1 John 2:7-17

John begins by speaking of a new commandment. Jesus’ commandments were not a legal code, however, but rather life in Christ. Jesus taught that the two commandments, “Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and might;” and “Love your neighbor as yourself” were the summarization of all of the commandments. Consider, if you love the Lord with all your heart, you would never blaspheme, not entertain blasphemous thoughts; you would never place anything before Him; nor would you ever conceive of looking at astrology books or statues of Buddha, etc. Similarly, if you love your neighbor as you love yourself, you would never cheat them, lie to them, covet what they have, murder, etc; neither would you neglect the poor neighbor seeking alms, allow the hungry to go hungry, allow the naked to remain naked and cold, ignore the prisoner, etc. Thus, this new commandment, this life in Christ, is the command to love, to love as Christ so loved the world.

Thus, John warns us that anyone who says that he walks in light (the light of Christ’s love) and yet hates his brother is lying, he is walking instead in darkness. Jesus warns us that if anyone comes to the altar to offer sacrifice and there be a disagreement between him and his brother, that person should leave immediately and seek to be reconciled first, and then he can return to offer the sacrifice. “Anyone who comes hating his brother, though he may think he is enlightened by the Lord, is still in darkness,” and thus to receive of the Holy Mysteries would be to receive in a manner unworthy. Remembering Jesus’ teaching that “if you have forgiven your brother, then your Father who is in Heaven will forgive you; if you have not forgiven your brother, neither will your Father in Heaven forgive you.” This is a hard teaching to handle, but it’s very plainly stated; your ability to receive the mysteries of Christ and to offer the sacrifice of praise in a pure manner is directly proportionate to your ability to forgive others when they have wronged you; your very salvation is dependent on your ability to forgive. John ends this passage with a very stern warning against loving the things of this world. The world, after the fall, is no longer oriented towards God, but rather is under the dominion of Satan (2 Corinthians 4:4). Thus, the worlds goals and values are in opposition to God. Just look at the news on any given day, and you can see his ability to influence people. Look at the goals that our society has taught us to value. Success is measured by the treasures horded; celebrity status is given to those who most strongly stand opposed to the word of God; lifestyles considered abominable to God are most pridefully celebrated, while those who live by the commands of God are considered to be wicked. Great men and women of God are demonized and slandered, while the most perverse amongst men are idolized and worshiped.

See, the trick of the enemy has always been to take those things which God has given us for good and to slowly twist them to make them wicked. The lust of the flesh, the physical passions; the lust of the eyes, the soul’s passions; and ultimately, the possessions, powers and glory of life; the pride of life. The world teaches us to seek these things at all costs, to place our personal wants and desires before anything, regardless of who or what we have to trample on to obtain them. The world teaches us to look inside of ourselves for happiness; that reality is a majority opinion; that we can do anything that we want to do and nothing is wrong. The world teaches us that the secret to happiness is overcoming our conscience and feelings of guilt. In a morally relativistic society, there can be no right or wrong, because what’s right to you may not be right for someone else. And this is the exact reason that we must never love the things of the world. It creates a worldview that is so convoluted that it is literally impossible to attain to the truth, because the world teaches that the truth no longer even exists.

The Church, in her infinite wisdom, has given us the tools to help us to overcome these passions, to help us stay focused on the Truth. Prayer, fasting, almsgiving, the Holy Scripture; these are the weapons that she has armed us with to fight against the spiritual corruption that the enemy seeks to inflict upon us. It is through these methods that we can strive into a life of virtue, forgiveness, love. Through them we learn to seek after God’s will, rather than seeking after our own; to place the needs of others ahead of our own desires; to truly love as Christ loved. And not only those who are with us, but those who stand directly against us. Remembering that even as the nails were being placed through His flesh, He prayed for the very people who were crucifying Him.

My brethern, let us never neglect these tools. Let us stand in prayer, for our fellow Christian as well as the staunchest atheist. Let us feed and clothe and care for all, regardless of whether they will attend our Church after. Let us fast as the Church commands, to free ourselves from our enslavement to the flesh. Let us study the Holy Scripture and allow the words of our Lord to change our hearts. Let us see the icon of Christ in the face of each and every person that we see and find in our hearts undying love for them, regardless of who they are from the world’s perspective. Every person that we encounter is a fellow human being, created in the image of our Christ; thus however we treat them is how we are treating Him.

