2014 Posta Paschal Sundays

St. Thomas: Holy Skepticism Posted on April 26, 2014 by Fr. Ted

The 2nd Sunday after Pascha in the Orthodox Church commemorate

the Apostle Thomas and his blessed doubt (See also my 2009 blog The

Blessed Doubt of Thomas).

“Such was the case with Thomas. When Thomas secured the empirical

proof of Jesus’ Resurrection he did not simply say, as did Peter, ‘You are

the Christ, the Son of the Living God’ (Mt. 16:16). This same

‘information’ was requested and given to the High Priest (Mt. 26:63)

and did not lead to any confession of faith whatsoever. On the

contrary. The ‘information’ is never enough because this would force

belief in a love for God, and God does not desire forced love, which is

never true love. Hence Thomas did not make a confession like Peter because it would have allowed him

to walk away, as if having learned and stated and objective fact which subsequently did not impact his

own life.

Thomas’ confession reveals that the goal of Thomas’ questioning was not

simply knowledge but salvation – a salvific knowledge. Thomas has to know

the truth because it was a matter of life or death for him. Having learned it,

Thomas turned his very life over to Jesus Christ by exclaiming ‘My Lord and

my God’ (Jn. 20:28). Thomas is an example for us today: skepticism is not a

sin if finding the Truth is our ultimate and salvific concern. If it is, proofs will

be given by God Himself. These may not be accepted by others who do not

have that concern – there are many who would not believe ‘even if one rose

from the dead’ (Lk. 16:31). In fact, Someone did rise from the dead and Christ’s prophecy holds: they still

do not believe. But if we are seeking we shall find. Or rather, God will find us, as He did Thomas. Then it

will be up to us to say, like Thomas, ‘My Lord and my God.’ ” (Hieromonk Calinic (Berger),Challenges of

Orthodox Thought and Life, pp. 68-69)

Forewarned: The Wages of Sin is Death Posted on April 28, 2014 by Fr.

Ted

St. Gregory Palamas (d. 1359AD) says in a sermon:

“Not only did God not make death, but He hindered it from happening.

However, as He had created man as a living being with free will, He could not

prevent it without destroying His creature by taking away the freedom He had

given. Nevertheless, in His wisdom and goodness He found a way to keep man

from death while preserving his free will. How was this to be achieved? As soon as He had formed man

and brought him to life, He gave him a counsel that would make him immortal. To establish this

instruction very firmly from the beginning, He made it His commandment and proclaimed it openly,

emphasizing that to break this life-giving precept meant death,

not death for the body at this stage, but death for the soul.

He told the man and the woman, our ancestors, ‘In the day that

you eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you will

surely die’ (cf. Gen. 2:17). Notice that He did not say the

imperative, ‘Die when you eat it.’ By His orders everything that

exists was made, He commanded and all things were created (Ps.

33:9). But He did not give the command for death, although He

forewarned that is would result from transgressing His

commandment, telling them not to eat of the tree, for on the day

they ate they would die. This He did so that they might follow His

counsel, escape disobedience, and not encounter death. It is

obvious that He was referring at that time to the death of the soul,

not of the body, because they did not die physically on the day they ate from the forbidden tree.” (The

Homilies, pp. 243-243)

On Earth We Are to Rejoice Always Posted on May 1, 2014 by Fr. Ted

“For Paul was speaking to men still living in this life when he said: ‘Rejoice

always, pray without ceasing.’ But in this life there are diseases, insults,

untimely deaths, false accusations, envious acts, and many reasons to grow

despondent. Here we find anger, evil lusts, countless treacheries, daily

anxieties. On earth we encounter a constant succession of evils which bring

sufferings on us from every side. Yet Paul said to men still living here on earth

that we could rejoice always if we would lift our heads a little above the

surging waves of everyday affairs and keep our lives under good control. But

after we depart this life, it is a far easier thing to obtain this blessing. Then, all

these troubles have been take away and there are no diseases, no sufferings,

no grounds for sinning. Then, those cold-hearted words ‘what’s mine’ and

‘what’s yours’ no longer exist to bring every dread evil into our lives and to

cause countless conflicts.” (St. John Chrysostom - d. 407AD, Incomprehensible

Nature of God, pp. 165-166)

The Gardener at the Tomb Posted on May 3, 2014 by Fr. Ted

This weekend we Orthodox commemorate the Sunday of the

Myrrhbearing Women.

Syrian Orthodox author and poet Jacob of Serugh (521AD) takes

the scene from John 20:11-18 and poetically creates a dialogue

between Mary Magdalene and Jesus, whom she supposes to be

the Gardener. Mary is speaking first:

“‘O gardener, if you have taken delight in It and carried It off,

show me where the fair Fruit is placed;

give It to me that I may take It from hence,

from this garden of yours, so full of treasures.

Do not hold me back, O gardener; give It to me, for It is my due.’

Our Lord was pleased to be likened to a gardener,

for it is He who opened the gate of Paradise for people to enter in;

it was He who broke the cherub’s sword, (Gen. 3:24)

and thus the banished Adam entered into his inheritance.

Rightly did He resemble a gardener at His resurrection!”

(Treasure House of Mysteries: Explorations of the

Sacred Text Through Poetry in the Syriac Tradition,

pg. 264)

The Myrrhbearing Woman Posted on May 3,

2014 by Fr. Ted

The Third Sunday after Pascha is dedicated to the

memory of the Holy Myrrhbearing Women Disciples of the Lord. Saint Gregory Palamas (d. 1359AD)

says in a sermon:

“The Resurrection of the Lord is the renewal of human nature, and the

renewal, re-creation and return to immortality of the first Adam who was

swallowed up by death because of sin, and through death went back to the

earth from which he was formed. In the beginning, nobody saw Adam being

made and brought to life, for no one existed yet at that time. However, once

he had received the breath of life breathed into him by God (Gen. 2.7), a

woman was the first to see him, for Eve was the first human being after him.

In the same way, no one saw the second Adam, that is the Lord, rising from

the dead, since none of his disciples were present and the soldiers keeping

the tomb had been shaken with fear and became like dead men. But after

the resurrection it was a woman who saw Him first of all, as we heard today

in Mark’s Gospel, ‘Now when Jesus,’ it says, ‘was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first

to Mary Magdalene’ (Mark 16.9).” (The Homilies,pg.144)

St. Stephen the First Martyr and Deacon Posted on May 7, 2014 by Fr. Ted

On the 3rd Sunday after Pascha, the Sunday of the Myrrhbearing Women, the Epistle/Apostolos reading

is Acts 6:1-7, which introduces us to St. Stephen who is among the first deacons chosen in the church,

and will become the first martyr of Christianity. Didymus the Blind (d. 398AD) comments on St. Stephen

the Protomartyr:

“After all, Stephen, that first witness to the truth and a man worthy of his name,

was said to be filled with wisdom and the Holy Spirit (Acts 6.3) – consequently,

wisdom is implied when the Holy Spirit abides in him – as the Scripture says:And

the Apostles chose Stephen, a man filled with faith and the Holy Spirit (Acts 6.5).

And after some other passages:But Stephen, a man filled with grace and power,

was doing great signs and wonders among the people (Acts. 6.8). And still

concerning the same: And they were not able to withstand the wisdom and Spirit

that was speaking in him(Acts 6.10). For the blessed man was filled with the Holy

Spirit, and was made a participant in the faith which comes from the Holy Spirit,

in accordance with the passage: But to another, faith by the same name Spirit (1

Cor. 12.9). Having grace and power according to the same Spirit, he did great

signs and wonders among the people. Indeed, he also abounded in those gifts according to the same

Spirit which are called the graces of healing and power.

