James 2:1-13

James here is addressing a very real issue that began in the early days of the Church and has perpetuated throughout the generations, and continues to be very real in the Church today. The favoritism and partiality of the wealthy. Just think of how much more renown a church begins to receive should a celebrity happen to enter the doors of that church, as though their mere presence justifies the church. Even on a more local level, I’ve personally been to churches in my life where the more wealth one has attained, the more openly everyone receives them. The man in the expensive suit is greeted with open arms, whilst the poor beggar entering into God’s house for the first time is all but shunned. And yet, when we look in Scripture, favoring the rich to the poor is very contrary to Jesus’ teaching. Consider the fact that Jesus chose to be incarnate to a poor family, one who could not even afford to pay the temple fees properly in his presentation. In Leviticus, we find that after the birth, the mother shall bring a one year old lam without blemish, and a pigeon or turtledove for sin offering, to purify her. But if the woman can’t afford the lamb, then she will bring two turtledoves or two pigeons for the purification offering (Leviticus 12). And in the Gospel account, we read that Mary brought “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons (Luke 2:24), signifying that they were not a wealthy family. Thus, to show partiality to the wealthy to begin with is stand opposed to Christ. Also, bearing in mind that he “had no place to lay his head” (Matthew 8:20) and had to borrow a coin to illustrate a lesson (Mark 12:15), we see throughout the life of Jesus that wealth is no indication of God’s favor. A person’s dignity and worth come from God alone, and when we deign to judge others based on their wealth, their appearance, their ethnicity; then we place ourselves in the position of being an unjust judge.

If anything, it should be the inverse of how we normally react. James reiterates this by asking, “has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom of God?” Jesus, in today’s Gospel reading, declares that “it would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:25). While God is not partial to anyone (Acts 10:34-35; Romans 2:10-11), the poor are more likely to repent and renounce the world because they see the emptiness of earthly things. To the contrary, the rich tend to prize earthly things and find their joy, their contentment, their security, in them. Remembering the rich young ruler who asked Jesus what he must do to obtain eternal life. Jesus responded to him, “go, sell what you have, give it to the poor, and you will have a treasure in heaven. Then, come and follow me.” (Matthew 19:21). And the Scriptures tell us that man “went away sad, because he was a man with great possessions.” (Matthew 19:22).

James concludes this passage with a strong warning. The “royal law” that he references, he defines as the second greatest commandment, to love your neighbor as yourself. When we show partiality, when we judge someone based on any of these earthly labels, we willingly violate that commandment. You become a willing transgressor of the commandments of God. And he notes that whoever sins by any transgression sins against the whole of the law, because he sins against the giver of the law. The same law that states “you shall not murder” also states that “you shall not commit adultery,” thus if you commit adultery but do not murder, you have still violated the same law because you have transgressed against the one who gave it. And while we all will accidentally sin, the Scripture is pretty clear that anyone who is walking with God will not willingly sin; thus when we judge another based on these things, we are willingly sinning against God, and therefore not walking with Him. And just as forgiving is a condition for receiving forgiveness (Matthew 6:15), so too being merciful is a condition for receiving mercy.

We have to remember that each one of us is equally valuable in the eyes of God. He doesn’t value the wealthy more than the poor, or the Greek more than the Russian or the Hebrew or the American or any other ethnicity. And, as such, each one of us is equally deserving of the love and respect that statement would dictate. Jesus tells us in the Gospel that “whatever you have done to the least of these, you have done to me.” Contemplate what that statement means. Think of whom you consider to be the lowest. If I welcome with open arms a doctor, and yet shun a homeless man, I am shunning Christ. If I love a lawyer, and yet despise an addict, I am despising Christ. If I forgive the sins of a rich man and yet judge the sins of a poor man, I am judging Christ. And yet, thrice daily we pray, “Lord, forgive us in the same manner that we forgive others, judge us in the same manner that we judge others.” And yet, that statement should be enough to make us ask, in what manner am I forgiving others, in what manner am I judging others, especially the “least of these.”

God has shown mercy to us, let us in turn show mercy to others. Let us never allow these “worldly labels” to stand in the way of Christ’s commandment to love our neighbor as ourselves. And let us never question who is “worthy” to be our neighbor, as the lawyer who questioned Christ. But rather, let us love one another, remembering that our job is never to judge, but rather our job is simply to love and to pray for the salvation of all.

Christ is in our midst.

2-4-2021

James 1:19-27

James here begins this passage with a warning about our speech, and about anger. “Let every man be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger.” In having declared us as the first fruits of his new creation through baptism; he goes on to explain what he means by this. And notice for a moment the descriptive words he uses in this passage. Quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger. Quick to hear, to listen attentively to what is said and pay attention to all that is going on. Slow to speak; not silent, mind you, but slow, discerning. All too often, we observe something being said or done and react impulsively, lost in our passions. And while there are certain things that we should speak out against, that speech must always be well considered, never impulsive. And lastly, slow to anger. We must constantly fight against this impulse to merely react to a given situation. The wrath of man is unjust, proceeding from uncontrolled passions, and never produces the righteousness of God.

