A CHRISTMAS REFLECTION:  WHO NOT TO BE THIS CHRISTMAS

By Fr. Panteleimon Dalianis

When we think about the Christmas story we typically focus on the heroes and “good guys” of the story – the Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, the Christ child, perhaps also the shepherds and the wise men.  All of these characters are important to the story and give us much to think about.  But it can also be helpful to look at the villains and “bad guys” of the Christmas story to see what they can teach.  That’s what I’d like to do right now.

Bad guy #1 – Herod

We read the following about Herod:

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”  When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him….

And after the wise men left, “by another way” (not returning to Herod because of the warning they received in a dream) we are told:

Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men.

Why did Herod do all of this?  Or, put differently, why is Herod bad guy #1?  Herod’s fault is in his exceeding desire to be in power and to hoard that power.  Accordingly, anyone who might be a threat to Herod’s reign must be taken out.

What can we learn from Herod?  We can learn that if we seek to have power in ourselves (apart from God) then we too will seek to remove anyone who competes with us for that power.  But, if we are humble enough to recognize that everything belongs to God, and, as the prophet Job once said,

The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord (Job 1:21).

Then we can live in fear of nothing and no one – since God is in charge.

Bad guy #2 – the innkeeper

We don’t hear directly about the innkeeper, but we read the following about the impact he had on where Jesus was to be born:

And she [Mary] brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

                                                                                               

Perhaps the innkeeper represents those who, as Jesus says in the gospel, have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear (Mark 8:18).  The savior of the world was right in front of him (albeit in the womb of Mary) and he missed it. 

The application to us is two-fold.  First, in Matthew 25 Jesus tells us that he is every hungry, thirsty, naked, lonely, sick and imprisoned person (vs. 35-36).  Do we have the eyes to see that in our lives and in our interactions with our children and family and co-workers and the homeless people we pass on the streets?  If not, we too are the innkeeper.

Secondly, Jesus Christ knocks at our door every time the Divine Liturgy is celebrated, and he asks if he can come in and dwell within us (in the form of Holy Communion).  Again, do we open the door and let him in, or, as the Christmas gospel tells us, is there no room… [at] the inn?

Bad guys #3 – the Jewish leaders

The most interest group to reflect on may be the Jewish leaders of that time.  The scripture don’t say much about their motives in the Christmas story, but there is something the scriptures omit that is, I believe, important.  The scriptures tell us that two groups were told about the birth of Jesus, the pagan Magi (wise men), and the (Jewish) shepherds.  But why weren’t the “establishment” Jews (the scribes, the Pharisees) informed about it?

While it’s hard to tell, the answer that seems most likely is that they didn’t really want the Messiah to come – at least not if his coming was going to change their comfortable life.  The scriptures say the following about the leaders of that time:

Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.

It seems that the Jewish leaders had a fairly cushy life, and they weren’t eager for that to change.

What’s the application for us?  If Jesus is going to come into our lives and be our Lord (which means he is in charge), it’s likely that much of life is going to need to change.  If his commandments become the law by which we live, then we’ll need to forgive (Matt. 6:12) and turn the other cheek (Matt. 5:39), and give to everyone who asks (Luke 6:30) and rejoice in our difficulties (Rom. 5:3).

Are we willing to do this?  Or, does Jesus ask too much?  The Pharisees seemed to think that Jesus indeed was asking for too much, and they were happier without him.  How about you?

So, this Nativity, may our Lord teach us what we need to learn about the “villains” of the Christmas story.  And may we invert their weaknesses – hunger for power (Herod), eyes but can’t see (innkeeper), too much comfort with the status quo (Jewish leaders) - into spiritual strengths – humility, eyes to see, and a willingness to change for Christ – in the year ahead.     

The "E" Word: (Relatively) Simple Ways to be more Evangelistic in our World (Part 4)

The "E" Word:  (Relatively) Simple Ways to be more Evangelistic in our World

(Part 4)

Having examined in my previous articles five causes for our being less evangelistic than we could be, today’s article will begin our reflection on six (relatively simple?) ways we can strive to be more evangelistic in our lives.

1. Begin with prayer – This should be obvious.  In the book of Acts we see that the Holy Spirit had called out Barnabas and Paul to preach the gospel to the gentiles (non-Jews), and as a part of that commissioning, we read the following:

While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”  Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off (vs. 2-3).

There are two sub-points to this.  First, we need to be spiritually growing and serious, or else we’ll have nothing to offer the people around us (and, if we’re not spiritually growing, it’s unlikely we’ll even try to spread the gospel because, why would we share something that’s not important to us?).  Secondly, we need to pray for the people in our world (ideally by name) whose hearts we are hoping the Holy Spirit will open to the message of the gospel (evangelism isn’t a manmade “project”, but the work of the Holy Spirit in the human heart – and we need always to see it that way).

2. Build relationships with non-believers – If we don’t have non-Christian friends, it will be very difficult to spread the good news to non-believers.  We need to be pro-active in making friendships with people outside the church – whether that’s through volunteering on the PTA, coaching a local team, playing pick-up ball at the park, or serving at a favorite charity.