Christ is in our midst!

1 John 1:6-2:6

John here warns against multiple false teachings and attitudes which had already entered the Church. It’s ever so important that we heed this teaching, because so many of these attitudes and teachings are still prevalent in our current generation.

The first of these is a complete indifference to sin. It’s this attitude that since we believe, we can do whatsoever we choose and it will make no difference. It very much tackles the Western mindset of salvation as a strictly judicial decree set forth wherein, once someone believes, they are deemed not guilty and free to indulge in whatever activity they desire. He here tackles this mindset by stating that “if we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” This ending clause “practice the truth” is important because it implies action, much as the very word “walking” does. See, the implication here is that our faith is not merely something that we say or feel or even know, but rather something that we do; something that we live. This “truth” is a right relationship with God, made manifest in a holy and righteous life. He later goes on to state that “the way that we know that we know God is that we keep His commandments.” Notice, not that we know them, not that we can recite them in Greek, English, Hebrew and Russian, but that we keep them.

The second attitude that he addresses is the self-righteousness of claiming that we have no sin. Whether this attitude arises from pridefully thinking ourselves to be perfect, or from not believing that anything that we so is sinful (since we are “saved”) is unclear, but this response could apply to either of these attitudes. “Anyone who says that they have not sinned is deceiving themselves.” There is no one who is fully without sin. Even the most pious monks throughout history were still sinful. See, when we search internally (as the Apostle Paul teaches us to do), then we will find sin if we are testing our lives against the commands of Christ. No one is fully without sin. But, he gives us this lesson not to discourage us from striving for perfection, for the “holiness of God,” but rather to humble us, to discourage us from sinful self-righteousness. If we search ourselves and believe that we are free from sin, if we believe that we are perfect, then how can we be healed? A patient seeking help from a doctor claiming that he is perfectly healthy will never receive the treatment that he needs; likewise, until we confess that we are in need of a physician, we will never be healed of that which ails us. It is a lesson given to bring us hope, for no matter what sin we are guilty of, we are always free to return. In the story of the prodigal son, we find a man who goes and squanders all of his inheritance, and yet is welcomed back with opened arms. He merely seeks to return to his father’s house. Likewise, if we repent of our sins and confess them, we are always free to return; and He is faithful to forgive. “There is a sin which is unto death, it is the sin of which we do not repent, for which even the monks prayers will not be heard.” And, God is faithful not only to forgive us of our sins, but John tells us that He will cleanse us of those sins. Our sanctification becomes a process through which we are slowly being made more and more righteous through the grace of God and through our humility and acceptance of His grace.

The last attitude that John deals with is the teaching that one in union with God can not sin. How often in our culture do we hear the self-righteous proclamation that “I’m not perfect, just forgiven,” as someone jumps headfirst into some sinful activity. Or, even worse, “I’m a lukewarm Christian,” as though that we something to be proud of. Similar to the first mindset, this is the attitude that since we are in Christ, or “saved” (by American standards), nothing that we do could ever be held against us. Thus, we are free to indulge in whatever sinful activity that we wish. And what is so important to realize here is this, we will sin. We are humans. But, to indulge in sin should never be the goal. We should strive towards the holiness of God, accepting the fact that we will occasionally fall short, and as such seek healing and forgiveness; but Jude warns strongly against perverting that grace into a license to sin. No, rather the goal must be to strive towards holiness and then accept that we will fall short, and return to God in true, heartfelt repentance, when we do. We don’t allow the despondency of self-reliance to overcome us, but rather admit that we can’t achieve it through our own power, and turn to the One who can empower us to do so.

In the West, we tend to cling to this “guilty/not guilty” view of sin and of salvation. A one time decision, where we equate Jesus to Judge Judy and look legalistically at our sinfulness. And, when you have that mindset, it’s very easy to fall into one of these attitudes. It’s very easy to say that “I was a drunkard when I was ‘saved,’ and now I’m forgiven, so I can continue to do so because I’ve been absolved of the punishment of that sin.” But this is a very modern, and, I hate to say, but a very American, approach to our faith. The history of the Church, dating back all the way to the apostles, has always been that salvation is a process to be “worked out with fear and trembling,” (Philippians 2:12); a “fight to be fought, a race to be finished,” (2 Timothy 4:7); a constant evaluation of self to see that we are in the Faith (2 Corinthians 13:5); lest when we come to the end, we should find ourselves disqualified (1 Corinthians 9:27).

