Gaining a Deeper Understanding of the New Testament — 20150508

Posted on by

the_four_evangelistsA “gospel” is a new kind of literary form. There is nothing quite like it outside of the New Testament (NT). The later apocryphal gospels, works for the most part of Christian piety, are pale reflections of the real thing (the term ‘apocryphal’ means that they are not Scripture). Our gospels are a mixture of narrative and discourse, centered on the person, life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, with special emphasis on his death and resurrection. The gospels are documents that are both historical and religious – and there ought not to be a division between ‘fact’ and ‘interpretation.’ Indeed, interpretation is certainly necessary if an occurrence, that is what happens, is to have meaning and impact. And the interest and meaning which an event bore for those who were conscious of it as event and felt its impact becomes part of the event, and therefore becomes historical in its turn. The evangelists presented the ‘facts’ with the intention of bringing out the meaning which the events had for those who encountered them. They set out to voice the faith of the early Church. The very nucleus of that faith was that the crucified Jesus had risen from the dead.

The NT is all about a person whose role in   history has been and is remembered by those who believed and believe that He was and is a very special person and also uniquely connected to God. The starting point for an account of the mission of Jesus is his encounter with John the baptizer: the call which Jesus experienced when he was baptized by John. Jesus was conscious of being authorized to communicate God’s revelation because God had made himself know to him as Father. His ‘Abba’ as a form of address to God truly expressed the mystery of the mission of Jesus. At his baptism he came to understand his mission as Messiah, Son of God and Servant of the Lord, in the power of the Spirit albeit, he would not have thought of God in these particular terms in the same way that we do.

Like John, Jesus truly understood that he must refocus those of the Jewish faith by telling them that the Kingdom was at hand and that the way they lived and their attitudes about others was and is important. Like the prophets before him, Jesus called people to personal change.

Reflections on the Scriptural Readings for this Weekend — 20160501

Posted on by
The Man Born Blind

The Man Born Blind

As we begin this sixth Paschal week, our readings are again taken from the Acts of the Apostles and the Gospel of John. The reading from Acts accounts Paul’s imprisonment in Philippi. Paul became imprisoned because he became annoyed with a clairvoyant girl who kept following him and Silas and declaring “These men are servants of the Most High God; they will make known to you a way of salvation.” One truly wonders why Paul became annoyed since she was proclaiming that they had an important message that people might want to hear. Paul, being annoyed with the young woman, drove out the spirit within her that allowed her to be clairvoyant. This, of course, caused a loss of revenue for her handlers and therefore they had Paul and Silas thrown into prison. Scholars comment very little on this story.

Our Gospel reading is taken from John’s account of Jesus curing a man born blind. The particular emphasis in this story is that the man was blind from birth! Jesus, obviously, gives him sight.

I believe that the message this weekend contrasts these two stories. The girl in Acts was clairvoyant. She did not derive her insight from Jesus, even though her insight was right on target.

The man born blind did not know who Jesus was but he encountered Jesus and was granted the gift of sight. It was Jesus Who gave him the ability to see

I thought about this and I realized that any faith we might have in Jesus must come from Jesus. We must accept Him as the one Who can give us “sight” to see what is true. Only Jesus can make known to us the way to salvation. We must listen to His word and embrace His way of living.

We must realize that the gift of understanding the revelation of God through Jesus is a gift that we can only receive from God and that the ability to believe this message is also a gift from God.

So we must not only be thankful for this gift but also make sure that we don’t judge others who have not received this gift. Belief in Jesus is God’s gift to us because He, through life, knows that this belief will help us to spiritually grow. It doesn’t mean that He loves us more than non-Christians. Rather it does mean that He knows that this gift is exactly right for us to help us spiritually grow

ACQUIRING THE MIND OF CHRIST — 20160501

Posted on by

christ_iconIn order to acquire the mind of Christ, a person must begin to embrace His attitudes of mind and ways of thinking. These are found, as I am sure all of my readers already know, in the Gospels and the Tradition of the Church. I cannot believe that any person who professes to be Christian is unaware of the attitudes that Jesus had about God, life and others.

It must be admitted, however, that some of the attitudes of Jesus are not as explicit as others. For example, did Jesus have an attitude about human salvation? He did but not, probably, as explicit as we would like.

Unfortunately, modern Christians tend to think of salvation in terms of a life to come after death. In truth, Jesus thought of salvation as a way of living in this present world – a way of becoming an authentic human being who lives like God intended humans to live. Salvation is not a goal to be reached – an end-point that people work towards. Rather, salvation is a process.

Eastern theology preserves the truth that salvation is the process of sanctification: personal growth toward the image of God, following Christ’s example (Theosis). It is an ongoing process made possible by God’s help (grace) and is fueled by faith and continues through and beyond our last breath on earth. We are saved by grace, through faith.