Everyone can do this.  We all have interests, and part of evangelism is simply seeing those interests as a means to spreading the gospel.  Perhaps the best scripture verse here is from the gospel of Matthew, Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven (5:6).  As we enter into the lives of our friends and neighbors, ideally the gospel message will simply overflow from our life into our interactions with the people around us.

3. Invite someone to church – One concern that people often raise about evangelism is that they feel ill-equipped to answer questions that a friend might raise about Christianity and the church.  The best answer I would offer to that concern is, invite them to church and let the church explain itself.  In the book of Psalms, King David explains that the truth of the church in seen in the church, …O taste and see that the Lord is good (Psalm 34:8)!

We don’t need to have all the answers (and, indeed, thinking we need to have all the answers can be a trick of the devil, to keep us from spreading the gospel).  A good example of this comes from the life of St. Vladimir, Grand Prince of Kiev, who, during his reign sent his envoys to see, first-hand, the great religions of his time, Islam, Roman Catholicism, Judaism and Orthodox Christianity.  On enter the Orthodox church, they made the following observation:

We knew not whether we were in Heaven or on Earth… We only know that God dwells there among the people, and their service is fairer than the ceremonies of other nations.

If we are faithful in bringing the people, we can trust that God will do the rest.

- Offered by Fr. Panteleimon Dalianis

The "E" Word: Five Reasons Why we Don’t Evangelize as we Should (Part 3)

The "E" Word: 

Five Reasons Why we Don’t Evangelize as we Should

(Part 3)

Last week we looked at three explanations as to why the church is less evangelistic today than it could/should be.  They were:

1. We’re not convinced that people need Jesus Christ;

2. Our faith has become “routine”;

3. Our churches have an ineffective evangelistic strategy of “you come” rather than “we go”.

Today’s article will look at two more possible explanations for the lack of evangelistic zeal in the church today.

4. Church members often see the church as a place to get their needs met rather than a place to bring those in need of Jesus  Christ;

This can be a hard pill to swallow, but, we have to ask ourselves what the church is to us – because we are going to act in the church in accordance with how we see the church.  Do we see ourselves as continuing Jesus Christ’s ministry, which he defines in Luke 4 with the following passage from Isaiah:

                                                         

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed…. (18).

                                   

Or are we a club where, “I’ve paid my dues and I expect to have my wants taken care of” – whether that’s in the language of the service, the preaching style/length, the ministries offered, etc.?  If we see it as a place where God’s grace and healing is offered, we will bring others (so they can be healed).  If not (if it’s a club) then we likely won’t (and if we don’t get our needs met sufficiently, we may very well leave and not return).

                           

5. Church members may not be “converted” themselves;

What does it mean to be converted to Jesus Christ?  It means to have him as the center of our lives – his commandments govern our actions – our time, our talents and our treasure is his (not ours) and we’re just here to manage it for him and get him the best return on his investment.

To the degree that we believe this, we will make it a priority to bring others to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ (if for no other reason than one of his commandments is to go and make disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:19)).

To the degree we don’t, we won’t.  Why would we try to bring someone to believe in something that we’re not even fully convinced of?

In the next article we will look at four (relatively) simple ways we can be more evangelistic in our own lives.

- Offered by Fr. Panteleimon Dalianis

The "E" Word: Three Reasons Why we Don’t Evangelize as we Should (Part 2)

The "E" Word:  Three Reasons Why we Don’t Evangelize as we Should

(Part 2)

If we look at any organism, we see that the health of that organism is very much tied to the reproduction of that organism – both on a “micro” level and a “macro” level.  On the micro level if the human body (for example) doesn’t continue to produce new healthy cells, the body will die.  On the macro level if human beings as a group don’t produce more human beings, they will go extinct.

The church is no different.  The continued life and health of the church requires reproduction – in this case Christians producing more Christians (i.e. evangelism).  Where this isn’t happening, we can only logically conclude that there is a lack of health (and extinction in on the way?).  In this article I’ll examine three reasons that churches may be less evangelistic than they could be.

1. We’re not convinced that people need Jesus Christ

 In John 14, Jesus makes a very strong claim about his role in salvation: I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me (v. 6).  We notice in this verse that there is no qualifier – Jesus never says, “except for….”  Which means that Jesus is the only way into the kingdom (there is no other road in).

Do we believe this?  Or, as we clergy will often hear, do we believe that “all religions lead to the same place” (I’ve heard this many times)?  And if we do believe that last line, we need to know that that’s not what the church teaches, nor is it what the Bible itself states.  Everyone needs Jesus, because He’s the only road to the Father.

2. Our faith has become “routine”

 If you’ve seen children on Christmas day, you’ll know that every toy is exciting when they first get it.  But, as often happens, as time goes by, the excitement level also goes down.  This can be the case with our faith and with our evangelism.  When we first become converted to Christ, we want to learn and pray and read and talk about our faith all day long (just like the kid on Christmas morning), but as time goes by, we can come to see our faith as just one more event in the calendar – one more thing to get done that week.  What we need to do is consciously strive to keep that flame burning in our hearts for Jesus Christ through the spiritual practices of the church – prayer, fasting, reading the scriptures, etc.  If we aren’t living the faith daily, there’s little hope that we will have the grace or the interest to share it with the world around us.

