10 Questions for an end-of-the-year Spiritual Checkup (Part 2 of 3)

10 Questions for an end-of-the-year Spiritual Checkup

(Part 2 of 3)

In the last installment of this series we looked at the first three of ten “checkup” items for our spiritual health:

1.      Are you more aware of sin in your life? 

2.      Do you have a growing list of questions regarding the faith? 

3.      How is your generosity?  Or, does your budget reflect a commitment to funding God’s work in the world?

Today we will look at three more:

4.      Is there someone in your life who knows everything about you or, are there things you are hiding?  There are two thoughts behind this point.  The first thought comes from the saying of the dessert fathers that reads, The one who chooses himself as a spiritual guide, has chosen a blind man, and a fool.  As much as we would like to think that we can be objective in evaluating ourselves, we simply can’t.  And we can never really know our own spiritual inner workings without another set of eyes helping us.

Secondly, God made us to be with other people.  We are not really healthy outside of a healthy community.  And to the degree that we are sick (and, like it or not, we are all spiritually sick to some degree) we can only gain health with the help of others.  Alcoholics Anonymous gives us a good example of this point.  Step number five in the 12-step process reads as follows: Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.  For all of us as human beings, health/sobriety/sanity (whatever you want to call it) can only be found in healthy community.

5.      Are you actively involved in a local church?  Or, how’s your Divine Liturgy attendance?  When Jesus Christ ascended into heaven and sent the Holy Spirit down on the disciples (Pentecost) what he was doing was empower the church to do the work that he had done while in the world.  To put it differently, the church is now God’s primary vehicle of operation in the world. 

It’s through the church that grace is primarily given out (through baptism, chrismation, holy communion, and all of the other sacraments).  It’s also the church that guides us to (and helps to shape within us) a Godly life – through the life that she calls us to live.  To the degree that we aren’t plugged in to the church, we are sailing the oceans without a compass, a map or a rudder (because the church is all of these things for us).

                                                                                                                         

6.      Think of the person that upsets you the most/causes you the most grief in your life – what are you doing to love that person as would Christ?  This is the hallmark of a Christian (because it’s so difficult to do).  But Jesus Christ is very clear in his teachings that we are not only to forgive those who wrong us, but to love them:

But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you (Luke 6:27-28).

And from the cross, Jesus leads by example with his final words to those who have placed him on the cross, Then said Jesus, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).  Is there a place in our lives where we need to offer more of God’s forgiveness?

- Offered by Fr. Panteleimon Dalianis

10 Questions for an end-of-the-year Spiritual Checkup (Part 1 of 3)

10 Questions for an end-of-the-year Spiritual Checkup

(Part 1 of 3)

Once a year it’s wise to get a physical check-up – to make sure we are physically well.  The reason being that we are not static beings – we change from year to year.  Sometimes (usually when we’re young) we get stronger and healthier.  Other times, our health declines.

Our spiritual health is very much like our physical health in this respect.  There are periods in our lives when we are growing – even flourishing – spiritually, and other times when we are suffering setback after setback.  In the next three installments of my Sunday offering, we will go through a 10-point checklist to evaluate how our spiritual life is right now and offer some possible remedies in the areas where we could use some help.

1.     Are you more aware of sin in your life?  At first glance this may seem counter-intuitive.  Most of us think that spiritual progress means we have fewer sins, and this is true with one important caveat.  The testimony of the saints is that, as we mature in our walk with Christ, we do commit fewer and less “grave” sins, but we also become more sensitive to and repulsed by those “smaller” sins.  A passage from The Prologue from Ochrid makes this point well:

The more a man advances in spiritual knowledge and in purification of the heart, the more it appears to him that the depth in which he finds himself is even lower and that the height to which he strives is even higher. When one spiritual giant on his death bed heard that his companions were praising him because of his great asceticism, he began to weep and said, "My children, I have not even begun my spiritual life".