St. John Chrysostom writes that we are the ones who determine the measure of God’s help. The less we believe, hope and trust, the less of God’s help we can receive. The process of salvation is synergistic. It is a cooperative effort between man and God, “which is simultaneously past, present and future. The Eastern Church says: I WAS SAVED when Jesus Christ died on the Cross (Past). He indeed made my salvation possible. Before He did this, the only path to Heaven was perfection through the Law, an impossible feat. That the Lord “paid” the penalty of death for our sins is not to be taken in the literal sense as a price exacted by and given in remuneration to someone but as the Savior accepting the painful consequences for the wrongful actions of others. When God took on flesh, the Son of God subjected Himself to death. Under the terms of the Blood Covenant death cannot hold anyone who is united with Christ through Baptism and Eucharist as part of a life of faith.

God created humankind with a singular purpose, namely to use the opportunities present by life to grow in the likeness of Jesus.

GAINING A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF OUR FAITH — 20160501

Posted on by
Saint Maximos the Confessor Преподобный Максим Исповедник Μαξίμου του Ομολογητού

Saint Maximos the Confessor
Преподобный Максим Исповедник
Μαξίμου του Ομολογητού

In this article I have been sharing with my readers what I believe is the basic difference between Eastern Christian and Western Christian understanding of salvation. In the East, our traditional story of salvation commences not with man as sinner but with man as sharer in the life of God. It contemplates first, the goal of redemption, which is man’s participation in the divine nature. Thus, when the church Fathers asked, Why Incarnation? They answered Deification, that is man’s participation in the life of God.

Maximus the Confessor (580-662) was an heir to this Tradition. Pursuing the question of why God        became man, Maximus wrote of God’s eternal purpose, the mystery according to Christ. Relying on the epistles to the Colossians and Ephesians, Maximus appealed to the mystery revealing the great counsel of God, hidden from all previous generations of our flesh – namely, the plan to confer his own nature on the human race. In the mind of Maximus there was a radical correspondence, then, between the     Incarnation and deification (Theosis).

For Maximus, this plan of divine Providence was no afterthought. In creation itself, the Word’s Incarnation and man’s deification were already determined: Looking toward this very goal, God brought forth the essences of the things that exist.

For Maximus this relationship between Incarnation and deification lay at the root, not only of creation, but also of the whole of Sacred Scripture. It is revealed, he said, to those initiated into the Cross and Resurrection of the Savior. Maximus wrote in a very dense reflection:

They mystery of the Word’s embodying has the power of all enigmas and types in the Scriptures, and the understanding of creatures, whether visible or perceived with the mind. And he that knows the mystery of the Cross and the grave also knows the defining reasons of these things. But he that is initiated into the unspeakable power of the Resurrection knows the goal God established even as He brought forth all things.

Maximus’ true understanding of redemption is not based on a philosophical, prebaptismal evaluation of sin, but on the fullness of the Christian revelation, the mystery according to Christ. For Maximus, the order of things is not established apart from Christ.

The theologically adequate answer to the question “Why Incarnation?” is given to the Church, not as a point determined by apologetics but by the sacramental – mystical – initiation into the Cross and Resurrection of Christ.

Learning Our Faith From the Greek Fathers of the Church — 20160501

Posted on by

john-chrysostomIn the last issue I shared with you St. John Chrysostom’s concept of the condescension of God involved in His Incarnation. His concept involved a distinction between the essence and energies of God. In this there is a remarkable resemblance between his concept and that of Basil the Great. I realize that to many this makes very little sense. This involves how they thought about God. God by His essence, is a being which is truly beyond our comprehension. We can say things about Him but, in truth, we cannot truly understand what type of being He is. All we can say, in truth, is what He is not. This is the true Eastern Christian approach. God, we must say, is not limited and that all the powers that are His are beyond any limitations. He is limitless and everywhere at the same time. There is no time in Him and His powers are greater than any powers of humankind. Truly His consciousness pervades all things and He creates out of nothingness, or by a simple act of His will, expressed in His Word.

So, as you see, He is truly beyond our human comprehension. All we can do, however, is see Him in His energies or actions. We see a dynamic universe which is constantly in motion and filled with energies of all sorts. Our God must be dynamic and yet never changing, if you can understand that. We can only know Him through His creation. His creation is dynamic, possessing the qualities of beauty, intelligence, instinct and structure. As we gain insight into the universe, we see that it is limitless and yet it is also individualized.