For in the first epistle of the Apostle Paul to the

Corinthians these are numbered among the gifts of God

in the Spirit and according to the Spirit. But Stephen

overflowed with divine grace to such an extent that

none of his opponents and those disputing with him

were able to withstand the wisdom and Spirit who

spoke in him. For he was wise according to the Lord and

the Holy Spirit. This is why Jesus clearly proclaimed to

his disciples: Whenever you are brought to authorities

and powers and councils and synagogues, do not be

anxious regarding what you ought to say or how you

should speak at that time. For words of wisdom shall be

given to you by the Holy Spirit, which not even those very experienced in disputations will be able to

oppose.” (Works on the Spirit, pp. 155-156)

Purity of Heart Posted on May 7, 2014 by Fr. Ted

“Amma Sarah said, ‘If I prayed God that all people should approve of my

conduct, I should find myself a penitent at the door of each one, but I

shall rather pray that my heart may be pure toward all.’ Amma Sarah did

not seek the approval of others; likewise, she remained nonjudgmental

in her attitude toward others and their own journeys toward God. As in

any other time in church history, there were strong personalities in

Sarah’s day, but she did not follow fads. She sought to remain true to her

own simple path toward God.” (Laura Swan, The Forgotten Desert

Mothers, pg. 39)

The Paralytic: Enduring Suffering Posted on May 10, 2014 by Fr. Ted

The Gospel Lesson for the 4th Sunday after Pascha comes from John 5:1-15.

After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to

Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in

Hebrew called Bethzatha, which has five porticoes. In these lay a

multitude of invalids, blind, lame, paralyzed. One man was there,

who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him and

knew that he had been lying there a long time, he said to him, “Do

you want to be healed?” The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have

no man to put me into the pool when the water is troubled, and

while I am going another steps down before me.” Jesus said to

him, “Rise, take up your pallet, and walk.” And at once the man

was healed, and he took up his pallet and walked. Now that day

was the Sabbath. So the Jews said to the man who was cured, “It is

the Sabbath, it is not lawful for you to carry your pallet.” But he

answered them, “The man who healed me said to me, ‘Take up

your pallet, and walk.’” They asked him, “Who is the man who said

to you, ‘Take up your pallet, and walk’?” Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was,

for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. Afterward, Jesus found him in the temple,

and said to him, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse befall you.” The man went away

and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him.

St. John Chrysostom (d. 407AD) says in a sermon:

“Having lately come across the incident of the paralytic who lay upon his bed beside the pool, we

discovered a rich and large treasure, not be delving in the ground, but by diving into his heart: we found

a treasure not containing silver and gold and precious stones, but endurance, and philosophy, and

patience and much hope towards God, which is more valuable than any kind of jewel or source of

wealth.” (Christ’s Power to Heal: The Paralytic, p 2)

Chrysostom like many of the fathers praises the paralytic for his patient persevering in the face of

prolonged suffering. Perhaps it is true at that time that there were actually few cures for diseases and

patiently enduring suffering was seen as heroic and godly since there was no alternative. It is more

difficult for us today to be patient in the face of suffering as we want immediate cures or at least instant

relief from suffering and we don’t appreciate the Stoicism embraced by the ancient Christians that a

man of perfection is already beyond caring about pleasure or pain.

Fr. John Breck in his writing offers a more biblical view which makes more sense to the modern

Christian that suffering is not to be denied or ignored but that it might in itself have some redeeming

value.

“Suffering can make us aware of our total dependence on the

inexhaustible love and mercy of God. Like no other experience

known to us, it focuses our attention on our weakness and

vulnerability, and on God as the unique source of mercy, grace and

ultimate healing. As a corollary, suffering can bring a heightened

self-consciousness and, with it, an awareness of our personal

limitations. More than perhaps any other experience, pain and

suffering signal the fact that we are not in control. This is a

profoundly humbling experience, one that can lead to either

despair or to previously unknown heights of faith and hope.

Suffering can also have the effect of purging and purifying the

passions, that is, the desires and deceptions that corrupt our

relationship with God, with others, and with ourselves. At the

same time, it draws our attention to the present moment, forces

us to reorder our priorities, and invites us to seek above all ‘the one thing needful’ (Luke 10:42). Suffering

also brings awareness to our mortality. In Christian monastic tradition, the monk rises to pray with the

admonition, ‘Remember death!” There is nothing morbid about the memory of death. Rather, it is a

joyful expression of hope, based on the conviction that by his death, Christ has once and for all destroyed

the power of death. Suffering can also foster ecclesial communal ties with others on whom we depend. In

return, their own spiritual growth can be enhanced by the experience of sharing another’s pain through

their prayer and gestures of care. Finally, suffering offers the possibility to share in the life and saving

mission of the crucified and risen Lord. For the dying patient, this means to take up one’s cross and to

follow Christ to his own passion and death. To endure one’s suffering for the sake of Christ, in the

certainty that one will rise with him into the fullness of life, is also to offer to others the most eloquent

and effective witness or martyria possible.” (The Sacred Gift of Life, p 216)

Sts. Cyril and Methodius, Apostles to the Slavs Posted on May 11, 2014 by Fr. Ted

“The most famous of all Byzantine missionaries are the brothers Saint

Cyril (826-869) and Saint Methodius (c. 815-885). Both had served the

imperial government prior to undertaking their missionary work to

the Slavs of Moravia in 862. Their suitability for the mission lay in part

with their knowledge of the Slavic language, gained while growing up

in Thessalonika, an area with a large Slavic population. Beyond that,

they were clearly gifted men. Both had been able administrators and

Cyril had served as a professor of philosophy in the Imperial Academy.

Both had served on other imperial missions in which part of the task

was a defense of the Christian faith. It was only natural that these

brothers were chosen to teach and establish the faith in Moravia.

Before they had even departed on their mission, Cyril constructed a

Slavonic script and commenced the translation of the Bible into

Slavonic. Their work in Moravia was thus grounded in the language of the people, a key point in

Orthodox mission policy.” (James J. Stamoolis, Eastern Orthodox Mission Theology Today, p 20)

Patience Posted on May 13, 2014 by Fr. Ted

“True patience consists in bearing calmly the evils others do

to us, and in not being consumed by resentment against

those who inflict them. Those who only appear to bear the

evils done them by their neighbors, who suffer them in

silence while they are looking for an opportunity for

revenge, are not practicing patience, but only making a

show of it. Paul writes that love is patient and kind. It is

patient in bearing the evils done to us by others, and it is

kind in even loving those it bears with. Jesus himself tells us:

Love your enemies, do good to those that hate you, pray for

those who persecute and calumniate you. Virtue in the sight

of others is to bear with those who oppose us, but virtue in

God’s sight is to love them. This is the only sacrifice

acceptable to God. But often we appear to be patient only because we are unable to repay the evils we

suffer from others. As I have said, those who don’t pay back evil only because they can’t are not patient.

We are not looking to have patience on the surface, but in the heart.” (St. Gregory the Great - d.

604AD, Be Friends of God, pp 50-51)

Shame and Spiritual Growth

Posted on May 15, 2014 by Fr. Ted

“I think that both the strength to bear shame and the strength to suffer

are gifts from God. When I was a young and inexperienced spiritual

father, Father Sophrony told me to encourage the young people to

confess precisely the things of which they are ashamed, for if they learn

to do so, shame is transformed into strengths against the passions, and

they will overcome sin.”

(Archimadrite Zacharias, Remember Thy First Love, pg. 349)

Christ Emptied Himself to Empty Hell

Posted on May 16, 2014 by Fr. Ted

St. Paul tells us that in the incarnation of the Word of God in Christ that

the Second Person of the Trinity emptied Himself in order to become

fully human.