3. Our churches have an ineffective evangelistic strategy of “you come” rather than “we go”

 The gospel is rather clear that one job of a Christian is to go out and spread the gospel to the world: 

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my [Jesus’] witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).

This applies not just to the individual Christian, but to the church as a body.  The “you come” strategy isn’t wrong, it’s just not enough.  Our churches need to be places where everyone feels welcome.  But we also need to be places where no one feels comfortable unless they are sharing the gospel with the people in their world (i.e. “we go”) – their neighbors, their co-workers, their friends.

How comfortable are we in sharing (or not sharing) our faith with the world around us?  In next week’s article I will reflect on three more reasons we aren’t as evangelistic as we could be.

- Offered by Fr. Panteleimon Dalianis

Evangelism (the "E" word)

The "E" Word

(Part 1)

What is the "E" word?  Simply put, the "E" word is evangelism.  And I title this article as I do because for many of us in the Orthodox church, it's a word we don't like (a "bad" word).

But, evangelism shouldn't be a bad word.  In this first article on the "E" word, we will look at the first reason why evangelism is something that we should honor and practice in our lives - which is that evanglism is biblical.

The Bible has many examples of evangelism - too many for a brief article like this one to cover - but for the sake of brevity we can look at two examples of evangelism in the Bible that represent pretty much all the rest.

St. Peter speaks to the masses on Pentecost

In the book of Acts, chapter 2, we read about the day of Pentecost.  50 days after Jesus had risen from the dead, the Holy Spirit was poured out on the disciples and they were empowered to spread the gospel to all nations.

Beginning from Acts 2:14, St. Peter addresses all who had gathered around this very noisy scene of Pentecost (both believers and non-believers) concerning who this Jesus was and God's plan for the salvation of the human race. At the end of this chapter we learn that it was a very fruitful evangelistic day - So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls (2:41).

This example represents one way of approaching evangelism that I will call mass evangelism.  St. Peter doesn't have a one-on-one conversation with any one person in the crowd that day, but rather speaks to a large group.  And, empowered by the Holy Spirit, we see that his seeds fall on fertile ground and bear fruit.

St. Philip the deacon and the Ethiopian eunuch

The second example is from Acts 8.  In this scene we read about St. Philip the deacon and an Ethiopian eunuch.  At the start of this story we read that …an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza” (8:26).

On this road he comes across an Ethiopian eunuch who is reading a prophecy concerning Jesus from the book of Isaiah, but doesn't understand what the prophet is about.  St. Philip explains the meaning of the passage and goes on to explain the gospel of Jesus Christ and in the end we read:

And as they went along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What is to prevent my being baptized?”  And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him (36-38).

Here, rather than a mass presentation, we see a one-on-one interaction, where the soil is fertile and the gospel is presented and received with joy.

The point being that evangelism - both in it's mass-presentation form and in it's one-on-one form - are clearly a part of the church.  These are things that Christians have done, and are still called to do (you and me) today.  And, indeed, both a healthy Christian and a healthy church can't exist without evangelism - which will be the topic of next week's reflection.

- Offered by Fr. Panteleimon Dalianis

Monday

II Thess. 1:1-10; Luke 12:13-15, 22-31

The Lord said to the man who asked Him to divide between him and his brother, Who made Me a judge or a divider over you? (Luke 12:14). Later He added: Take no thought (Luke 12:22) about what to eat or drink, or what to wear. Earlier He taught: Let the dead bury their dead (Luke 9:60). Another time he suggested that is is better not to marry (cf. Matt. 19:10-11). This means that the turning aside of the attention and heart from everything worldly, as well as freedom from vanity and worldly bonds, make up one of the characteristics of a Christian spirit. The fact that the Lord blesses marriage and and supports its indissolubility, which effectually renews the commandment regarding the relationship between parents and children and attaches significance and does not give Christians the right to avoid preserving it and cherishing it in their hearts. Compare both things and you will see that you have a duty to keep your heart unworldly amidst the worldly order of things. How can you do this? Resolve it yourself in your own life; in this is all practical wisdom. The Lord guide you toward resolving this with the following rule: Seek ye first the Kingdom of God (Matt. 6:33). Direct all your concern toward having God reign in you, and everything worldly will lose its binding and burdensome spell over you. Then you will conduct your affairs outwardly, but inwardly your heart will be possessed by something else. But if on account of this, the resolution arises to cut off even this outward relationship to worldly things, it will not be a loss for you. You will come closer to the goal which faith in Christ will give you.