Let us all, my brothers and sisters, strive, through the grace of God, for this sacred holiness that the Lord commands us to (Leviticus 11:45, 45; 19:2; 20:26; 20:7; 1 Peter 1:16). John, the “disciple whom the Lord loved, ends this passage with this lesson for each of us; “He who says that he abides in Him ought to walk just as He walked.” We must heed this lesson, seeking after the holiness of God, knowing that through His grace and our constant confession, we can be formed more and more into the image of Christ. Our salvation is not a one time confession of faith, but rather a process, in large part, towards consciously moving away from sin and seeking His strength to overcome it’s power over us. To become more, through His grace, what He is in His essence. To become like Christ, and worthy to bear His name.

Christ is in our midst.

2 Peter 1:1-10

Here we find Peter addressing the situation of gnostics and antinomians that had already begun to enter the Church. He begins with this proclamation that we have been given all things that pertain to life and godliness. Remembering that the goal of the Christian life is to grow to be like Christ, it’s important that we understand what it means to become like Him. And the knowledge of that becoming comes through the teachings of the Church, not one or two men who claim to have “special knowledge,” but rather through the discernment of millenia of learned meant whose doctrines underwent the strictest of scrutiny from other holy, anointed men of God, convening in councils before any changes could be made. The “traditions handed down, by word or by epistle,” to quote from 2 Thessalonians. The Church and it’s traditions are there to preserve these very doctrines, the integrity of the Church, to protect it from individual goals and agendas corrupting the interpretation of those few men.

And Peter here offers a list of those things which one must actively seek to grow in this godliness. “Add virtue to faith, knowledge to virtue, self-control to knowledge, perseverance to self-control, godliness to perseverance, brotherly kindness to godliness, love to brotherly kindness.” This is the very formula which we must seek to adhere to that we may grow, through the grace of Christ, in spiritual progression; to actively seek this progression and to pray that we may be able to grow in them. It is impossible for the love of Christ to be fully perfected without the love of neighbor to go with it. He even goes so far as to say that whoever lacks these things is short-sighted to the point of blindness.

We are so apt, especially in our generation, to cling to the easiest possible path, and there are so many who teach that striving for these virtues is tantamount to heresy. And that would be the easiest path possible. To claim that the striving for holiness is “works-based salvation” and therefore heretical. But to claim that is to claim that Scripture itself is heretical. Here, we have Peter canonically stating that whoever does not seek after these things is blind. And 2000 years of Church history affirms that this has always been the teaching of the Church. Anyone who believes otherwise, according to Peter, is blind and has “forgotten that he was cleansed of his old sins.” When we wash a garment, we don’t do so by ignoring the stains or overlooking them, we do so by removing them completely. Likewise, in Holy Baptism, God doesn’t merely overlook our sins, “forgiving them,” He completely removes them from us, He removes their power over us. When you wash a child’s clothes, you remove the stains in them, and in turn, he does something else which renders it dirty once again. His goal isn’t to soil his clothing, but rather he chooses to do something which renders them dirty, and we wash them again. So it is with us in Holy Baptism. We are fully cleansed of our sins, and then once more we render ourselves dirty, and we are continually washed through true repentance and confession of our sins. But, much like the child in his mud-rattled clothing, the transgressions themselves can never be the goal. We will sin, we will fall; and when we do, we knock the dirt off, repent, say “Lord have mercy on me, a sinner,” and get back up. That must be our goal, according to Peter; to continue on in spite of our shortcomings, but constantly striving to overcome them. Constantly striving to be made perfect, through the grace of God. Or, we can become blind, completely ignoring the cleansing, continuing to return to the mire of our former lives.

But, His will, His desire for us is to grow in our Christ-likeness; to seek after these characteristics, and to find the true healing and freedom that only He can offer, through our active participation in the divine life of Christ Himself.