“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who,

though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a

thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant,

being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he

humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a

cross.“ (Philippians 2:5-8)

The self-emptying of God the Son, called kenosis, makes his

incarnation and the divine union with humanity possible. It makes

salvation possible. For the kenotic Christ then descends into the place of dead and empties it of allits

captives – not just the righteous, but all are freed from slavery to death. This is what we proclaim in our

post-Paschal hymnology.

Take for example these two hymns from Matins for the Sunday of the Paralytic:

You have risen, emptying the tombs and despoiling hell by Your almighty power. Therefore we

hymn Your holy and divine Resurrection, O Christ!

Christ is risen as He said, emptying all the kingdoms of hell. He is seen

by the apostles, granting them eternal joy!

Christ empties ALL of the kingdoms of hell – however many there may be,

however many levels there may be. Christ conquers all hells in all their

forms. Christ fills all things with Himself (Ephesians 1:23). Hell, Hades, Sheol

may be emptied of their dead, but they are filled with the presence of

Christ. Thus the Psalmist sings:

Where can I go from your spirit?

Or where can I flee from your presence?

If I ascend to heaven, you are there;

if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.

(Psalm 139:7-9)

Hell, Hades, Sheol, and death are all emptied of their powers by Christ. Christ

also frees everyone who has gone to the place of the dead, so that there is no place on heaven or on

earth or in hell where Christ is not present.

“If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then,

whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end

Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and

of the living.“ (Romans 14:8-9)

“For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities,

nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor

depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from

the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.“ (Romans 8:38-39)

Another hymn from Matins joyfully proclaims in song:

Christ is risen from the dead, the firstfruits of those that sleep: the

firstborn of all creation and maker of all created things! In Himself He

restored the corrupted nature of humankind! You shall reign no more, O Death, for the Master

of All has destroyed your power!

Not only does Christ empty Hades, Hell, Sheol of all the dead, he heals our humanity by reuniting it to

divinity. He doesn’t just free us from slavery and imprisonment in hell, but He also heals us, making us

capable of life in Heaven with our Father. He not only liberates our souls and bodies from enslavement,

but He heals our inner human nature making it capable again of being united to God in eternal life.

The Samaritan Woman’s Surprise Posted on May 17, 2014 by Fr. Ted

The Fifth Sunday after Pascha remembers Photini, the Samaritan woman at the well which is found in

John 4:5-42.

The Lord came to a city of Samaria, called Sychar, near the field that

Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and so Jesus,

wearied as he was with his journey, sat down beside the well. It was

about the sixth hour. There came a woman of Samaria to draw water.

Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” For his disciples had gone away

into the city to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it

that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” For Jews

have no dealings with Samaritans. Jesus answered her, “If you knew

the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’

you would have asked him, and he would have given you living

water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw with,

and the well is deep; where do you get that living water? Are you

greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it

himself, and his sons, and his cattle?” Jesus said to her, “Every one

who drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never

thirst; the water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The

woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.” Jesus said to

her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said

to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and he whom you

now have is not your husband; this you said truly.”The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a

prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain; and you say that in Jerusalem is the place where men

ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this

mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship

what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true

worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such the Father seeks to worship him. God is

spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said to him, “I know that

Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ); when he comes, he will show us all things.” Jesus said to her,

“I who speak to you am he.”

Just then his disciples came. They

marveled that he was talking with

a woman, but none said, “What

do you wish?” or, “Why are you

talking with her?” So the woman

left her water jar, and went away

into the city, and said to the

people, “Come, see a man who

told me all that I ever did. Can this

be the Christ?” They went out of

the city and were coming to him.

Meanwhile the disciples besought

him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” But he

said to them, “I have food to eat

of which you do not know.” So the disciples said to one another, “Has any one brought him food?” Jesus

said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work. Do you not say,

‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see how the fields

are already white for harvest. He who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, so that

sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I

sent you to reap that for which you did not labor; others have labored, and you have entered into their

labor.” Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me

all that I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he

stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, “It is no

longer because of your words that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is

indeed the Savior of the world.”

Archimandrite Zacharias comments:

“The Samaritan woman would surely have been struck by His request. (Of

course, the Saviour’s voice alone would have been enough to heal her.)

She was surprised to be spoken to by a Jew, recognizable by His clothing

and speech. Truly, every meeting with God is a surprise. (Yet the greatest

surprise of all awaits us on the Day of Judgment, which will be one

surprise for the righteous, and quite another for the unrighteous.) Indeed,

her astonishment was beyond telling when she met God in the flesh: ‘How

is it that You, being a Jew, ask drink of me, which am a woman of

Samaria? For Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.’ […] The Lord

aims to beget in the Samaritan woman such faith as will enable her to

rise to the level at which she can receive the eternal truth He so desires to

impart unto her. The woman becomes aware of the truth of the Lords

words. She feels their spiritual power, but she is as yet unable to conceive

the sacred gift which is being communicated to her by the life giving word

and quickening presence of the Lord Jesus. When we read the Gospel, we

often feel the divine power of His word and sense the immeasurable

depth of truth concealed within it. But because we are still earthly, we

find ourselves unable to enter into the mysteries of its deeper meaning. Thus our understanding of His

word is limited to the intellectual or psychological, while the deep truth of His word contains the

ineffable mystery of eternal life in Christ. The Samaritan woman, thinking that the Lord can forever

provide her with water as from some magic source, so that she will never again need to draw from the

well, exclaims, ‘Sir give me this water that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.’ But the Lord, to

Whom all things are known, needs first to reprove her for her way of life. She needs to change in order to

be able to receive the incorruptible gift of the Spirit.” (Remember Thy First Love, pp 93, 95-96)

Contemplating Photini and Christ Posted on May 18, 2014 by Fr. Ted

The fifth Sunday after Pascha is based on the Gospel lesson

from John 4:5-42, the Samaritan Woman, whose name

according to Church tradition is Photini. Below are some of

my own thoughts about the Gospel as I meditated on it.

The Lord came to a city of Samaria, called Sychar, near the

field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there,

and so Jesus, wearied as he was with his journey, sat down

beside the well. It was about the sixth hour. There came a

woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me

a drink.” For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy

food.

Although some modern “biblical” scholars think the idea of the incarnation of God was made up by later

generations of Christians, I’m in and with the Orthodox Tradition that does believe Jesus is God in the

flesh. So I find this Gospel lesson fascinating in that Christ, the God-man, begins the conversation by

asking the woman for a drink of water. He is thirsty and in need and God-man though He be, He is fully

human and in need of other humans to meet his own needs. Christ needs the woman’s help and is not

afraid to ask for it. It certainly isn’t what we would expect in a conversation with God – that God would

turn to us to help meet His need.

The entire idea of the incarnation completely turns on its head any idea of the almighty, omniscient and

eternal God. God is also humble and desires to be in communion with His human creatures. God wishes

to be able to turn to us in humility and to ask for our love.

The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a

woman of Samaria?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.

Obviously in the story, the Samaritan woman sees only a “hated” Jew before

her. Yet, she is willing to see beyond natural prejudice and at least treat him as a

human. This is a theological act on her part. For none of us are trying to escape

our humanity. Even God is not trying to escape our humanity, for He has become

incarnate as a human being! To recognize another as human is to be lifted up to

see the image of God which is in each of us. Sadly, often we are not able to do this.

Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’

you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you

have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep; where do you get that living water? Are you greater

than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, and his sons, and his cattle?”

She is puzzled and intrigued. She continues to respect His humanity and even begins a spiritual

understanding of Jesus by comparing Him to Jacob. She has begun a religious experience, simply by

treating Him as a human being. In recognizing His humanity she is beginning to see God in and through

Him.

Jesus said to her, “Every one who drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water

that I shall give him will never thirst; the water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water

welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor

come here to draw.”