The scriptures attempt to find language to express Who God is. The revelation of Tabor truly demonstrates that the language which Scripture employs in order to describe the revelation of God to man should not be interpreted literally, but, rather, as St. John puts it, it should be understood “in a manner befitting God.” Thus we should raise our minds to the meaning that the words of Scripture seek to convey. According to John, therefore, Scripture likens the Light of Tabor to the sun and snow because there is nothing brighten within the realm of human experience to which this particular light might be likened. John is thus not interested in metaphor or figurative language. He was not given to an allegorical interpretation of Scripture, which makes his interpretation all the more striking.

John describes the light of Tabor, which is meant to give humans an experience of the Godhead, as a Light even greater than the experience of the Sun which shines upon earth.

Understanding Our Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church — 20160501

Posted on by

image379As I have been stressing in this article, for our worship to become “real” we must not only begin to “mean” all the words that we say/sing but also to become truly involved with all the actions of the Divine Liturgy. We think about what the Entrances, both small and big, mean to us and we become involved, at least intentionally, in these Entrances. We also try to make all of the prayers OUR PRAYERS, making the words that we say/sing, truly words that speak to what our heart and mind attends which we worship our God.

One of the important directions that we are given in the Divine Liturgy is the direction the priest gives to us to APPROACH WITH FEAR OF GOD, WITH FAITH AND LOVE. I don’t know how many who worship with me truly understand what this means! I truly don’t remember sharing many thoughts about this with the people who worship with me.

We approach Holy Communion first with “fear of God”. This means that we stand in “AWE” that God has elected from all eternity to make Himself, through the Person of His Son Jesus, our food and drink.  We receive the gifts of bread and wine that are transformed into the Body and Blood of Jesus, Who is truly the spiritual food that we need in order to be strong enough to attempt to follow Him. Holy Communion is God’s spiritual food.

We also approach with FAITH. This means that we profess that we truly believe we are receiving Jesus’ own Body and Blood. This, I know, can be very difficult since it still has all of the characteristics of bread and wine. I would encourage all to make a real act of faith as you approach the chalice.

Lastly, we approach with LOVE. We must make an act of love toward all those who approach the chalice with us and also all those we have prayed for during the Divine Liturgy. This means that we have no grievances with any of those with whom we say we worship. We should never conceive of anyone who approaches the chalice with us as a “stranger” or as someone with whom we have a grievance.

The very act of approaching Holy Communion should trigger within our hearts the desire to be at peace with all others and, if we have a grievance with someone else, we must commend that person to God before we receive Holy Communion. So the very act of receiving Holy Communion should be prefaced by a true reflection on our life and make sure that we are at peace with all others, especially those with whom we are worshipping. Remember, our worship is INTELLIGENT!

The Divine Liturgy and Our Worship of God — 20160501

Posted on by
Mystical Supper

Mystical Supper

I have been stressing the importance of understanding that what we do in in the Eucharistic Liturgy is to make Christ truly present in our lives in the present as He was to His disciples in the past. One of the things that can truly help us do this is to begin to truly see that the actions of Christ, His life, death and resurrection, are truly a new PASSOVER for us. That is, His actions in the past call us to embrace in the presence that, just like the Jews of old, He has lead us to freedom from captivity to real ignorance about the meaning and purpose of life. His life, death and resurrection has shown us the real meaning and purpose of this earthly existence. We have been given human life here on earth in  order to grow in our awareness of    several different things, namely that  (1) human life is immortal because it is a sharing in God’s own life-force and that we humans are immortal; (2) earthly life is given to us so that we might grow as “spiritual” beings, learning how to love unconditionally; (3) earthly life is designed to present us with the challenges and also the necessary opportunities to grow in the “likeness” of Jesus, Who is the human manifestation of God; (4) neither the past or the future are real and that we can only know the present, the time that is allotted to us to truly encounter God; and (5) when we celebrate the Divine Liturgy, Christ is truly present to us if only we open our heart and minds to His presence. A

For all this to happen, of course, we must allow ourselves to think in the fashion. We cannot just let the words and the actions of the Liturgy be “ritualistic” things that we watch and observe but, rather, things that we desire to express what we feel and believe.

I know that this is a challenge and that my exhortations seem, at times, to make no sense to many. I, like you, must, when I come to celebrate the Divine Liturgy, purposely express my intention to make the words and actions of the Liturgy my words and actions to are designed to worship my God. They are words and actions that are similar to those of Jesus and the members of the early Church. They are actions and words that, if I allow them, to place me in the presence of our Triune God and offer Him thanks for the gift of life. This reminds me that I must be thankful for my life!

Gaining a Deeper Understanding of the New Testament — 20160501

Posted on by

the_four_evangelistsThe Church has always venerated the divine Scriptures as she venerates the very Body and Blood of the Lord. In our Greek-Catholic Church the four Gospels, which are contained in the Gospel Book, always remain on the Holy Throne (i.e., altar). For from the Holy Throne both of the Word of God and the Body and Blood of Christ are offered to the faithful. In the Gospels the Father, Who is in heaven, comes to meet His children with great love and speaks with them; and the force and power of the word of God is so great that it remains the support and energy of the Church, the strength of faith, the food of the soul, the pure and perennial source of spiritual life.