I heard once, and it’s a statement that has had such a profound effect on me that I quote it quite often; “Sin is an archery term, it means to miss the mark. And, there are two targets in the world, two masters, Jesus and Satan. Every action you do makes you more like one of the two of them, every thought you have, every word you say. So ask yourself, which of the two is your target.” That hit me really hard, coming from a background where I would constantly hear Christians ask, “is it okay for a Christian to…” It really helped me put things into perspective when I considered that if watching something didn’t help me to become more like Christ, then it made me become more like Satan. Every carnal pleasure, every fleeting glance, every inappropriate word; each time I gave into, or even worse, actively pursued those things, it made me less like Christ. Which is the exact opposite of His desire for our lives.

Christ is in our midst.

Amos Chapter 5

This is a powerfully dangerous warning from the Lord, not only for those to whom it was directly written, but for each of us. Here we see Him, He has warned Israel about their transgressions; warning them that if they continue in their ways, then they shall be as a “fallen virgin.” This is an interesting expression, as it does not imply in anyway a former virgin who no longer is, but rather is a reference to the fact that she (Israel) will have proclaimed allegiance to Him, and have proclaimed to live their lives for Him, but will be utterly removed from the face of history, leaving behind no legacy, as a virgin who, at the last, determined to blaspheme and turn away from the Lord. “She tripped over her land,” being a mighty nation seeking to grow, “and none shall raise her up,” having no legacy to leave behind, she would simply cease to exist.

He prophesies that “they have hated him who reproved in the gates and abhorred the upright word.” This is an obvious prophecy about Jesus, the upright Word incarnate, who rebuked constantly the Pharisees and Scribe in the gates all throughout the Scripture. They hated Him unto the point of execution.

And then, He offers them the chance to repent, as the Lord so often does with each of us. “Seek good and not evil that you may live,” He states to them. See, it’s important to remember that in Amos’ day, much as in Jeremiah’s day, they were many false prophets who would proclaim (basically) that you could do whatever you chose and you would have no fear from God, so long as you claimed His name. That it was fully possible to be “not perfect, just forgiven,” and that would allow those there to use this as an excuse to continue in whatever sin that they chose. As in the days of Jeremiah, they would proclaim “peace, peace, when there was no peace.” Because of this, there were many who would proclaim the name of the Lord, who would proclaim allegiance to Him, and yet, they were willingly given over to sinfulness. Their lives in no way resembled the life that the Lord commands His children to live.

Thus, He declares, “Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord, it will be as though a man were running from a lion and a bear met him.” See, this is this picture of the utter hypocrisy of the nation declaring His name while still clinging to material attachment and fully embracing their sins. On the contrary, when we “commend ourselves and all our lives unto Christ our God,” though we may struggle with sin, it must be an active, conscious struggle. We must be actively seeking His grace to free us from the tethers that bond us to those sins, otherwise we are merely actors playing a part. Salvation is the spiritual equivalent of healing, and when we are sick, our doctor provides us with medicine; however, if we neglect to take of the medicine offered, then we can never be healed. So too it is with the Church. With our faith. Jesus will give us the means to be freed from these bonds, to be healed from our sinfulness, but we must be an active participant in it, for He will never force us to find the salvation He offers.

And we see another image. The Lord warns us strongly, “I hate, I reject your feast days. I do not savor your sacred assemblies…take away from Me the sound of you songs, for I will not hear your musical instruments.” This is a warning that we must truly take to heart. It is fully possible to adhere strictly to religious “rules,” but if we are not truly walking in faith, our very lives will betray our words. Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant; regardless of our “denomination,” if our lives don’t display the characteristics of Christ, then our lives will display our lack of faith. I once heard a prominent Protestant speaker state that, “our lives shouldn’t make sense without our faith.” That is a statement that has stuck with me to this day. If our lives make sense from a secular view point, then we’re doing something wrong. It is for this very reason that the Apostle Paul warns us to constantly evaluate our lives to see that we are in the faith. Because it is fully possible to adhere to these traditions and practices while still having a heart that is rebellious to God. A heart which seeks personal gain and carnal pleasure. And it’s so easy to do this. I constantly see questions posed online, “can a Christian do such and such.” To quote a priest I heard recently, if you have to ask, the answer is no. And this is completely what the Lord is warning against here. To believe intellectually in the existence of God is not faith. No, if you want to know if you’re walking in the faith, test your lives against the Scripture. Are you caring for the poor, visiting the prisoners and the widows; are you loving your neighbors? Or are you just going to Bible studies? How often do we seek to change, to “interpret” the word of God, rather than believing what He has already said? How often do we, like Judas, sacrifice God on the altar of self, of our own wants and desires, all the while claiming our allegiance to Him?