Jesus began the conversation asking the woman for a drink of water to slake His thirst. She already

wants the “water” He has to offer. She is moving well beyond any literal understanding of Christ’s

words. She knows He has no ability to draw water from the well right in front of them. But she is

thirsting for what he offers her. Her spiritual eyes are open.

Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” The woman answered him, “I have no

husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five

husbands, and he whom you now have is not your husband; this you said truly.”The woman said to him,

“Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain; and you say that in

Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.”

The conversation has now become completely spiritual/religious and the Samaritan woman knows

it. She is seeing beyond Jesus’ humanity and recognizes in Him the power of God. She knows this is a

conversation about truth itself.

Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in

Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know,

for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship

the Father in spirit and truth, for such the Father seeks to worship him. God is spirit, and those who

worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming

(he who is called Christ); when he comes, he will show us all things.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to

you am he.”

The woman’s understanding of Jesus continues to change – from Jew, to human, to prophet to

Messiah. And all of this began not with a debate about theology, or a discussion of morality, or

discerning the will of God. It began with a simple request for a drink of water. In that request God

revealed Himself in humanity – vulnerable and in need of a fellow human being. The Samaritan woman

revealed his own humanity in overcoming her own prejudices and responding as a human to a fellow

human. In so doing she was elevated to having a conversation

with God.

Just then his disciples came. They marveled that he was talking

with a woman, but none said, “What do you wish?” or, “Why

are you talking with her?” So the woman left her water jar, and

went away into the city, and said to the people, “Come, see a

man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?”

Christ in His humanity tells her all that she ever did. She was

honest with Him. In Confession, we are given the same

opportunity to be honest with Christ. He already knows all

that we have done, but in Confession we are given opportunity

to acknowledge our own responsibility in what we have done –

and to seek God’s forgiveness. The alternative is to wait and

let Christ tell us what we have done: “And I saw the dead,

great and small, standing before the throne, and books were

opened. Also another book was opened, which is the book of

life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, by what they had done.” (Revelation

20:12). Like the Samaritan Woman, we each are given the chance to be honest with God about our

selves and our lives and our sins. It is an important step if we are going to see Christ as something more

than a nice man – to experience Him as the incarnate God come into the world to call us to repentance

and to unite us to God.

They went out of the city and were coming to him. Meanwhile the disciples besought him, saying,

“Rabbi, eat.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.” So the disciples said to

one another, “Has any one brought him food?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who

sent me, and to accomplish his work. Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the

harvest’? I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see how the fields are already white for harvest. He who reaps

receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here

the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor;

others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”

While this Gospel pericope has so many wonderful and deep meanings in it,

for the moment, I just want to note the disciple’s wooden literalism has

prevented them from understanding Christ. This happens in the midst of the

lesson of the non-Jewish woman moving from a dead literalism to the

Spirit. The contrast is not to be missed. Being a Christian, being a disciple, is

not limited to those who zealously belong to bible studies. Many come to a

knowledge of the truth even if they aren’t male, or Jewish, or disciples or

clergy, or educated, or following correct Tradition.

Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me all that I

ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there

two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, “It is no longer because

of your words that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the

Savior of the world.”

Now these non-Jews, not among the chosen disciples, have moved

further in their understanding of Jesus from prophet to Messiah to

Savior of the world. It is her testimony that brings about this faith in

the Samaritans. And it is her testimony about Christ speaking to her

about her sinfulness which has inspired her. Confession of sins has led

her to the knowledge of the truth about God.

The Gospel Lesson of the Samaritan Woman comes in the Post-

Paschal period when all of the newly baptized Christians begin their

education and spiritual growth in what it means to now have been

baptized into Christ. Like the Samaritan woman, the confession of sins

to Christ opens our hearts and minds to understanding what it means

that Jesus is Christ, Lord, God and Savior.

The Fruit of the Resurrection: CommUNITY

Posted on May 20, 2014 by Fr. Ted

“The fruit of Christ’s death and resurrection was koinonia

: community, communion, fellowship, or the church. In

Hebrew the corresponding term for it is yahad, used in

the Dead Sea Scrolls to denote ‘unity’. With one mind

[homothymadon] the members of the community

‘devoted themselves to apostolic teaching and fellowship

[koinonia], to the breaking of bread and prayers’ (Acts 2:42) .” (Veselin Kesich, Formation and

Struggles: The Birth of the Church AD 33-200, pg. 33)

Always Rejoice in the Lord Posted on May 21, 2014 by Fr. Ted

“For many words are not needed, nor a long round of arguments, but

if we only consider his expression, we shall find the way that leads to

it. He does not simply say, ‘Rejoice always’, but he adds the cause of

the continual pleasure saying, ‘Rejoice in the Lord always.’ He who

rejoices ‘in the Lord’ cannot be deprived of pleasure by anything that

may happen. For all other things in which we rejoice are mutable,

changeable and subject to variation. While they remain they do not

afford us a pleasure sufficient to repel and veil the sadness that comes

upon us from other quarters. But the fear of God contains both these

requisites. It is steadfast and immovable, and sheds so much gladness

that we admit no sense of other evils. For the man who fears God as he ought and trusts in Him gathers

from the very root of pleasure, and has possession of the whole fountain of cheerfulness.

And as a spark falling upon a

wide ocean quickly

disappears, so whatever

events happen to the man

who fears God, these, falling

as it were upon an immense

ocean of joy, are quenched

and destroyed!” (St. John

Chrysostom– d. 407AD,

Rejoice in the Lord Always,

pg. 5)

Seeking God in Simplicity Posted on May 22, 2014 by Fr. Ted

“For, as St John Klimakos (d. 649AD) says, God reveals Himself, not in response to our exertions, but in

response to the humility and simplicity that come through faith, that is, through the contemplation of the

Scriptures and of created beings.” (St. Peter of Damaskos, THE PHILOKALIA, Kindle Loc. 32216-20)

Elder Porphyrios, A Greek monk and priest who died in 1991 and was

canonized a saint in December of 2013, offers in his spiritual guidance

direction very much in the tradition of St. John Climacus mentioned

above. Elder Porphyrios was concerned that too often Orthodox assume

that the only way to follow Christ is to follow a strenuous life of ascetic self-

denial. Instead he emphasized that there is another way which he termed

“bloodless” – a way in which we each focus with love on Christ rather than

on self-inflicted suffering. It is being a disciple of Christ through love.

“Devote your efforts, therefore, to these spiritual things and ignore all the

other things. We can attain to the worship of God easily and bloodlessly. There are two paths that lead

to God: the hard and debilitating path with fierce assaults against evil and the easy path with

love. There are many who chose the hard path and ‘shed blood in order to receive Spirit’ until they

attained great virtue. I find that the shorter and safer route is the path with love. This is the path that

you, too, should follow.

That is, you can make a different kind of effort: to study and pray and

have as your aim to advance in the love of God and of the Church. Do not

fight to expel the darkness from the chamber of your soul. Open a tiny

aperture for light to enter, and the darkness will disappear. The same

holds for our passions and our weaknesses. Do not fight them, but

transform them into strengths by showing disdain for evil. Occupy

yourself with hymns of praise, with the poetic canons, with the worship of

God and with divine eros. All the holy books of our Church – contain

holy, loving words addressed to Christ. Read them with joy and love and

exaltation. When you devote yourself to this effort with intense desire,

your soul will be sanctified in a gentle and mystical way without your even being aware of it. . . .

By reading these books you will gradually acquire meekness, humility and love, and your soul will be

made good. Do not choose negative methods to correct yourself. There is no need to fear the devil, hell

or anything else. These things provoke a negative reaction. I, myself, have some little experience in

these matters. The object is to live, to study, to pray and to advance in love – in love for Christ and for

the Church.