First, let us consider in general what the holy Gospels signify for the Church. The Church has always regarded the Gospels, together with sacred Tradition, as the supreme rule of faith. The Protestant Reformation, as you will recall, eliminated Tradition as an equally valuable source to understand God’s revelation to humankind through the Person of Jesus.

Sacred Tradition, as seen in the liturgical prayer life of the Church and her religious practices, conveys to us how the Gospels were understood by the early Church and serves as a true guide for interpreting the Gospels. For the revelation of God, as understood by the early Church, was committed to writing both in the Gospels and in the liturgy or worship of the Church. It is Sacred Tradition, that is how the early Church interpreted the writings that conveyed the teachings and life of Jesus, that continues to be a guide for our understanding of the message of the Gospels. Our understanding of the Gospels has always been found in the worship of the Church, especially in the total liturgical life of the Church.

The total liturgical life of the Church consists of much more than just the Divine Liturgy or, as we know it, the Eucharistic Liturgy. Morning Prayer (Matins) and Evening Prayer (Vespers) as well as the prayers at the various hours, are filled with the Church’s true understanding of the Gospels. When, unfortunately, the Divine Liturgy is the only real liturgical service of the parish, we don’t get the full range of the Church’s understanding of the Gospels.

You will recall, if you attended either the Great and Good Friday Vespers or Matins for Pascha, how these services amplify our real understanding of the life of Christ. They truly convey the Church’s interpretation of the Gospels!

The Spirituality of the Christian East — 20160501

Posted on by

Ladder of Divine AccentWe have come to the 18th Step on St. John’s Divine Ladder of Ascent. As you will recall, he envisioned that each step on this ladder can lead us closer to our union with God and our likeness of Jesus, Our Savior.

The 18th step is INSENSITIVITY; LACK OF AWARENESS. St. John tell us that insensitivity is a deadened feeling in body and spirit, and comes from long sickness and carelessness. Lack of awareness is negligence that has become a habit. It is thought gone numb, an offspring of predisposition, a trap for zeal, a noose for course, an ignorance of compunction, the gateway to despair, the mother of forgetfulness giving birth to loss of fear of God and, in turn, to a deadened spirit.

The word insensitivity, as John uses it, does not mean what we normally call insensitivity. When we say someone is insensitive, we usually mean he does not consider other people’s feelings. But this is not what it means in spiritual life. It is best understood as a deep-rooted hypocrisy. It is a hypocrisy so deep that it becomes almost impossible to recognize in ourselves, though, of course, we are quick to condemn it in others.

Step 18 is a favorite of many who think and write about the Ladder. Why? Because of insensitivity to our own wretched condition blinds us that we can only recognize our sins when we are forced to see ourselves in others. Every sinner is a mirror of another. This is why parables are often used in the Scriptures: to show us our own behavior in stories about other people.

Insensitivity, then is the inability to honestly and sincerely look at ourselves and to admit, without feeling guilty, who we are right now.

CALLED TO HOLINESS — 20160501

Posted on by

As I have been attempting to share with my readers, the call to holiness is a call to see Christ in our lives and to help our memories so that we may freely come to know and love God. The first step in learning to pray healing of memories by seeing Christ in the events of our lives is to identify a memory that Jesus wants to heal now. We begin by seeking the Spirit’s guidance, for doing so makes the difference between using a mental technology and praying. If we were to select on our own the memory we wanted Jesus to heal, we would be in control of the situation, and whoever is in control is master. Since all healing prayer is aimed at allowing Jesus to more and more become our Lord and Master, we seek His Spirit to unveil the memory for which we need to pray.

To do this is, despite what we might think, not a difficult or complicated task. We begin with prayer, asking God to stir His Spirit and reveal what He wants healed in this time and place. We know He will answer this prayer because we ask Him to hear our prayer. Sometimes writing our thoughts down will help us to concretize our perceptions and reveal to us the roots of the patterns in our lives that need healing. But whether or not we write, we consider our lives by looking with Jesus to find the source of our pain.

So after we pray for guidance, we begin with the situation in our present life in which the Spirit has revealed that we need healing, and we see if there are any memories that are the roots of this situation. On the other hand, there are times we do not come to the Lord with a focused awareness of a particular situation in our daily lives. Then we can review in a prayerful way the persons, places and events of our personal histories, asking the Lord to let us know where He wants us to stop and pray for healing. The important thing is to allow the Holy Spirit to be in charge of the process by which memories are released from our unconscious, believing that He knows which ones need healing.