-From St. Theophan the Recluse

Monday

1 Thess. 2:20-3:8; Luke 11:29-33

The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgement with the men of this generation, and condemn them (Luke 11:31). For what? For indifference to the work accomplished by the Lord before their eyes. That queen, upon hearing about Solomon's wisdom, came from afar to hear him, but these men, having before their face the Lord Himself, did not heed Him, although it was obvious that He was higher than Solomon, just as the sky is higher than the earth. And the queen of the south condemns everyone who is indifferent to God's works, because among us as well, the Lord is always as obviously present in the Gospel account as He was (in the days of Solomon). Reading the Gospel, we have before our eyes the Lord with all of His marvelous works, for the Gospel is as undoubtedly true as the testimony of our own eyes. Meanwhile, who heeds the Lord as One Who has imprinted Himself upon our souls? We have closed our eyes or averted them. This is why we do not see, and not seeing, we do not devote ourselves to the Lord's works. However, this is no excuse, but rather the reason behind our heedlessness, which is as criminal as the acts that proceed from it. The work of the Lord is our top priority-that is, the salvation of our souls. Furthermore, since we must heed what comes from the Lord even if it not directly related to us, should we not all the more heed what is directed at us for the accomplishment of our essential work, the significance of which extends throughout all eternity? Judge for yourselves how criminal it is to disregard such a matter!

-From St. Theophan the Recluse

Monday

1 Thess. 1:1-5; Luke 10:22-24

No man knoweth Who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal Him (Luke 10:22). The Son was on earth and revealed everything necessary for us Himself and through the Holy Spirit, Who acted in the Apostles. Consequently, what you find in the Gospels and the apostolic writings is all your will and can know about the Father and Divine things. Do not seek more than this, and do not think to find the truth about God and God's plans anywhere else aside from this. What a great treasure we possess! Everything has already been said. Do not rack your brains, just accept with faith what has been revealed. It has been revealed that God is One in Essence and Truine in Persons: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Accept this with faith and uphold it. It has been revealed that the Tri-hypostatic God created all through the Word and preserves all in His right hand, in His providence is over all things. Accept this with faith and uphold it. It has been revealed that we were in a blessed state and fell, and that for our restoration and redemption the Son of God, the Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity, was incarnate, suffered, died on the Cross, resurrected and ascended into heaven. Accept this with faith and uphold it. It has been revealed that he who desires to be saved must believe in the Lord and, receiving Divine grace in the Holy Mysteries, must live, with its help, according to grace in the Holy Mysteries, must live, with its help, according to the Lord's commandments, struggling against the passions and lusts by means of spiritual endeavors that correspond to them. Accept this faith and do it. It has been revealed that whoever lives according to God's direction will enter after his death into radiant dwelling places, the foretaste of eternal bliss. But whoever does not live this way will, upon death, begin to experience the torments of hell. Accept this with faith and keep it faithfully. There is no need to rack your brains over your own invented things. Do not listen to those who show off their intelligence, for they do not know where they are going.

-From St. Theophan the Recluse

Monday

Col. 2:13-20; Luke 9:18-22

Whom say the people that I am? the Lord asked (Luke 9:18). In answer to this the Apostles related the current opinions among the people concerning Him, formed according to the nature of people's views at that time. Some said that He was John the Baptist, others that He was Elijah, others that He was one of the ancient prophets resurrected. How do people answer today? Also in various ways, each according to his own way of thinking. What sort of answers could be given by materialists, atheists, and the soulless, who are descended from apes, when they believe in neither God nor the soul? Spiritists get away with the same response as the Arians, which was denounced at the First Ecumenical Council. Deists see God as being very far from the world, and since they cannot contain in their system the mystery of Incarnation, they answer like the Ebionites and Socinians. You will encounter similar responses in Russian society, for the aforesaid three types of personalities exist and are multiplying among us. But thanks be to the Lord, we still have an extremely predominant number of sincere believers and those who strictly maintain the apostolic confession that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Incarnate, Only Begotten Son of God, the Savior and Redeemer of the human race, Who even in Paradise was promised to our progenitors. Which party will prevail is known only to God. Let us pray that the darkness of false teachings be driven away. We have a weakness for bad things, and therefore it would not be surprising if a lie took the upper hand. Even now it is walking the streets of town openly, while in the past it cautiously hid from the gaze of Christian believers.

-From St. Theophan the Recluse

Monday

Phil. 4:10-23; Luke 7:36-50

How could it be that although Simon the Pharisee reveres the Lord and invites Him to his home, he is scandalized when he sees that He shows favor toward a sinful woman and permits her to approach Him? Why does he think to himself, If He were a prophet (Luke 7:39), and so forth? Because he has busied himself with entertaining, and has therefore ignored a sensible understanding of how God does things. These two realms, worldly and spiritual, have completely different characteristics and laws. Meanwhile, our mind, when it is preoccupied with something, begins to judge according to that thing. According to worldly customs, one must not have contact with an obviously sinful woman. This is how Simon judges, forgetting that repentance makes everyone pure and puts sinners on par with the righteous. He thinks that the sinful woman should not be there, and that if the Savior does not chase here away, it is probably because He does not know who she is. Another thought immediately follows this one: If He does not know, then what kind of prophet is He? He did not say this in words, but only thought it, although there was no outward change in his appearance or in how he was treating his guests. But the Lord saw his heart and corrected him accordingly. He suggested to him that sinners also have a place beside Him, and that the sinful woman, who had prostrated before Him in her heart, revered Him more than did Simon, who honored Him with nothing but food. Externals lead a person to a feeling of self-righteousness which is disagreeable to the Lord, while inner qualities always keep him in a feeling of his worthlessness before the face of the omniscient Lord.