What is holy and beautiful and what gladdens the heart and frees the

soul from every evil is the effort to unite yourself to Christ, to love

Christ, to crave for Christ and to live in Christ, just as Saint Paul said, It

is no longer I who live; Christ lives in me. This should be your aim. Let

all other efforts be secret and hidden. What must dominate is love for

Christ. Let this be in your head, your thought, your imagination, your

heart and your will. Your most intense effort should be how you will

encounter Christ, how you will be united to Him and how you will keep

Him in your heart.”

(WOUNDED BY LOVE: THE LIFE AND THE WISDOM OF ELDER

PORPHYRIOS, p 136-137)

Bringing Others to Salvation Posted on May 23, 2014 by Fr. Ted

“After having passed thirty-one years as a hermit in the desert with his companion

John, Symeon said to him: ‘What more benefit do we derive, brother, from passing

time here in this desert? But if you hear me, get up, let us depart; let us save others.

For as we are, we do not benefit anyone except ourselves, and have not brought

anyone else to salvation.’ And he began to quote to him from the Holy Scriptures

such things as ‘Let no one seek his own good, but rather the good of his neighbors’

(1 Cor. 10:24), and again ‘All things to all men, that I might save all’ (1 Cor. 9:22).

And his biographer notes: The all-wise Symeon’s whole goal was this: first, to save souls…For it was not

thought just that the one thus honored by God and placed high should disdain the salvation of his fellow

men, but remembering the one who said, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’ (Luke 10:27), who did not

disdain to put on the form of a slave,

although unchanged, for the salvation of a

slave (cf. Phil. 2:6 ff), Symeon imitated his

master and truly used his own soul and body

to save others.’” (Jean-Claude

Larchet, Mental Disorders and Spiritual

Healing, p 151)

The Blind Man and Eyes of Faith Posted on May 25, 2014 by Fr. Ted

The Sixth Sunday after Pascha commemorates the healing of the blind man as reported in John 9:1-38.

As the Lord passed by, he saw a man blind from his birth. And his

disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents,

that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man

sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be made

manifest in him. We must work the works of him who sent me, while

it is day; night comes, when no one can work. As long as I am in the

world, I am the light of the world.” As he said this, he spat on the

ground and made clay of the spittle and anointed the man’s eyes

with the clay, saying to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which

means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing. The

neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar, said, “Is

not this the man who used to sit and beg?” Some said, “It is he”;

others said, “No, but he is like him.” He said, “I am the man.”

They said to him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” He answered, “The man called Jesus made clay

and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash’; so I went and washed and received my

sight.”They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.” They brought to the Pharisees the man

who had formerly been blind. Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes.

The Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, “He put clay on my

eyes, and I washed, and I see.” Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not

keep the sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” There was

a division among them. So they again said to the blind man, “What do you say about him, since he has

opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.” The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had

received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight, and asked them,

“Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” His parents answered, “We

know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but how he now sees we do not know, nor do we

know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he

is of age, he will speak for himself.” His

parents said this because they feared

the Jews, for the Jews had already

agreed that if any one should confess

him to be Christ, he was to be put out of

the synagogue. Therefore his parents

said, “He is of age, ask him.”

So for the second time they called the

man who had been blind, and said to

him, “Give God the praise; we know that

this man is a sinner.” He answered,

“Whether he is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I know, that though I was blind, now I see.” They said

to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” He answered them, “I have told you

already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you too want to become his

disciples?” And they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know

that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.” The man

answered, “Why, this is a marvel! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes.

We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if any one is a worshiper of God and does his will, God

listens to him. Never since the world began has it been heard that any one opened the eyes of a man

born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” They answered him, “You were born in

utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out. Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and

having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of man?” He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I

may believe in him?” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who speaks to you.” He said,

“Lord, I believe”; and he worshiped him.

Hieromonk Gregorios in his commentary on the Divine Liturgy writes:

“St. John Chrysostom, who, like all the Spirit-bearing Fathers,

saw things invisible and heard things ineffable, assures us

that the only true senses are the spiritual senses of faith.

Interpreting Christ’s words, Blessed are your eyes, for they

see, and your ears, for they hear (Matt. 13:16) , he writes:

‘Christ does not bless the outward (that is, physical) sight,

because that of itself does not see miracles, but rather the

inward sight. The Jews saw a blind man (who had been

healed), and they said: ‘It is he – it is not he.’ (cf. John 9:8 ff).

Do you hear how they are in doubt? … While we, who were

not present, do not say, ‘It is he – it is not he’, but rather: ‘It

is he.’ Do you see that being absent does one no harm when

one has the eyes of faith, and being present does one no good when the eyes of faith are lacking? For

what good did it do the Jews that they saw Christ? None at all. We, therefore, have seen more clearly

than they did. When the Lord taught the Jews, He spoke in parables because, as He said, ‘While they see

my miracles, they do not want to see, and while they hear my teaching they do not want to listen’ (cf.

Matt. 13:13). The faithful see and hear Christ and follow Him because they know His voice (cf. John 10:4),

even though centuries have passed since His coming in the flesh.” (Hieromonk Gregorios,The Divine

Liturgy: A Commentary in the Light of the Fathers, pg. 164)

Blind + Mystery Posted on May 25, 2014 by Fr. Ted

“We might more clearly portray the nature of mystery with

an example. For a man born blind, a two-dimensional

representation is a mystery. He does not have what it takes

– sight – to comprehend this reality. Sight is required for a

person to understand how a two-dimensional

representation actually does represent something that is

three-dimensional. Since he does not have the means to

see, it is a mystery how this flat something is a likeness, let

us say, of his brother. In fact, that it is a likeness of his

brother is something that he must be told, and then he

must take it on faith. He may have some idea of what his

brother ‘looks like’ since he has, for example, felt the

features of his brother’s face with his hands. Yet, the photo

remains a mystery for him. It is beyond the power of a man born blind to understand this. However, we

note that not every aspect of the photo is a mystery.

Even the man born blind can feel its flatness. Even the

man born blind can feel the smoothness of the glossy

print or the lesser smoothness of another kind of

photo paper. He can even perceive it is paper, not

wood. Even the man born blind can smell the photo,

comparing it with other papers, with other flatnesses

he experienced this way. Thus, it is possible for some

aspects of even the greatest mysteries to be

understood, at least in a limited way.” (Father

Laurence in In The Spirit of Happiness: The Monks of

New Skete, pps. 148-149)

Thy Kingdom Come: Focusing on the Kingdom Posted

on May 27, 2014 by Fr. Ted

“This is the reason in fact that we are bidden to say in the

prayer, ‘Your kingdom come,’ that our eyes may ever be fixed on

that day. I mean, the person caught fast by that desire and

nourished by hopes for those good things is not overwhelmed by

any of this life’s misfortunes, is not depressed by any griefs of

this world. Instead, as those traveling to the royal city are held

back by nothing along the way – meadows, gardens, ravines,

deserts – and give no attention to any of them looking at one

thing alone, the homeland welcoming them, so too those who

each day refashion that city for themselves and nourish their desire of it will consider no trouble to be

troublesome or any bright and splendid things to be bright and splendid.” (St. John Chrysostom,

Commentary on the Psalms, pg. 98)

The Incarnation and the Ascension Posted on May 28, 2014 by Fr. Ted

Hymns from the Feast of the Ascension of

our Lord offer us a banquet table laden

with Christian theology – opportunity to

understand both our Creator God and

what God offers to humanity. Consider

for example the Kontakion hymn of the

Feast:

When You fulfilled the dispensation for

our sake, and united earth to heaven, You

ascended in glory, Christ our God, not being parted from those who love You, but remaining with them

and crying: I am with you and no one will prevail against you!

