, we find our true self in the image of the Triune God, in the God-Man, Jesus Christ.

To be perfect as God, is impossible for us. But to keep moving toward perfection is always within our possibility with the help of God. In Eastern spirituality, salvation is not a state of being; it is the motion toward Theosis, toward becoming like God, toward union with God, which can never be fully achieved here on earth. It is growth toward perfection. It is moving from self-centeredness to Christ, from slavery to freedom, from darkness to light, from falsehood to truth, from despair to hope, from death to life.

Theosis is coming to a true understanding of who we are in God’s creation!

Our Spiritual Journey Through the St. Phillip’s Fast, Sunday, December 21st

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 Almighty God, I again join my voice with my Church and pray: Let me cast aside all the slothfulness of sleep and rouse up my soul to sing to Christ, born of the spotless Virgin: “All you works of the Lord, bless the Lord”. May the practice of the virtues be adequate in the treasury of my heart, that with an enlightened face, I may sing to the infant Christ: “All you works of the Lord, bless the Lord! Let me offer to You, O my merciful Lord, good works in thanksgiving for the great love You have shown me and help me to truly offer praise to You for becoming Incarnate for the sake of my salvation. I ask this of You Who I call Father, Son and Holy Spirit not only now but forever and ever. Amen

December 21, 2014

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We celebrate today the memory of the Ancestors of Christ.
Sing with fervor a hymn of praise to Christ the Savior who magnified them among all nations. He is the Lord Who does wondrous deeds because He is powerful and mighty, and Who shows us His strength through these Ancestors.
Tree of Jesse

Behold, our forty-day preparation for the feast of the Nativity has almost come to an end. As we begin our final days of preparation for this glorious feast, the Church has us remember the Ancestors of Christ. Matthew’s Gospel begins with a genealogy of Jesus, saying: a family record of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of  Abraham.

The Eastern Church’s icon representing Jesus’ family lineage traditionally begins with Jesse and not with Abraham. Jesse was the father of King David who made Jerusalem his capitol and reconquered Canaan in the “Promised Land.” He reigned for 40 years and then named Solomon his successor. He was the king who, after King Saul, ruled the consolidated the Kingdom of Judah and Israel. He is said to be the composer of the Psalms and the one who killed Goliath.

The Tree of Jesse is a depiction in art of the ancestors of Christ, shown in a tree which rises from Jesse of Bethlehem and is the original use of the family tree to schematically present a genealogy. It originates in a passage in the Book of Isaiah which describes metaphorically the descent of the Messiah and is accepted by Christians as referring to Jesus. The various figures depicted in the lineage of Jesus are drawn from those names listed in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. The genealogies of Jesus found in both Matthew and Luke are not parallel, nor are there parallels elsewhere in their Gospels. It is difficult to reconcile some of the details in the accounts of Matthew and Luke. The absence of the infancy narratives in Mark suggests very strongly that these narratives did not exist in the earliest forms of Christian traditions about Jesus and that the various traditions about the infancy were only formed later. Matthew’s version of the traditions is greatly affected by the use of Old Testament texts.

The purpose of the genealogy is to show that Jesus is the Messiah, the term in the history of salvation that was begun with the promises to Abraham.

The genealogy is deliberately compiled in three sets of fourteen names – fourteen being a multiple of seven. It is divided at the two critical points of Israelite history, the foundation of the monarchy of David and the collapse of the monarchy of Judah in the Babylonian conquest of 587 BCE. The artificiality of the numbers is maintained by the omission of some names. Matthew follows the line of the kings of Judah.

Luke’s Gospel follows a cognate line.

Matthew’s genealogy up to Zerubbabel could be formed by copying from a text in the Old Testament. For the rest of the genealogy, there is no documentary source with which we can compare it.

Four women appear in the genealogy: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and Bethsheba. No principle governs their inclusion. The only common element is that they were foreigners.

The number fourteen in the third group can be maintained only by including Mary or by  counting Jesus and Christ as two. It is possible that a name was omitted in the early transmission of the text. One could explain the inclusion of Mary because of the virgin birth, clearly declared in the following passage. If Jesus and Christ are counted as two, the duality could be understood as referring to his nativity in the flesh and to his Second Coming. In Matthew such an eschatological allusion is common.