-From St. Theophan the Recluse

Monday

Phil. 2:12-16; Luke 6:24-30

Woe to those who are rich, who are full, who laugh, and who are praised. But goos shall come to those who endure every wrongful accusation, beating, robbery, or imposed hardship. This is completely opposite to what people usually think and feel! The thoughts of God are as far from human thoughts as heaven is from the earth. How else could it be? We are in exile. and it is not remarkable for those in exile to be offended and insulted. We are under a penance, and the penance consists of deprivations and labors. We are sick, and bitter medicines are most useful for the sick. The Savior Himself did not have a place to lay His head for His whole life, and He finished His life on the Cross. Why should his followers have a better lot? The spirit of Christ is the spirit of preparedness to suffer and good-naturedly bear all that is sorrowful. Comfort, conceit, splendor, and ease are all foreign to its strivings and tastes. Its path lies in the fruitless, cheerless desert. Its model is the forty-year wandering of the Israelites in the desert. Who follows this path? Anyone who sees Canaan beyond the desert, overflowing with milk and honey. During his wandering he too receives manna-however, not from the earth, but from heaven; not bodily, but spiritually. All glory is within. 

-From St. Theophan The Recluse

Monday

Phil.1:1-7; Luke 4:37-44

I must preach the Kingdom of God to other cities also; for therefore am I sent (Luke 4:43). Our priesthood needs to take "for therefore am I sent" as an immutable law. The Apostle commanded them, in the person of St. Timothy, to be instant int season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort (II. Tim. 4:2). The Lord and the Holy Spirit, who filled the Apostles on the day of Pentecost, brought the truth to the earth, and the truth walks the earth, and the truth walks the earth. Its transmitters are the mouth of God's priests. If any priest closes his mouth, he blocks off the path to the truth, which demands to enter the souls of believers. That is why the souls of believers grow weary, when they do not receive the truth. The priests themselves must feel weariness, since the truth, not receiving an exit, burdens them. Relieve yourself of this weight, priest of God. Pour forth streams of Divine words unto your own joy and to the enlivening of the souls entrusted to you. If you see that you yourself do not have the truth, get it: it is in the Holy Scriptures. Then, filling yourself with it, pass it on to your spiritual children. Just do not be silent. Preach, for it is unto this that you have been called.

-From St. Theophan the Recluse

Monday

Eph. 4:25-32; Luke 3:19-22

Herod is an image of self-love, irritated by his troubled conscience, and reproached by the truth. And self-love seeks to escape this unpleasantness through violence. John the Forerunner is an image of the truth persecuted by self-love, when this self-love possess the means to do this. No matter how one softens the truth with all the condescension and turns of speech that tender love can invent, not desiring to injure or wound another's heart, the face of truth will nevertheless appear before the eyes of the conscience, and stir up a tempest of denunciation within. Selfishness is nearsighted and cannot see that the denunciation is not coming from without but from within, and it rises up with all of its strength against the external accuser. By blocking his lips, this selfishness hopes to silence the inner voice as well. It does not succeed, however, because it does not direct its concern in the right direction. One must appease the conscience. Then, no matter how many external accusers there are, they will not disturb inner peace, but will, on the contrary, only deepen it, compelling one to gather calming convictions within: faith in the crucified Lord, sincerity of repentance and confession, and firmness in the resolution to do nothing against one's conscience. One must look in this direction, and not keep putting all Johns into prison; for the word of God's truth walks everywhere upon the earth, and each one is an accusing John to you.

-From St. Theophan the Recluse

Monday

Eph. 1:22-2:3; Mark 10:46-52

The blind man of Jericho raised his voice when he learned that the Lord was walking by. His cry reached the Lord. Nothing surrounding the Lord could interfere with His hearing it, and the Lord called the blind man over and restored his sight. At every time and in every place the Lord does not just walk by, but is there; He governs the whole world. As human thinking would have it, this means that He has many cares; furthermore, multitudes of angels surround Him with their doxologies. But if you are able to raise your voice like the blind man of Jericho, nothing will stop your cry from reaching the Lord; He will hear and fulfill your petition. It does not depend on the Lord; He Himself is near, and everything you need is already prepared with Him-it is you who are holding things up. Succeed in raising your voice to the measure of the Lord's hearing, and you will immediately receive everything. What then is this measure? Ask someone who has prayed and received what he requested. He will say to you, "I prayed about this and that, and I received according to my request. Now I need this and that and I've been praying and haven't receive it, and I know why: because I cannot in any way ascend to the measure of prayer that I had earlier." It turns out that it is impossible to determine this measure with literal precision. Only one thing is definitely true: that the matter depends on us, and not on the Lord. As soon as you reach the point where you are capable of receiving, you will unquestionably receive. 