And then James goes on to admonish us to be “doers of the word, not hearers only, deceiving ourselves.” This is such an important statement. In Isaiah, we read the word of the Lord, “This people approach me with their mouth, and with their lips they honor me, but their heart remains far from me.” (Isaiah 29:13 LXX), a statement which Jesus quotes later (see Matthew 15:8). Further, in the parable of the two sons, Jesus teaches us of two sons who are told by their father to go and work in his vineyard. The first son says no, but then goes and does the work anyway. The second son agrees, only to not go. And Jesus asks which of the two did what the father asked, and the answer of course is the first. This was to teach the Pharisees that they were doing everything in word that the Father had commanded them, but not in action, because it is not the declaration of obedience which equaled true obedience, but the actual obedience itself; the actual living of the commandments.

See, when we know the word of God, and we know his commandments, but we do not allow those words to change our lives, those commandments to guide our actions, we become the second son in that parable. We become those who draw near to God and honor him with our lips, but keep our hearts far from him. We become the son who doesn’t go to work in the vineyards, even though we say “yes, you are my Lord.” To which he responds, “Why do you say to me Lord, Lord, and not do what I tell you?” (Luke 6:46). And James warns us that when we do that, we deceive ourselves. We are self-proclaimed Christians, in name only, rather than intentional Christians, in word, deed, and thought. He describes it as though a man looks in a mirror and sees his true self, only to walk away with a distorted image in his mind of what he looked like. Rather than remembering the true image that he saw, he remembers only what he chooses to remember.

This kind of cuts to the heart of the matter. We are magnificent at deceiving ourselves. And we are even more gifted at justifying those deceptions. We constantly convince ourselves, whether out of pride or sheer foolishness, that we are better than we truly are. I’ve often heard it said that the reason the monastics are so humble is that, since they are removed from the world, rather than comparing themselves to other sinners, they can only compare themselves to God. We, on the other hand, tend to compare ourselves to the world, which is full of sinners. And we usually choose someone far worse than ourselves to compare ourselves to, thereby feeding our own self-righteousness. We do our Bible studies, attend Church, and in comparing ourselves to others, tend to feel as though we are truly pious; especially compared to so-and-so who constantly jokes that the church would catch on fire if they entered.

Forgive this digressions for a moment, but it is fully relevant. I remember hearing one day a Protestant Pastor who told a story about his daughter. He said that he told her to clean her room. A day later, the room was not clean. So, he asked her about it, and she responded that no, she hadn’t cleaned it, but she had thought a lot about it. She had some friends come over and they did a study about what it would take to clean it. She contemplated what it would look like if she had done it. She even learned how to say it in Greek. But, she didn’t actually clean it. Yes, this was hyperbole (I hope), but it drives home a very serious point. We would never accept this sort of behavior from our children, yet we expect our heavenly Father to be content with it. He has told us many things to do, what he expects from us, and yet, rather than doing them, we expect him to be content with us studying them, memorizing them, learning his commands in Greek, Russian, Hebrew and every other language; but not actually doing them.

“Lay aside wickedness,” James tells us. “If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue, his religion is useless” he warns. “What proceeds from the mouth flows from the heart, (Matthew 15:18), thus our speech will ultimately reveal our love, our faith. Pure and undefiled religion, James tells us, is to care for those in need, to be the grace of God manifest in the flesh for those who most need the grace of God, those who are lost in the world. And also, to keep ourselves unstained, uncorrupted, by the world. Not to be separated from the world, but rather to not allow the precepts of the world into our hearts. Jesus himself spent a large portion of time with sinners, with harlots, drunkards, tax collectors. But, in so doing, he never once allowed himself to be corrupted by those sinful passions. He never partook of those sins, but he also never once offered harsh words of judgment on those who were tethered to the bonds of sin. Rather, he loved them and offered them the grace to become freed of their bondage, freed from the power of sin.

And he calls each of us to do the same. To visit the patients in their illness and offer them the medicine to heal their infirmity. But not in hateful words. He calls us to love the loveless, to care for those who most need care. To be the love of Christ manifest for all the world to see. Mother Teresa once said that “if you judge someone, you have no time to love them.” And I love that saying. We are called to help those who need help, to visit those who are most in need, and to show them the love of Christ that they may never have been exposed to.

To merely profess Christ as God is never enough. In fact, James teaches us here that so doing is merely deceiving ourselves. If that profession of faith doesn’t radically alter the way we live our lives, the things we do, our priorities, then it is merely saying, “yes father, I’ll go and do the work that you require,” and then not going. We must instead allow our faith to be living, actively seeking to do the work that God has called each of us to do. Our lives must be worthy to bear the name of Christ. Otherwise, we are merely deceiving ourselves.

Christ is in our midst.

So, apologies for this post. It is much much more a matter of personal reflection rather than any sort of “Biblically based study.” But I was given revelation concerning my own shortcomings recently, and I feel that quite often it is in these falls that we truly gain knowledge about the kingdom of God.