The reconciliation of the divergent genealogies of Matthew and Luke already was a celebrated problem in patristic times. Reconciliation assumes that both genealogies are compiled from reliable records. It is know that genealogies were kept in the post-exilic Jewish community, but this does not prove that genealogies were available to Matthew and Luke. It is much simpler to suppose that each genealogy was compiled artificially where the biblical record failed or where Luke, for reasons of his own, chose not to follow the line of the kings of Judah.

As some scholars look at the two different genealogies, they deduce that Matthew’s genealogy is actually that of Joseph and Luke’s is that of Mary. It seems that Bethlehem was actually Joseph’s hometown.

Why did both Matthew and Luke construct their genealogies? I think for several reasons: (1) to prove that Jesus was of the House of David and the awaited Messiah; (2) to prove that He was a real human being with a family lineage; and (3) to locate Him in time. Further, it is important to note, only members of royal families ever had a genealogy developed. Having His own genealogy gives Jesus the true stature of royalty. Also, when you remember the prophecy of Isaiah which stated that the Messiah would find His root in the House of Jesse, King David’s father, it all begins to make sense. We have to remember that when the Gospels were written, the Christians didn’t have a clear idea of the virgin birth and the divinity of Jesus. The Messiah was never prophesied as God incarnate in the Old Testament. He was the Son of Man, a great prophet and king who would free Israel from captivity and rule over the People of God. We must remember that God’s promised Messiah was not a king.

That’s what the people wanted!

nativity

Our Spiritual Journey Through the St. Phillip’s Fast, Saturday, December 20th

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 O Heavenly Father, help me to truly join my voice with my Church and pray: O God, let me celebrate the fore-feast of the Nativity of Christ. Let me join the Magi and the shepherds in their hymns of praise by chanting: Behold, the Savior of mankind has come forth from the Virgin to call back to Himself the whole human race. Heavenly Father, it is my prayer and hope that I will truly celebrate Your birth in a spiritual manner, not allowing myself to be distracted by the way my society celebrates this feast. Open my heart and mind to the great love that this feast expresses. I ask this of You Who I call Father, Son and Holy Spirit not only now but forever and ever. Amen.

Our Spiritual Journey Through the St. Phillip’s Fast, Friday, December 19th

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Most Holy Trinity, I continue my petition for Your help in preparing myself to celebrate the real meaning of Christmas. I find it so difficult to keep focused on the spiritual meaning of this feast because of the great focus my society places on gift-giving and merry-making as the way to observe the day. Help me to intensify my fasting and prayer so that I can celebrate Christmas in a spiritual manner, offering thanks to You, my Loving God. I know that Christmas is truly a day that celebrates Your great love for me and all humankind. Therefore give me the strength to be truly thankful for the gift of life which this feast truly makes know to me. I ask this of You Who I call Father, Son and Holy Spirit not only now but forever and ever. Amen.

Our Spiritual Journey Through the St. Phillip’s Fast, Thursday, December 18th

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Almighty God, the days grow ever fewer before we celebrate the birth of Your Son Jesus. Help me to persevere in my efforts to prepare myself spiritually to celebrate this winter feast. I am feeling distracted from the true meaning of Christmas because of what I have allowed myself to feel is necessary for me to do to observe this day. I ask Your help in keeping me focused on preparing my life for a spiritual celebration of Christmas. Help me to truly remember that Christmas is a Holy Day, a day of thanksgiving and prayer and not just a holiday. I ask this of You Who I call Father, Son and Holy Spirit not only now but forever and ever. Amen.

Our Spiritual Journey Through the St. Phillip’s Fast, Wednesday, December 17th

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Heavenly Father, this day we remember the prophet Daniel. We pray: Your pure heart was enlightened by the Holy Spirit so that It could become an instrument of prophecy. I ask You to enlightened my heart by your Holy Spirit so that I might live like Your Son Jesus lived. Help me, like Daniel, to proclaim Your goodness and mercy. Help me, like him, to focus my life on becoming Your child. As I prepare to celebrate Your Incarnation as a human, O Lord, help me to understand that You are within me and call me, like Jesus, to make Your kingdom real by the way I treat others. Help me also, O Heavenly Father, to know that You love me. I ask this in Your name, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever. Amen.

PASTORAL MESSAGE OF THE UKRAINIAN CATHOLIC HIERARCHY OF THE U.S.A.