-From St. Theophan the Recluse

Monday

Gal. 4:28-5:10; Mark 6:54-7:8

The Lord rebels the Pharisees not for their outward observances and rules of conduct, but for their passionate attachment to them-for limiting themselves to the external worship of God with no concern for what was in their heart. It is impossible to be without externals. The highest internal things require the external as the expression and garment. In reality, internal things are never alone, but are always united with the outer; only in false theories are they separated. But again, it is obvious that externals alone are nothing; their worth comes from the presence of the internal things contained within them. Thus, once the inward ceases to be, the outward might as well not be there. Meanwhile, we have a weakness for outward and visible things, in which the internal is depicted and takes a definite form. And we do so to such an extent that, having fulfilled that which is external, we remain at peace without even thinking that there might be internal things. And since the inward is harder to attain than the outward, it is quite natural to get stuck on the latter, without striving for the former. What can we do? We must govern ourselves and keep the internal things in mind, always pushing ourselves toward them through the externals, only considering a work to be real when the internal and external are united in it. There is no other way. Attentiveness toward oneself, sobriety, and vigilance are the only levers for raising up our nature, which is corpulent and has a penchant for lowly things. Notice that those who possess the internal never abandon the external, although they attach no special value to it.

-From St. Theophan the Recluse

Monday

Gal. 2:11-16; Mark 5:24-34

The woman with the issue of blood had only to touch the Lord with faith, and power went out of the Lord into her: Straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up (Mark 5:29). The issue of blood is an image of the passionate thoughts and intentions that incessantly spring forth from the heart, it it has not yet been cleansed from all sympathy to sin-this is our sinful disease. It is sensed by those who have repented and zealously strive to keep themselves pure not only outwardly, but inwardly as well. Such people see that evil thoughts incessantly proceed from the heart, and they grieve over this and seek healing. But it is not possible to fins such healing in oneself or others. It comes from the Lord or, more precisely, it comes when the soul touches the Lord and power goes out of the Lord into the soul. In other words, it comes when tangible contact with the Lord occurs, to which a special warmth and inner burning testifies. When it happens, the soul immediately feels that it was healed of that plague (Mark 5:29). This is a great good but how can it be attained? The woman with the issue of blood pressed toward the Lord and received healing-we too must press toward the Lord, proceeding without laziness by the narrow for those who go by this way, and the Lord is not in sight. But then suddenly, there is the Lord. And what joy! The Kingdom of God cometh not with observation (Luke 17:20).

-From St. Theophan the Recluse

Monday

II Cor. 12:10-19; Mark 4:10-23

The Lord breathed the breath of life, and man became in the image of God. It is the same with one's own rebirth: the beginnings of a new life are established and one's image is renewed by the breath of the Spirit of God; and whence and how it comes is not known. This is the point of departure; from here the work of raising up the image to a perfect likeness begins. When we are reborn according to the image of the Creator by the Lord's Spirit, we are transfigured from glory to glory-but not without us, our work and effort. However, it is God Who creates and restores us by the grace of the Most Holy Spirit, according to faith in the Lord. Behold the ideal and method of fulfilling in oneself the image and likeness of God! People so often write about and discuss education will proceed successfully to its goal. This is God's path, but it does not exclude human paths-on the contrary, it gives them direction and crowns their success. When only the human remains, education is usually insufficient, even detrimental, and often totally perverts those being educated; then the rest of life goes awry. Where those educated in a distorted manner multiply, all of society becomes more and more distorted, both in life and in its attitudes. The end is universal distortion; one bends in one direction, another bends in another.

-From St. Theophan the Recluse

Monday

II Cor. 8:7-15; Mark 3:6 -12

The Lord forbade both people and demons to praise Him when He was on the earth, but required that people believe in Him and fulfill God's commandments. The Lord has the same law now, and it will be the same at the Judgment: Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he that doth the will of My Father which is in heaven (Matt. 7:21). This is why in church (the great doxology) begins with "Glory to God in the highest," and toward the end it says, "Heal my soul...Teach me to do Thy will." Without this, praise of God has no worth. For then it does not proceed from the soul, but is only sent up from the tongue in someone else's words, and that is why the Lord pays no attention to it. One must arrange things so that others praise the Lord when they see our works, so that our life will be praise to God, for He does all things in all people, as long as you do not get in the way. It is to Him that praise for one's deeds ascends. Each person must become the fragrance of Christ; then even without praise there will be unceasing glorification of the Lord. A rose does not speak, but its fragrance spreads far in silence. This is how all Christians ought to live.

-From St. Theophan the Recluse

Monday

II Cor. 5:10-15; Mark 1:9-15

The Lord began His sermon thus: The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the Gospel (Mark 1:15). At the end of the ages it will also be said; the time is fulfilled, the Kingdom is at hand. But this statement will not be followed by repent ye, and believe but by "come out to the Judgment." The time for repentance and labors of self-improvement will have ended. Let everyone give an account of what good or evil things he did in his body. And so, while there is time, hurry to use this time unto your salvation. The Father's embrace is open to receive all who come with a sincere feeling of contrition about the past and with a desire to serve God henceforth by the zealous fulfillment of His holy commandments. For each of us death is the end of this age; it is the door to the other life. Look into this more often and determine for yourself more truly: what will happen then? And having determined this without pitying yourself, begin laboring to prepare that which in you is not ready, that you might enter the place where joy is unending. Labor to push aside all that could give the servants of outer darkness the right to prevail over us and carry us away to their realm, whence there will no longer be a way out.