There is of course what I often consider the Byzantine playfulness of the hymn: Christ unites earth and

heaven by leaving the earth and yet in his departure he is not separated from us but remains with

us! Leaving and staying, parting and uniting all at the same time.

But within the is poetic language there is the theology of

the Incarnation of God the Word. Our theology adamantly

maintains that though Jesus Christ is fully human, He is also fully

God. Though He resided on earth, He was never separated from

heaven or from divinity. This is the mystery of the incarnation. But

the incarnation is not just some divinely magical mystery. It is our

salvation – it serves a purpose. It is the very reason why Christ, the

Son of God, came to earth. As St. Athanasius and many others

affirmed in one form or another: God became human so that

humans might become divine.

God became human (John 1:14) – that is the incarnation, but the

purpose of this is the salvation of humanity; namely restoring the

union between God and humans. God became incarnate so that we humans could participate in the

divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). The Ascension of Christ, the human risen from the dead, is the fulfillment of

the second half of St. Athanasius’ statement for now in Christ humanity has been raised to the level of

divinity. When materialistically minded people ask, “How is this possible, is Jesus floating around in

outer space somewhere?”, we can only respond by helping people think outside of that limited,

materialistic box. There is a divine mystery here, and we have to stop thinking so literally and

materialistically to understand it. We are entering into the mystery of God’s own relationship to His

creation. And, in the same way we cannot account for how it is possible for God to become human (to

become incarnate, for God to become that which by nature is “not God”), we cannot fully comprehend

how humanity can partake of the divine nature. Yet, we claim this is what God intended for humanity all

along. At the Ascension we are encountering the other half of the truth of the incarnation; humanity

now shares in divinity.

And since our humanity is now united with God in the incarnation, even if Christ is not physically present

on earth, He remains united to our human nature. Salvation is that in Christ, we humans are united to

Christ who shares our human nature. When we arebaptized into Christ, or when we receive Christ in

the Eucharist we are united to Christ in heaven while simultaneously still being on earth.

Another hymn from the feast directs our attention to what we also suffer at the ascension of Christ:

Ascending to heaven, from where you came, do not leave us as

orphans, Lord. Let Your Spirit come, bringing peace to the world:

show the children of mankind the works of Your power, Lord and Lover

of mankind!

The ascension of Christ, His departure from earth and return to

heaven, does leave us feeling abandoned. The hymns are bluntly

honest about what the Ascension feels like. “Wait, we don’t want you

to leave! Stay with us instead of leaving us!” But the hymns also

remind us that Christ in heaven is still fully human and never

separated from our human nature. Additionally, we also receive the

Holy Spirit at Pentecost and at our Chrismation. We are not

abandoned by God but remain united to divinity.

And another hymn:

Come, everyone who must return to the earth that which is of the earth, and yield ashes to ashes. Let us

rouse ourselves and lift up our eyes and thoughts! Mortals, let us behold the heavenly gates with our

eyes and understanding, imagining ourselves present on the Mount of Olives, and beholding the

Deliverer carried upon the clouds, for the Lord ascended from there into the heavens, distributing His

precious gifts to the apostles and consoling them as their Father, strengthening and instructing them as

His children, saying to them: I am not parting myself from you! I am with you, and no one will prevail

against you!

We mortals, humans who do die, are called at the Ascension of Christ to contemplate our humanity

being permanently united to divinity for all eternity. We are united to Christ and He to us in such a way

that we can never be separated from Him as long as we are human.

The majesty of the One who assumed poverty by taking flesh has been taken up above the heavens in full

view of all. Our fallen nature has been honored, seated together with the Father! Let us all celebrate

and shout in harmony, clapping our hands in joy!

The Ascension reveals our salvation: God became human so that

humans can partake of divinity. This is Christian theology. It reveals

a great mystery about the Holy Trinity, the God who is Love.

As one of the Persons of the Trinity, Christ the Word of God, shared

in the divine glory. God’s glory was Christ’s glory. Christ gave up that

glory to become human (Philippians 2:4-9). Christ did not enter into

the world in glory. He came into the world humbly, born in poverty

in an animal’s cave and placed in a feeding trough. This is part of the

mystery of God who by nature is humble and love. God’s glory does

not prevent God from becoming human. Humanity is capable of

bearing divinity. It was unexpected that God should come into the world, not in all His glory. But then,

after being crucified on a cross – humbling himself to death on the cross – Christ the incarnated God

ascends in glory. Christ reveals what human nature is capable of and what humans were intended

for: complete union with God, partaking of the divine nature, and living in heaven. So we are not

abandoned by Christ, nor are we separated from His glory, but we await fully participating in His glory.

The Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ (2014) Posted on May 29, 2014 by Fr. Ted

The Feast of the Ascension of our Lord commemorates the events

described in Acts 1:1-12.

In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus

began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up, after

he had given commandment through the Holy Spirit to the

apostles whom he had chosen. To them he presented himself alive

after his passion by many proofs, appearing to them during forty

days, and speaking of the kingdom of God. And while staying with

them he charged them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait

for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me,

for John baptized with water, but before many days you shall be

baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you

at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is

not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you shall

receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and

in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.” And when he had said this, as they were looking

on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as

he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand

looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as

you saw him go into heaven.”

Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s

journey away;

The theme hymn (Troparion) for the

Feast reads:

O Christ God, You have ascended in

Glory,

Granting joy to Your disciples by the

promise of the Holy Spirit.

Through the blessing they were

assured

That You are the Son of God,

The Redeemer of the world!

St. Silouan the Athonite (d. 1938AD) says:

“Since the days of my youth I have loved to reflect: The Lord ascended into heaven and awaits our

coming; but to be with the Lord we must be like Him, or like little children – lowly and meek – and we

must serve Him. Then, according to the words of the Lord, ‘Where

I am, there shall also my servant be’ (John 12:26) – we, too, shall

be with Him in the Kingdom of Heaven. . . . O, who shall sing me

the song that I have loved since the days of my youth – the song

of the Lord’s ascension into heaven, of His love for us, of the vigil

He keeps for our coming? To this song would I hearken with tears,

for my soul wearies on earth.

What has befallen me? How came I to lose joy, and shall I attain

to that joy again?

Weep with me, all ye wild beasts and birds. Weep with me, forest

and desert. Weep with me, every creature created of God, and

comfort me in my grief and sorrow.

In this wise I reflect in my soul: if I who love God so little am so

violently heartsick for the Lord, how exceeding great must have

been the grief of the Mother of God when she was left on earth

after the Ascension of her Lord. . . .

We cannot fathom the depth of the love of the Mother of God, but we know:

The greater the love, the greater the suffering of the soul.

The fuller the love, the fuller the knowledge of God.

The more ardent the love, the more fervent the prayer.

The more perfect the love, the holier the life.”

(Archimandrite Sophrony, ST SILOUAN THE ATHONITE, pp 365-366)

The Kontakion of the Feast:

When You did fulfill the dispensation for our sake,

And unite earth to Heaven:

You did ascend in glory, O Christ our God,

Not being parted from those who love You,

But remaining with them and crying:

I am with you and no one will be against you.

Commemorations: The Reality of Faith Posted on May 30, 2014

by Fr. Ted

“Biblical scholarship has long taught us that the essential meaning of

biblical remembrance (anamnesis) has to do with making present the

reality of the saving events in the context of communal prayer and

worship. In antiquity the ritual acts among Jews and Christians were

not taken as merely figurative, a modern notion, but rather they were

seen as bearing divine powers and having decisive consequences

according to the words of Saint Paul.

Just as the preaching of the word of God carries intrinsic power and

transformative impact on receptive hearers, so also, and indeed more

so, the ritual acts of Baptism and the Eucharist, in the context of the

Church’s living faith and the power of the Holy Spirit, make present the saving reality and blessings of the

death and resurrection of the Lord.