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PASTORAL MESSAGE OF THE UKRAINIAN CATHOLIC HIERARCHY OF THE U.S.A.
TO OUR CLERGY, HIEROMONKS AND BROTHERS, RELIGIOUS SISTERS,
SEMINARIANS AND BELOVED FAITHFUL

CHRIST IS BORN!

nativity“Glory to God in the highest, and peace [to men of good will/to those on whom His favor rests].” (Luke 2: 14)

Our preparations for the great feast of the Nativity of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ bring to mind the song of the angels at Bethlehem. It is good for us to meditate upon them during this season, and perhaps even to let this meditation influence our New Year’s resolution as we prepare also for the arrival of 2015. It is especially important to remember the angelic promise of peace this year since there seems to be so little peace these days: we need to be reminded that, despite the headlines which scream of “man’s inhumanity to man”, God’s plan for us is different from the one inflicted upon the world by leaders whose cold, calculating ambition and insatiable greed know no bounds, thugs for whom people are merely tools to be used and discarded, for whom life is of no value.

The ancient song was first heard in a world which, although separated from us by two millennia and by a wide technological chasm, was really not so different in terms of human nature. What was that world? Saint Paul tells the Galatians “When the fullness of time had come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to ransom those under the law, so that we might receive adoption. (4: 4-5)” Does this mean that everything was perfect? Far from it! Some romantics like to point out that Jesus was born during what was referred to as the Pax Romana – that is, the “Roman Peace”. Outwardly, it may have looked as though peace reigned throughout the Roman world, but that peace was only maintained by Roman state-sponsored terror tactics – tactics like the crucifixion to which Jesus would eventually be sentenced since he was considered a threat to that very same Pax Romana. Not to be outdone by the cruelty of the Romans, the petty monarch Herod resorted to infanticide when faced with the same newborn threat to his power, ordering the murder of every male child under the age of two. Such was the Pax Romana; it is no wonder that the people seethed under the conqueror’s boot! The Romans and their puppets had reason to fear rebellion.

So what about “the fullness of time”? A possible answer can be found in any of the twelve-step programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous. According to the twelve-step paradigm, people with addictions are often not ready to change their lives until they have “hit bottom” – in other words, until their life has gotten so bad that there is no way to go but up. Perhaps this was the realization which was dawning on the people at that time. Can’t you hear them moaning as they pray to God for relief in the words of Psalm 123?

To you I raise my eyes,
to you enthroned in heaven.
Yes, like the eyes of servants
on the hand of their masters,
Like the eyes of a maid
on the hand of her mistress,
So our eyes are on the Lord our God,
till we are shown favor.
Show us favor, Lord, show us favor,
for we have our fill of contempt.
Our souls are more than sated
with mockery from the insolent,
with contempt from the arrogant.

It is to such people, seeking to be ransomed from the violence and disorder of their world, that the angels sang of peace.

Nothing much has changed in two thousand years: if anything, our technology has made us more effective at inflicting murder and mayhem. Nonetheless, we dare bravely to join our voices in the angels’ song, stubbornly refusing to give up on the promise of peace. As we do so, we must remember that peace is not a gift which, like the snow, comes down from heaven to refresh the earth and hide the scars we have inflicted. Rather, it is our task, our vocation. As Pope Paul VI reminds us, “If you want peace, work for justice.” The prophet Isaiah (2: 3-5; 11: 6-9) provides just such a glorious vision of people striving together for the peace which God intends for the world, and then enjoying the fruits of their labors:

Many peoples shall come and say:
“Come, let us go up to the Lord’s mountain,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
That he may instruct us in his ways,
and we may walk in his paths.”
For from Zion shall go forth instruction,
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations,
and set terms for many peoples.
They shall beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks;
One nation shall not raise the sword against another,
nor shall they train for war again.
House of Jacob, come,
let us walk in the light of the Lord!

                        …

Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat;
The calf and the young lion shall browse together,
with a little child to guide them.
The cow and the bear shall graze,
together their young shall lie down;
the lion shall eat hay like the ox.
The baby shall play by the viper’s den,
and the child lay his hand on the adder’s lair.
They shall not harm or destroy on all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the Lord,
as water covers the sea.

 “With a little child to Guide them” – ah, yes, the newborn Prince of Peace. May His peace be with all of us, and with our world, in this holy season and throughout the year to come.

+Stefan Soroka
Archbishop of Philadelphia for Ukrainians
Metropolitan of Ukrainian Catholics in the United States

+Richard Seminack (author)
Eparch of St. Nicholas in Chicago

+Paul Chomnycky, OSBM
Eparch of Stamford

+ Bohdan Danylo
Eparch of St. Josaphat in Parma

+John Bura
Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia

 

Christmas 2014