-From St.Theophan the Recluse

St. Basil Prison Ministry Pancake Breakfast - September 25

What is Christian Fellowship

(Part 3)

In the past two articles, we’ve looked at what makes Christian fellowship unique.  We’ve done this by looking at two goals within Christian fellowship that make it different from secular fellowship – that fellowship in the church is driven by gratitude for what Jesus Christ has done for us, and that Christian fellowship is worried primarily about the salvation of our neighbor – obviously, neither of which would be present in fellowship that isn’t God-centered.  We also looked at Holy Communion as the center of all fellowship – the event on which all fellowship is established for us.

Today, in our last look at fellowship in this series, we will look at something the scriptures tell us needs to exist for true fellowship to flourish within the church – that being transparency.  True Christian fellowship assumes that our community knows who we really are and not just a façade that we put forward.

1. You can’t pray for needs you aren’t aware of

If the church is a community centered on and always directed towards Jesus Christ, which means that pray is the heart of the church.  If all that people at church know about us is how great our life is (when it is (perhaps?) behind the scenes not as clean and tidy) how can our fellow Christians pray for the real needs that we have.

2. “Confess your sins to one another…”

St. James, in his epistle, writes the following to the early Christian Church:

Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much (5:16).

In the early church the sacrament of confession was not with the priest alone, but before the whole congregation – because all sin is a sin against all of creation – and so the church understood that we needed forgiveness from the whole community.  Even today when the priest hears confession, he hears it not as an isolated individual, but as the person assigned by the church to represent the church in offering forgiveness and absolution.

3. Even AA admits that without transparency there’s never a healthy community.

It’s noteworthy that even not self-consciously Christian organizations, like Alcoholics Anonymous affirm the need for transparency in healing and community.  Step number five in the 12-step program reads, “Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.”  Without community we can never be healthy – and the ultimate source of both healing and community is Jesus Christ and His church.

And, in the end, isn’t true community at the core of what we all long for?  May today be the day we begin, as a congregation to consciously struggle to make our parish a beacon of this self-sacrificing, other-center, sacramentally-focused, transparent love that Jesus Christ has called us to be, for our own health and salvation, and as a witness to the love of God for the world around us.

- Offered by Fr. Panteleimon Dalianis

What is Christian Fellowship?

(Part 2)

Last week we looked at Christian fellowship from two perspectives: (1) fellowship in the church is driven by gratitude for what Jesus Christ has done for us, and (2) Christian fellowship is motivated primarily by the desire to save the soul of our neighbor.

This week we will examine fellowship in the church through the central event in the life of the church that is Holy Communion, and we’ll do this by looking at three points of connection between Holy Communion and fellowship.

                                                                                                                                   

1. Holy Communion connects us with God – the source of all real unity

 The gospel of St. John makes, perhaps, the strongest statement in the whole of scripture about what Holy Communion does for us:

Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” – John 6:53-54

                                                                                                                               

St. Cyril of Jerusalem says the same thing in the reverse:

Without the Lord’s flesh [Holy Communion], it is impossible to live.

A Christian community can never have genuinely strong and healthy fellowship unless the foundation of that strength and health is unity in Jesus Christ – which can only be had through unity in Holy Communion.

2. The word “Liturgy” means “work of the people”

St. Ambrose of Milan explains that the central act of the church is Holy Communion:

                                 

The word “Liturgy” means “the work of the people” and this serves to underscore the corporate character of the Divine Liturgy….  The Eucharist is truly the center of the life of the Church and the way we nourish ourselves on our journey through life.

Our fellowship as a community must be defined by this central work (to put it differently, we need be seen by the world around us as a group of people who are united, first and foremost, in Christ).  Nothing can ever be more important than being at the Liturgy and receiving the Eucharist.  To the degree that anything else does define our fellowship, to that same degree our fellowship is not truly in Christ.

3. Holy Communion is the goal and end point of all Christian life

Many of you may not know this, but all of the sacraments have Holy Communion as their goal.  In the early church, weddings, baptisms, holy unction and confession, were all done in the Liturgy.  And today, Holy Communion (of course) and ordinations are still done in the Liturgy.  This points to the fact that Holy Communion is central to all that we are as a church.

In the Orthodox Church all roads lead to the chalice and Holy Communion.  The goal of the church needs to be to put this theory into practice – to truly have our fellowship grounded in the body and blood of Jesus Christ. 

- Offered by Fr. Panteleimon Dalianis

Monday

II Cor. 2:4-15; Matt. 23:13-22

Woe unto you..for ye shut up the Kingdom of Heaven against men (Matt. 23:13). This can be said to hierarchs who neither teach the people the saving path themselves nor compel the priests to teach them. This can also be said to priests who leave the people in neglect, not taking care to explain to them what is necessary for the salvation of the soul. Due to this, the people remain in blindness. Some remain in the certainty that they are proceeding properly; others, although they notice that things are not going the right way, do not go where they should, because they do not know how and where to go. This causes various silly ideas to spread among the people; this is why schismatics, Molokans, and Khlysts find acceptance among them, and this is how every evil teaching finds convenient access to them. A priest usually thinks that everything is fine in his parish, and rushes into action only when this evil has already spread and exposed itself. But then nothing can be done about it. A priest must consider it the first priority of his conscience to continually instruct the adults in the knowledge of the Christian Faith, and to prepare the young generation from their first conscious years, explaining to them what they can and must know. There is no need to wait for school. This must be done orally, gathering the children in the church and at home on Sunday evenings, or whenever and however it is convenient. 