Christ is in our midst…

2 Peter 1:19-2:10

Peter offers up a very strict warning against those who would interpret the words of Holy Scripture in their own understanding and wisdom, rather than in accordance with the “traditions handed down” (2 Thessalonians 2:15). He states that “we (first person, the Church) have the prophetic word confirmed” and warns that “no matter of prophecy is of private interpretation.” This is possibly the strongest refutation of “Sola Scriptura” in all of Scripture. By definition, if Scripture alone is the sole authority, then no one has the right to change the meaning of Scripture itself through interpretation. The moment you make the declaration, “what this means,” it is no longer Scripture which is the authority, but rather that particular interpretation of it. Thus, the authority is given by Scripture to those who hole the “prophetic word confirmed,” which is the Church, and thus the traditions that the Church hands down.

And then he continues this grave warning by stating the repercussions when people deviate from these teachings. He warns that just as God cast down the angels, just as the ancient world was destroyed save for Noah and his family, just as Sodom and Gomorrah were reduced to ash for living ungodly lives; so will He do to those who live unjust and ungodly lives, walking according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness.

And such is the outcome of those who seek to interpret Scripture for just themselves, or (and just as dangerous, if not moreso), follow a teacher who does the same thing and eschews the teachings handed down for 2000 years. Its easy to find a verse that will allow you to justify any sin that you seek to justify. It’s easy to interpret the words of Scripture based on current social trends and opinions. And that’s precisely why it’s so imperative that we hold to the wisdom of generations past. It’s the very reason the C.H. Spurgeon stated that “those who are involved in Bible reading seldom wander off into modern theology.” Precisely because the traditions handed down to us are not tempered with current political agendas and social biases. When we interpret something ourselves, we have our own opinions on a topic and no system of checks and balances to correct us if we are found to be in error.

Peter declares here that those who do so are “presumptuous, self-willed, and not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries.” Think about it, how presumptuous are we if we consider our wisdom to be greater than 2000 years of Church councils convening, with anointed men of God presiding, to determine our doctrine? How self-willed must we be to say that no matter what wisdom is available to us, we are going to assume that they are wrong and we are right if we happen not to like what they have given to us? And Peter warns us of the end result of such mentality, errant doctrines tempered with current social opinions that lead to self-justification of ungodly lives and behaviors.

May we all, instead, cling to the teachings which the Church has maintained and handed down from generation to generation, from the teachings of St Athanasius and the affirmation of the Trinitarian God, and St Basil and the affirmation of the divinity of Christ (each of whose writings still remain) all the way through our local diocese and priests. And let us all, through the wisdom that they have given us, continue to seek after the grace of God, which alone can lead us into all manner of holiness and godliness.

Christ is in our midst.

There’s a story of an ancient monastery that had fallen on hard times. From a brotherhood that used to have more than 50 monks, there were less than a dozen left. The monastery used to be central to the life of the village, with saintly monks inspiring the people, yet now few people visited the monastery to find spiritual nourishment. A general feeling of spiritual apathy and lukewarmness was present in the monastery, and in the village.

One day a holy spiritual elder who was passing through the village. He stopped at the monastery and stayed for a night. During his time there, each of the monks privately went to receive his blessing, to talk with him as well as to receive some spiritual nourishment. With each monk that came to the elder, he said the same thing. “Don’t tell anyone else this, but the Messiah is among you. He has come again, and dwells among you.”

The next morning the elder left, but each monk kept thinking about the perplexing words the elder had told him. The Messiah is among you. As they reflected more and more on this, they kept asking themselves, “Who is it? Is it Fr. John? Or is it Fr. Stavro? Or is it Fr. James?”