2.     Do you have a growing list of questions regarding the faith?  This shouldn’t require much explanation.  If we are studying the scriptures, reading the lives of the saints and trying to put all of this into practice in our lives, there will be questions.  If we aren’t then there won’t (it’s that simple).

                                                             

3.     How is your generosity?  Or, does your budget reflect a commitment to funding God’s work in the world?  The only resources that God has (think time, talent and treasure) are our resources.  And it’s not coincidental that Jesus talked about stewardship and money a lot.  Depending on how you count, roughly half of the parables in the gospels address the topic of money.  Some of the strongest statements we hear out of he mouth of Jesus are on the topic of money (Where your treasure is there your heart will be also (Matt. 6:21), and You cannot serve God and money (Matt. 6:24)).

Like it or not, how we use the resources God has lent to us speaks directly to the health of our soul.   God has promised us through the scriptures, he will be with you, he will not fail you or forsake you (Deut. 31:8).  Do we believe this?  Do we believe the words of King David, I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging bread (Ps. 37:25).

Its impossible to be serious in our walk with God if we aren’t proving that seriousness by committing our time, talent and treasure to God’s work.

- Offered by Fr. Panteleimon Dalianis

The "E" Word: (Relatively) Simple Ways to be more Evangelistic in our World (Part 5)

The "E" Word: 

(Relatively) Simple Ways to be more Evangelistic in our World

(Part 5)

In the last article in this series we offered the first three of six suggestions that we can apply in our lives and in our churches to be consciously more evangelistic.  These first three suggestions were:

1.     Begin with prayer

2.     Build relationships with non-believers

3.     Invite someone to church

In this article we will conclude this series on evangelism with three final methods to become more evangelistic as a Christian and as a parish.

4.  Become accountable to someone else for sharing the gospel.  If sharing God's message with the people around us is something we value (even if it's something we don't currently do), then accountability can be a great help.  That which is accounted for is much more likely to be done.

This accountability person can be a likeminded friend, a family member or a priest.  Ideally, it would be a mutual accountability where both parties would be looking for the other to support and encourage (and, of course, hold them accountable) in this effort to spread the gospel.

5.  Have a meal with a non-believer.  This point is related to point number two above ("build relationships with non-believers"), but is more specific.  The goal here is, with people we know well who are not Christians, and with people we know less well, to open our lives to them - to let them into our world and if we are in fact struggling to live the Christian life, to have Christ's words from the gospel of St. John take affect - Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven (Matt. 5:16).

St. Paul had this same idea in mind as he went about his missionary work.  He tells the church in Thessaloniki, So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves... (1 Thes. 2:8).  Real evangelism is much more than just convey the content of the gospel (that’s just the start).  It’s also about walking along-side other people in their varying levels of spiritual maturity to help and guide and grow them in their faith (i.e. we were ready to share with you… our own selves...).

6.  Create a line item in the budget for outreach/evangelism.  This applies to both individuals and parishes.  If we as individual Christians are serious about evangelism, we should invest some money in buying good books that we can then give to people we meet who might be fertile soil for the message of the gospel.  And, as a parish, we said above, that which is accounted for is much more likely to get done.  The same rule applies here.  If no money is put towards any given ministry we (1) show that that particular ministry isn't important to us (For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also (Matt. 6:21)) and (2) make it more difficult for that ministry to accomplish its work (anything we do well is going to cost some money).

For many of us, evangelism is unchartered water.  We often don’t know where to begin – but to that question, Jesus’ words in the book of Acts can give us some guidance.  Just before His ascension, He tells the apostles, … you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth (Acts 1:8).  Note that the first place where they will be witnesses is Jerusalem (which was where they were when Jesus said this).  The point being – we are to begin where we are – in our neighborhoods, in our schools, at our jobs, with our friends.  And may the Holy Spirit guide us in this sacred and God-glorifying work!

- Offered by Fr. Panteleimon Dalianis

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