Surely the Apostle Paul did not view the Lord’s Supper as merely

metaphorical in 1 Cor. 11, any more than he viewed Baptism as

figurative in Rom. 6. The Gospel of John which declares that true

worship is ‘in spirit and truth’ (Jn. 4:24) also contains references

to Baptism and the Eucharist as determining one’s entry into the

kingdom (Jn. 3:5) and one’s sharing in the divine life of

the Incarnate Lord (Jn. 6:52-58). Seen from this perspective, the

Orthodox Eucharist is not only a proclamation but also an

actualization of the good news of Christ and his saving

work.” (Theodore G. Stylianopoulos, The Way of Christ: Gospel,

Spiritual Life and Renewal in Orthodoxy, pps. 36-37)

Dogma: How to Stand in Relationship to God

Posted on May 31, 2014 by Fr. Ted

The 7th Sunday after Pascha falls between the Feasts of the

Ascension of our Lord and Holy Pentecost. It commemorates the

Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council, which was held in the Fourth

Century. This Council certainly took up the question, “Who is Jesus

Christ?” In knowing Christ, we come to understand what salvation

means. For the early Christians Jesus is Truth (John 14:6), and so it

was essential that the Church be able to express and communicate

the Truth in order to evangelize the world. The Truth is the person

of Jesus, while dogma and doctrine are the words and images we use

to convey the truth to all people. Dogma and doctrine are thus exactly like the Scriptures in that they

bear witness to Christ (John 5:39) – they bring us to the knowledge of the Truth who is Jesus.

“Early Christians approached Jesus Christ and the teaching about him (dogma)

in the same way that Jews approached the law. Even as St. Paul taught that

the person of Christ, and life in Christ, supercedes the law, his Epistles began to

define who Christ is, how he is both divine and human, and how God exists

eternally with his divine Son and his most holy Spirit. Even as the disciples and

the first Christians were primarily concerned with praising God (Lk. 24:51-53)

and spreading the faith, they were also concerned with discerning the truth

about God and his Christ, and developing and widening the implications of that

truth. It was the birth of Christian dogma. Christians sing about this dogma as

the Jews sang about the law. […]

Dogma (general truth) or dogmas (which are expressions of that truth) do not describe a code, a set of

fixed and sterile rules. Rather, dogma describes and defines reality, what is. Dogmas give a true

understanding of God, creation, and human personhood. They orient our lives. From dogma, we derive

an understanding of reality, an ethos of life, and understanding of how to live, how to stand in

relationship with God, the cosmos, the other, and the self. In other words, they tell us how to ‘do the

truth’.” (Peter Bouteneff, Sweeter than Honey: Orthodox Thinking on Dogma and Truth, pps. 38-39)

We proclaim the Truth at every Divine Liturgy, and in that Liturgy we recognize the relationship between

love and truth as well as between beauty and truth. Jaroslav

Pelikansays:

“And The Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom introduces the chanting

of the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed with the formula: ‘Let us

love one another, that with one mind we may confess Father, Son,

and Holy Spirit, the Trinity one in essence and undivided.’ It does

not say. though, that is what reasonably might have been expected,

‘Let us confess Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, that we may love one

another.’ Rather, to quote Bishop Kallistos Ware’s commentary on

this portion of the Orthodox Liturgy: The Creed belongs only to

those who live it. This exactly expresses the Orthodox attitude to

Tradition. If we do not love one another, we cannot love God; and if

we do not love God, we cannot make a true confession of faith and cannot enter into the inner spirit of

Tradition, for there is no other way of knowing God than to

love him.” (Orthodoxy and Western Culture, pg. 181)

Truth, dogma and doctrine, are not just intellectual facts or a

framework for understanding things. They are intimately

connected with the Christian way of life – they are expressed

in our love for God and for one another. They are helping us

to enter into communion with the God who is love.

As George Washington Carver once observed:

“When you love something enough, it reveals itself to

you.” (Being Bread by Stephen Muse, pg. 135)

Prayer: The Flower of Gentleness Posted on June 1, 2014 by Fr. Ted

“Prayer is the flower of gentleness and of freedom from anger.

Prayer is the fruit of joy and thankfulness.

Prayer is the remedy for gloom and despondency.

Do not pray that your own will may be done, for your will may not

accord with the will of God. But pray as you have been taught,

saying: Thy will be done in me. Pray to him in this way about

everything – that his will be done. For he desires what is good and

profitable for your soul, whereas you do not always ask for this.

Often in my prayers I have asked for what I thought was good, and persisted in my petition, stupidly

trying to force the will of God, instead of leaving it to him to arrange things as he knows best. But

afterwards, on obtaining what I asked for, I was very sorry that I did not pray rather for God’s will to be

done; because the thing turned out to be different from

what I expected.

What is good, except God? Then let us leave all our

concerns to him, and all will be well. If you long for

prayer, renounce all to gain all. At the time of trials and

temptations, use a brief but intense prayer. When you

are in the inner temple, pray not as the Pharisee, but as

the publican. Strive never to pray against anyone. If

when you are praying no other joy can attract you, then

truly you have found prayer.”

(Evagrius of Pontus - d. 399AD, The Time of the Spirit:

Readings Through the Christian Year, p 102)

Doing Good for Goodness’s Sake Posted on June 3, 2014 by Fr. Ted

Clement of Alexandria (d. ca 215AD), writing in the late Second

Century offers us an understanding of what should motivate a true

Christian’s behavior:

“Likewise, some believers exercise self-restraint only because of the promise

of reward or out of the fear of God. Of course, this kind of self-restraint is a

start. It’s the basis of knowledge, and it’s the first step towards something

better. It’s an effort after perfection. For it is said that ‘the fear of the Lord is

the beginning of wisdom’. (Prov. 1:7) But the perfect man ‘bears all things’ and

‘endures all things’ out of love. (1 Cor. 13:7) He does it ‘not to please man, but God.’

(1 Thess. 2:4) Although praise may follow him as a result, he does not do things to

receive praise. He does them for the benefit of those who do the praising. He also

does them to set an example for others. To put it another way, the person who

merely controls his wrong desires is not truly a moderate man. The true man of

moderation is one who has also mastered good attributes. He has acquired the great

things that come from knowledge. He produces godly qualities as the fruit of this

knowledge.” (The One Who Knows God, pg. 59)

The Mystery of the Church Posted on June 4, 2014 by Fr. Ted

“Although we live in a world where the very concept and term ‘church’ has

become bureaucratized and formalized, so that most people would

immediately think of either a building or administrative society when they

hear the word; the Orthodox have retained the older and infinitely more

dynamic understanding of church which is found in the Scriptures. These

describe the church as a mystery of the ‘life of Christ’; a society of

believers, certainly, but more fundamentally, the extended power of

Christ’s saving work as manifested and concretized in the world, and in

the next age.”

(John Anthony McGuckin, The Orthodox Church: An Introduction to its

History, Doctrine, and Spiritual Culture, p 238)

Spiritual Wisdom and God’s Judgments Posted on June 5, 2014 by Fr. Ted

“He who does not understand God’s judgments walks on a ridge like a knife-edge and is easily

unbalanced by every puff of wind.

When praised, he exults; when criticized, he

feels bitter.

When he feasts, he makes a pig of himself;

and when he suffers hardship, he moans and

groans.

When he understands, he shows off; and when he

does not understand, he pretends that he does.

When rich, he is boastful; and when in poverty, he

plays the hypocrite.

Gorged, he grows brazen; and when he fasts, he

becomes arrogant.

He quarrels with those who reprove him; and

those who forgive him he regards as fools.”

(St. Mark the Ascetic, The Philokalia, Kindle Loc.