As the monks went about their daily work, whenever they passed one another, they began to act a little differently. “What if the Messiah is this brother?” And they began to treat each other with sincere respect and love, with deep humility and kindness. They listened carefully to each another and tried to outdo one other in their service and diakonia in the monastery as well as in the local village. In their daily liturgical services, they prayed fervently and opened their hearts to the movement of the Holy Spirit. They believed the Messiah was in their midst, and they wanted to act accordingly.

Slowly, the spirit of the monastery changed. An inner fire and spiritual zeal replaced any apathy and indifference. A community of love, divine love, developed and this agape love became very apparent to the village at large. The villagers started to flock to the monastery for spiritual nourishment and guidance, experiencing the reality of the kingdom of God.

The Messiah was in their midst.

Original/remainder of article appeared at http://www.pravmir.com/the-kingdom-of-god-is-at-hand/

Genesis 11

The people of the earth were all one, there were no linguistic barriers which could separate them. And they all worked together so that they could build this tower which could reach the heavens. But, because they were all one people, they mistakenly believed that they were able to build this tower, to reach the heavens, in absentia of God. They were so certain that they would be able to ascend to heaven on their own that they never sought the presence of the Lord, the creator of all. Think about all that that one statement implies. They believed that in their own power that they could ascend to, to achieve, this paradise on their own; thus they never decided to seek after the Lord. They believed that they could find peace, love, happiness, joy, security; all outside of the grace of God. It sounds disturbingly like our culture. The world teaches us continually that we don’t need God to be happy, to be “good.” And so it teaches us, with all of it’s demonic philosophies, that rather than seeking for paradise outside of ourselves, that happiness lies within us; that we need to look inside of ourselves to find happiness, to seek what we desire, rather than what the Lord desires for each of us. They even wrap it in religious garb, stating that we need to search for the us that we were created to be and then seek to achieve these standards, which they have influenced, within ourselves, turning away from the teachings of Christ and the Church.

And, how does the Lord respond to those who are building this tower? He comes down and confuses the languages, separating the nations. In so doing, He completely dissolves this false sense of unity that they have created amongst themselves. St Peter tells us that the Church itself is a “holy nation,” and a “royal priesthood.” (1 Peter 2:9). St Paul tells us that we “glorify God with one mouth” (Romans 15:6). In the Church prayers, we pray for the “union of all men,” but it is a union rooted in Christ, not in our ability as a people to be united on our own, in our own power. It is only through the grace of the Holy Trinity that we can truly become this “holy nation” glorifying God with “one mouth,” not through the will of men.

See, the people of Babylon sought to “build for ourselves a city and a tower, whose top will reach the Heaven, and let us make a name for ourselves.” Does this sound familiar at all? Rather than seeking the glory of the Lord, they sought to do all of these great accomplishments without Him, and therefore make a great name for themselves. Their rule, their decisions, their own power. All to suit their own pride. It’s this mindset of “I can be great and I refuse to share this glory with anyone, I want what I want and when I want it and no one can tell me otherwise.” And anyone with children will understand that this mindset can be ineffective at best, and extremely hazardous at worst.

And, honestly, this is the sense that we see permeate our culture so frequently. Even those things which could be considered “good.” We see these amazing philanthropic deeds done, but so done for the glory of those doing them. We see political leaders coming up with plans to achieve unity, but always for their own glory. We see presidents fighting for the unborn sacrificed on the altar of convenience, but always with the slant of painting themselves to be these noble warriors. And yet, these plans so often falter, and not because of their surface cause, but rather because of the source of the deeds. When a celebrity gives to a charitable cause, it is a great thing, but the moment it becomes a P.R. bid, it is tempered with the opinion of the public, because the act itself is tempered with vainglory. My brother took an ethics class where the teacher taught that “there is no such thing as a selfless deed,” and in absentia of the love of Christ I would definitely agree with this statement. An atheistic society will never care for the welfare of those in need unless it derives something from it, usually in the form of the glory that comes from the image of caring for those in need. It is only when the help is given from a true love of neighbor and God that the deed can become truly selfless; when there are no photos posted of pouring a bowl of soup to feed the hungry. Reading of Holy Scripture itself becomes tainted when it is posted on social media for the purpose of showing to everyone how pious one truly is. Packing backpacks for those in need becomes an outward display of compassion for the sake of vainglory when photos are posted showing the time and effort the family has put into so doing. Jesus teaches us that when you give, “never allow your right hand to know what your left is doing.” I saw a quote recently that I loved, it said, “feeding the poor is great, but the first time you display photos of it, it is no longer the poor you are feeding, but your own ego.”