-From St. Theophan the Recluse

Monday

1 Cor. 15:12-19; Matt. 21:18-22

The Lord condemned the fig tree to fruitlessness because in appearance it was so covered with leaves that there ought to have been fruit on it, but none could be found. In applying this to the Christian life, the leaves represent outward words of piety and outward spiritual asceticism, while the fruits represent inner dispositions. According to the law, the former should proceed from the latter. However, out of condescension to our infirmity, the latter should at least develop together with the former. When the former are strong but the latter are not even budding, a false life results, which expresses itself like this: to seem, but not to be. At first, perhaps this unfortunate state is not in one's thoughts, but then it appears unnoticeably and establishes itself as a way of life. When one applies himself excessively to externals and becomes passionately attached to them, his attention toward his heart is suppressed, his spiritual feelings die away, and coldness settles in. At this stage, spiritual life freezes, and there remains only an appearance of piety, but no piety. One's behavior is proper on the outside, but inwardly everything is wrong. The consequence of this is spiritual fruitlessness-works are done, but they are all dead. 

-From St. Theophan the Recluse

What is Fellowship? - an article by Fr. Panteleimon

What is Fellowship?

As we discuss the definition of what a church is called to do and be (see last week’s article, Highest and Best Use (of the Church?) at http://stbasilchicago.blogspot.com), allow me to break down each of the six points I made in my last article to better define what each one of these parts looks like.  I’ll begin with fellowship.

St. Paul is very clear that fellowship is not just “friendship” as we define it in the world, but something that has to do with God and being heirs of His kingdom.  He tells the church in Ephesus to walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God (Eph. 5:2).  Fellowship has something to do with what Jesus Christ has done to save our souls. 

Because of this, fellowship in the church has two components that fellowship in the world would never have.  First, fellowship in the church is driven by gratitude for what Jesus Christ has done for us – and an acknowledgment that nothing we can do can pay back God for what he has done for us in Jesus Christ.

At the core of any effort to love our neighbor is always the passage from the gospel of St. Luke which reads:

So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, “We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do” (Luke 17:10).

Secondly, Christian fellowship is worried primarily about the salvation of our neighbor.  And that salvation can only be found in the truth that is the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.  For this reason, St. James explains in his epistle:

Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins (James 5:19-20).

What greater thing can a friend do than save us from eternal separation from God?  Fellowship in the church is about helping those around us get into heaven.

So as we reflect on the content of fellowship at St. Basil, we can ask two questions: (1) is our own motive for fellowship one of gratitude and indebtedness to God?  And (2) is the end-goal of our fellowship the kingdom of heaven for both us and our neighbor?

May St. Basil become a parish where these two motives are the central motives for all of the fellowship that we have.

- Offered by Fr. Panteleimon Dalianis

Monday

1 Cor. 11:31-12:6; Matt. 18: 1-11

Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven (Matt. 18:3). The structure of a child's heart is a model for all. Children, before egotistical strivings have arisen in them, are a model for imitation. What do we see in children? Complete faith which does not reason, undebating obedience, sincere love, peace and lack of worry under their parents' roof, and liveliness and freshness of life, with agility and a desire to learn and become more perfect. But the Savior particularly emphasizes one of their virtues-humility: Whosoever shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven (Matt. 18:4). For as soon as there is true humility, all of the virtues are there. It is revealed perfectly when the other virtues have already blossomed in the heart and reach maturity it is their crown and protection. This is the mystery of spiritual life in our Lord Jesus Christ. Whoever is higher is more humble, because he more clearly and tangibly sees that it is not he who labors successfully, but the grace which is in him (cf. 1 Cor. 5:10); and this is the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Eph. 4:13). For an essential aspect of Christ Jesus is that He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death (Phil. 2:8).

-From St. Theophan the Recluse

Monday

1 Cor. 9:13-18; Matt. 16:1-6

The Pharisees and Sadducees wanted the Lord to show them a sign, but they did not see the sign before their very eyes. The Lord Himself was the sign. His teaching and works clearly showed Who He was, and no additional evidence was needed. The works that I do...they bear witness of Me (John 10:25), He said to the Jews. The Lord denounced them, saying: Ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye discern the signs of the times? (Matt. 16:3). Why did this happen with them? Because they lived an outward life and did not enter within themselves. Without collectedness, attentiveness, and self-searching it is impossible until this day. Christianity is before everyone's eyes as the true sign of God, but those who look at it do not see this, are shaken in faith, and step away. Their eyes lose the ability to see the stamp of divinity in it, and they are ready like the Jews to ask for special signs from heaven. But a sign is not given and shall not be given, because those who seek this do so only to tempt, and not in order to walk the path of Christ. Just enter onto this path, and from the first step you will see that is is Divine, that is leads to God and brings God nearer to you. The Lord said to the Jews: There shall no sign be given...but the sign of the prophet Jonah (Matt. 12:39). The Lord foresaw today's unbelievers as well, and prepared for them an answer: Then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the troves of the earth mourn. (Matt. 24:30).

-From St. Theophan the Recluse