4034-40)

A History of the Feast of Pentecost Posted on June 7, 2014 by Fr. Ted

“The origins of this Feast derive from the Jewish Feast of Weeks,

which is otherwise known as the Feast of Pentecost; it was the time

when the first-fruits of the corn harvest were presented to the Lord

(Deuteronomy 16:9), and later became the commemoration of the

giving of the Law by Moses, 50 days after the Passover celebrations.

The Jewish Feast stressed the Sinai covenant and Law, and the

identity of the chosen people in their relationship with God. The fact

that the gift of the Holy Spirit to Christ’s apostles took place at

Pentecost enabled this Jewish Feast to take on great significance for

Christians: it became the occasion to celebrate the role of the Holy

Spirit in the creation of the new chosen people and the new law

that was to become operative within the life of the Church.

‘Pentecost’ referred originally to the 50-day period after the

Resurrection, which was seen as a 50-day-long Sunday; this was a time of extended rejoicing in which

fasting was out of place, and where the practice of kneeling was forbidden as out of keeping with the

fact that Christians were already raised up to new life in Christ.

Christ had been raised and glorified, and the Spirit had been poured

out on the Church, and the number symbolism of seven times

seven, plus one, to make the 50 days of Pentecost expressed a

fullness and perfection that were appropriate for the extended

celebration of Christ’s triumph over sin and death. To this day, the

name of the service book for this period is The Pentecostarion. The

earliest accounts of this Christian liturgical period come from the

mid-second century. By the fourth century the Ascension had

become a separate commemoration at the fortieth day after Easter, and by the fifth century Pentecost

Sunday had begun to become more associated with the events spoken of in chapter 2 of the Acts of the

Apostles.” (John Baggley, Festival Icons for the Christian Year, pp 140 – 141)

The Word of God and God’s Holy Spirit Posted on June 8, 2014 by Fr.

Ted

“In speaking of the relationship between the Word and the Holy Spirit during

the earthly mission of Christ, the Fathers saw, in a certain way in Christ the

great precursor or forerunner of the Holy Spirit. Thus for St. Athanasius, ‘The

Word took on flesh so that we could receive the Holy Spirit…God became a

bearer of flesh (sarcophore) so that we might become bearers of the Spirit

(pneumataphores).’

For St. Simeon the New Theologian, ‘Such was the end and destiny of the

whole work of our salvation by Christ, that those who believe receive the

Holy Spirit.’

Nicholas Cabasilas, the fourteenth-century Byzantine lay theologian said,

‘What is the effect and result of the actions of Christ? … it is nothing else

but the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Church.’ The Lord himself said:

‘It would be better for you that I leave … I will pray the Father and he will

give you another Paraclete.’”

(Paul Evdokimov, In the World, Of the Church, pp 255-256)

Scriptures of Ink Vs. Engraving the Heart Posted on June 9,

2014 by Fr. Ted

“You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on your

hearts, to be known and read by all men; and you show that you are

a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the

Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of

human hearts . . . a new covenant, not in a written code but in the

Spirit; for the written code kills, but the Spirit gives life. ” (2

Corinthians 3:2-3, 6)

As important as Christians believe Scriptures to be, they have their

limit. Scripture alone is not sufficient for a life in Christ. St. Paul in

his Letter to the Corinthians, quoted above, shows there are other

ways that the Holy Spirit works in our lives which give us “written” works that are not pages in a printed

book. Each of us when open to the Holy Spirit are to become “letters”, scriptures if you will – but the

“writing” is the Holy Spirit working on our hearts. We become witnesses through our very lives, and our

lives can be living witnesses to God even more effective than words recorded in books. In Orthodoxy,

we would call such living scriptures, Saints or the Holy Ones. The written word has its limits, it even can

kill according to St. Paul. The living word written in our hearts gives life. If we are being the Church, we

should be able to point to our members as being “letters from God” which we can deliver to others to

bear witness to God’s own activity in their lives.

We know in the New Testament there are plenty of examples where having the Scriptures was not

enough for the Israelites to believe in God. In the Gospel lesson for Pentecost for example (John 7:37-

52), the Pharisees clearly have the Law, the Scriptures but it does

them no good in seeing the hand of God at work in their lives or in

believing in God who loves the world. Jesus warns the religious

leaders that searching the Scriptures itself is of no value if they don’t

see that the Scriptures are witness to the Messiah (John 5:38-40).

St. Macarius The Great (d. 392AD) reinforces these Scripture

lessons:

“Grace engraves the laws of the Spirit in the hearts of the sons of

light. Therefore they should not draw their assurance only from the

Scriptures of ink, for the grace of God also engraves the laws of the

Spirit and the heavenly mysteries on the tables of the heart.”

We are not seeking to find the Scriptures, they are readily available to us, but rather we are seeking

what the Scriptures bear witness to, the treasures found in them including the grace of God. The

Scriptures can help us seek the Holy Spirit so that God Himself engraves His commandments on our

hearts. These words of God are not to be external to us written in a book, but rather belong within us,

just as the kingdom of heaven is within us. St. Macarius is teaching us the same thing that we find in the

New Testament writings about the nature of the Bible: we are to become living scriptures with the Holy

Spirit writing on our hearts. We are to become true living icons of

God. St. Macarius continues:

“For the heart commands and rules the whole body. And grace, once it

has taken possession of the pastures of the heart, reigns over all our

members and all our thought. For in the heart are the spirit (nous) and

all the thoughts of the soul and its hope. Through it, grace passes into all

the members of the body. Equally with those that are children of

darkness: sin reigns over their heart and passes into all their

members…” (The Spirituality of the New Testament & The

Fathers, Louis Bouyer, p 378)

The heart is even more valuable than a Bible. For on our hearts the Holy Spirit can engrave God’s words,

but also in our hearts sin can reign. The true focus of our spiritual lives is not to be the Bible which is

external to ourselves, but on our hearts where the Holy Spirit inspires us, making God present within us

every day of our lives. On our hearts we can find the living scriptures of God.

For a short reflection on the relationship of the Holy Spirit to God’s Word, see my blog The Word

of God and God’s Holy Spirit.

Humility and the Holy Spirit Posted on June 10, 2014 by Fr. Ted

“Humility is the greatest of the virtues. If as a result of sincere repentance it is

implanted in you, you will also be given the gift of prayer and self-control, and will be

freed from servitude to the passions. Peace will suffuse your powers, tears will

cleanse your heart, and through the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit you will be

filled with tranquility. When you have attained this state, your consciousness of the

knowledge of God will grow lucid and you will begin to contemplate the mysteries of

the kingdom of heaven and the inner essences of created things. The more you

descend into the depths of the Spirit, the more you plumb the abyss of humility.

Correspondingly you gain greater knowledge of your own limitations and recognize

the weakness of human nature; at the same time your love for God and your fellow

beings waxes until you think that sanctification flows simply from a greeting or from the proximity with

whom you live.” (Nikitas Stithatos in The Philokalia: Volume 4, pp 117-118)

Seeing All Things as Sacred Posted on June 11, 2014 by Fr. Ted

“We are not to restrict God’s presence in the world to a limited range of

‘pious’ objects and situations, while labeling everything else as ‘secular’;

but we are to see all things as essentially sacred, as a gift from God and

a means of communion with him. It does not, however, follow that we

are to accept the fallen world on its

own terms. This is the unhappy mistake of much ‘secular Christianity’

in the contemporary west. All things are indeed sacred in their true

being, according to their innermost essence; but our relationship to

God’s creation has been distorted by sin, original and personal, and

we shall not rediscover this intrinsic sacredness unless our heart is

purified. Without self-denial, without ascetic discipline, we cannot

affirm the true beauty of the world. That is why there can be no

genuine contemplation without repentance.” (Kallistos Ware, The

Orthodox Way, pp 160-161)