See, all too often we do something which is, in itself good, but we do it for the wrong reasons. We rely on ourselves for far too many things, because our own personal agenda will never allow us to relinquish control. The Lord divided this false unity in Babel, not because their goal was to reach Heaven, but because their goal was to reach Heaven without Him. He divided this false unity so that man would seek and find Him, rather than relying on their own goals and plans. And so often in our own lives, He does the same with each of us. We claim to believe in Him, to trust in Him, but when it’s all on the line, do we trust Him? Do we cast our anxieties, our worries and fears, our stress, on Him? Or, do we allow the doubt of our unbelief to have dominion over our lives? Do we allow despondency to overcome us when the cards are stacked against us? Do we give quarter to the sins of self-reliance, autonomy and pride? Or do we cast our cares upon Him, knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that He will provide what is needed in our lives, nothing more and nothing less.

Christ is in our midst.

O most merciful, all gracious and compassionate Lord Jesus Christ our Savior, Son of God: we entreat Thee, most gracious Master: look with compassion upon Thy children who have been condemned to death by the unjust judgment of men. And as Thou hast promised to bestow the heavenly kingdom on them born of water and the Spirit, and who in blamelessness of life have been translated unto Thee; and Who said, “Suffer the little children to come unto me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven”—we humbly pray, according to Thy unfailing promise: Grant the inheritance of Thy kingdom to the multitude of spotless infants who have been cruelly murdered in the abortuaries of this land; for Thou art the resurrection and the life and the repose of all Thy servants and of these innocents, O Christ our God.

Turn the hearts of those who seek to destroy Thy little ones. We beseech Thee to pour forth Thy healing grace upon them, that they may be convicted in their hearts and turn from their evil ways. Remember all of them that kill our children as on the altars of Moloch, and render not unto them according to their deeds, but according to Thy great mercy convert them—the unbelieving to true faith and piety, and the believing that they may turn from evil and do good.

O Holy Master, Almighty Father and pre-eternal God, Who alone made and directs all things; Who rises up quickly against the evil of the impious ones; Who, by providence, teaches Thy people preservation of justice and the obliteration of evil on earth; Who condescends to raise up warriors for the protection of the people of God: we entreat Thee with compunction, that as Thou didst give David power to defeat Goliath, and as Thou didst condescend through Judas Maccabeus, to seize victory from the arrogant pagans who would not call on Thy Name; so too, grant protection to us, Thy servants against the enemies rising against us as we go forth to do spiritual battle against the evil one and those who do his will rather than Thine.

For Thou art a merciful God, and lovest mankind, and unto Thee do we ascribe glory, to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

– prayer from http://www.saintgregoryoutreach.org/2010/01/prayer-for-victims-of-abortion.html?m=1

As we celebrate the Nativity today, I began to reflect on something that I wrote about a year ago in my journal. I wrote, “As I was walking home the other night, I was walking alone down a cold dark street and couldn’t help but think about how that used to be the norm for me. It was the perfect image of my life from a few years ago…it was the image of my life before Christ.”

See, in the West, we see everyone preparing for Christmas beginning as early as mid-October. We begin to hear Christmas songs and see lights and “start your black Friday shopping early.” We have this tremendous build-up to Christmas day, and then at 11:59 PM on the night of Christmas, the radio stations go back to their usual programming, the TV specials end; the spirit of Christmas seems to die. Our culture celebrates Christmas before Christmas, and then allows the last carol on the radio to be the funeral dirge for the season.

But, that’s so backwards from the way that we should celebrate Christmas. In the Church, we spend forty days of preparation for the feast. We spend forty days remembering what life would be like without Christ in our life. Forty days of ascetic self-denial; forcing ourselves to recognize this cold, lonely world without Christ. And then today, we celebrate the feast of the Nativity of Christ. We celebrate the birth of our Savior.

Today shouldn’t end the celebration, it should begin it. Today celebrates the day that we can truly say “Christ is in our midst.” It shouldn’t be the end of the celebration, it should be the beginning of it. Who celebrates a wedding before the wedding day and discards the joy it brings immediately after? Neither should we discard the joy and hope, the love, that Christ brings to us just because He is now born.

No, the shopping season may be over in our culture, but the Christmas season is just beginning. May we all embrace this fact and continue to celebrate the Nativity of the Savior throughout the entire season. May we, in fact, celebrate the fact that Christ is born, He has come to bring salvation to the world, and that He is truly in our midst.

Merry Christmas my brothers and sisters!
Christ is born Glorify Him!

Genesis 9

This is a very interesting passage. It begins with God’s promise to never again destroy the earth by flood. He promises that He had destroyed the world because of it’s wicked sinfulness, but that no matter how sinful it becomes He will never do that again. And He promises the sign of this covenant, the rainbow, will ever serve as a reminder of this promise. How ironic that in our generation this symbol has been appropriated by the world to represent such pride in a sinful lifestyle. So often, the enemy seeks to find and corrupt those things which are so meaningful to the Lord. All too often, the enemy takes something such as sex, and corrupts it by turning it into perversion and fornication. He takes something that God created as a gift for His creatures such as wine, and corrupts it by turning it into drunkenness. St Maximus the Confessor teaches us that “Food is not evil, but gluttony is. Childbearing is not evil, but fornication is. Money is not evil, but avarice is. Glory is not evil, but vainglory is. Indeed, there is no evil in existing things, but only in their misuse.” (Chapters on Love, 3.4). The enemy takes those things which God has given us and corrupts them, making them evil by tempting us into misuse, and that is exactly what has happened with this sign of the covenant.

However, what’s most interesting about this passage isn’t this at all. Noah plants a vineyard and the account states that one night he imbibes a surplus amount and becomes drunk and naked in his home. Ham finds him and immediately goes out to tell his brothers what shame has befallen their father. And his brothers, Shem and Japheth, take up a garment and go in to cover their father. Thus, when Noah awakens, he blesses Japheth and Shem and their households and curses Ham and his house.

See, when we consider this passage, our first instinct is to focus on Noah, this holy man of God, who became drunk in his home. And this is in no way to absolve him of this guilt; however, all too often we are Ham in this story. When we find that someone has fallen into sin, we immediately cast judgment upon him, or turn to gossiping to others about it, rather than seeking to cover their sin with prayer. It’s so easy to judge Noah for his actions, but what about when we become Noah? What about when we slip and fall into sin? Do we turn and begin confessing those sins to every single person that we meet, or do we seek the mercy and grace of the Lord to cover our sins?

Consider this fact, all sin is against God. But, Noah sinned against himself. In giving into the fleshly temptation to drunkenness, he hurt no one but himself and his relationship with God. But Ham here had the greater sin, because his sin was against Noah. Rather than finding Noah in his sin and covering his shame, praying for the mercy of the Lord upon Noah, he instead sought to spread his shame to others, going and gossiping to his brothers about what he saw.

See, all too often, in our striving for holiness, we are much stricter and judgmental of the shortcomings of others than we are with ourselves. And then, our response to finding the flaws of another is to feed our own ego and vainglory by focusing on their flaws rather than our own. We focus on their flaws because then we are able to feel more secure in our own; we become like the Pharisee who prayed, “I thank you God that I am not like that man.” It no longer remains, “I am being made righteous,” wherein we note our own sinfulness, but rather, “I am more righteous than…” Unfortunately, to our own detriment, we create the very sense of self-righteousness so strongly warned against in the Holy Scriptures.

Let us, my brethern, look instead to Shem and Japheth, and if we see another in sin, let us cover their sin in prayer, seeking the grace and mercy of the Lord for them. Let us truly love our neighbor as ourselves and seek their forgiveness; neither in judgment nor in condemnation, but with compassionate mercy. Mother Teresa says, “If you judge someone, you have no time to love them.” And I think that is the message that will stand the test of time. Let us take the lessons of Scripture, of Tradition, of the Church Fathers, and apply them to our own lives, allowing those lessons to be a guide to lead us into righteousness; rather than distilling them down to a standard upon which we can judge others. For there is one judge of all mankind, and none of us can presume to know how He will judge any other, for we don’t know the work that He has done in their lives already, or the work that He will do.

Christ is in our midst.