So, much as St Paul so often wrote about the “thorn in his side,” there are many sins that I struggle with daily. I have always held my belief that it was neither physical infirmity nor a “party of Jews” about which Paul referenced when he wrote those things, but rather a sin which he constantly struggled with, and in so praying to the Lord to remove that thorn, the Lord refused, knowing full well that those struggles would keep Paul humble.

Anyway, there are many sins that I struggle with daily, and at one point recently, I realized that I had overcome many of them. And the moment I realized that, I became very proud of myself for having overcome them. Rather than turning to the Lord with thanksgiving, I became proud of myself for having overcome them. Thus, I learned on a personal level what is meant by the expression that “pride always comes before the fall.” And within two days of having realized this and become proud of the fact that I had defeated those sins, I fell immediately back into them. And I immediately became overwhelmed with personal anger and self-loathing for having stumbled, followed by the inevitable “I’ll never do that again” statement, which often follows these lapses.

And then I read something that cut to my heart like a knife. It was the teaching that (to paraphrase), when you become angry or despondent about failing to achieve holiness, you have already failed because your source of healing is not correct. To focus on your sinfulness means that you are not focusing on the grace and love of Christ in your life. When I become proud instead of grateful for having overcome a sin, it is not the grace of Christ that I am looking to for my salvation, but rather my own willpower. Likewise, when I become angry about a failing, it is also myself that I am looking to, rather than the grace of Christ. I become angry with myself for having failed to achieve the perfection that I can only achieve through Him, my own human nature will never allow me to become perfectly sinless.

See, it was revealed to me that the enemy would love for us to conquer our sins and become very proud of those progressions, but it is at those very moments that the Lord will allow us to fall back into them, to humble us. As He instructed Paul, “My grace alone is sufficient.” It is not that we should ever strive for sinfulness, as St John the Theologian instructs us, “whoever says he knows God and walks in darkness lies and the truth is not in him,” however, it is imperative that we accept the fact that we will sin. We will stumble, and it is not in the stumbling or the sin that we are saved, but rather in our reliance on God’s grace that will help us to overcome. As St Paul teaches, “shall we continue in sin so that grace may be multiplies, NO.” Our salvation is fully reliant on our striving towards the perfection, the “sinlessness of God,” but not in our own power. We must fully realize what is sinful, and turn to the Lord in full repentance, each time we recognize that we have missed the mark. However, we must also fully recognize that it is not in our own power that we overcome those sinful tendencies, but rather full reliance of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ to get us through them, to overcome them, and to become a true child of our Lord Jesus Christ. When I focus on the sin itself, then it is the sin I’m empowering, not the grace of our Lord. And when I become distraught over a failing, it is usually because it is myself I’m trusting in to overcome it, rather than the grace of our Lord.

Christ is in our midst.

Original article appears here:

Pravmir: The Great Reset

What should we do about the Great Reset?  About once a week I get a message from one or another of my parishioners with a link to a video that I “have to see.”  Many of these videos are of a monk on Mt. Athos (or a monk from some other place reputed for holiness), or it is a video by a conservative religious or political commentator decrying the loss of religious freedom that is or will be brought about by the secular powers that be.  The not usually spoken but very strongly felt subtext of these messages is that if we are true Orthodox Christians we should do something to stop it.  What that something is, is generally left for us to decide.  Which is probably why my parishioners are wanting me to tell them what I think after I watch the video they sent me, a video decrying the Great Reset and the terrible loss of religious freedom that is taking place and will certainly get worse. 

Now let’s just lay aside for the moment the fact that according to the canons of the Church, the bishops are the ones who lead and teach the faithful, not random monks, not even very holy monks.  That is not our Tradition.  You or I may visit a holy monk and receive advice if we like, but for anyone to broadcast a message for the faithful into a diocese without the blessing of the local bishop is a violation of the most basic and oldest canons of the Church.  And as far as trusting the reliability of media, left or right, I will leave that to your common sense.  Can you really trust a news source that increases its revenue precisely by making you angry or frightened enough to stop what you are doing and listen to them—again and again, all day and night long?

But like I said, let’s lay that aside right now and just assume the worse case scenario.  Let’s assume the monk on Youtube or the political commentator who has gotten you all worked up in a sweat of anger and fear and righteous indignation, let’s just assume that they are 100% bang on.  Let’s assume that it’s the beginning of the End, that the Great Reset will create a world in which Christians will be persecuted and traditionally Christian cultural values will be wiped out.  Let’s assume that this is what is happening right now.  

Dèjá vu.

Hasn’t this been the experience of Christians since the beginning?  Whether it was the pagans of the ancient world, or the Muslims or the Communists or the western secularists, it’s all the same thing.  Didn’t Jesus say that the world would hate us because it hated Him first?  What’s new here?  Perhaps what is different here is that too many of us have gotten so accustomed to an easy life in bed with the world that when the world wants a divorce, we fear the loss of our cozy place more than we fear God.  Perhaps not.  Maybe this is how it has always been.  God saves His people as He knows how.  

Thinking about this has brought to mind a passage from St. Sophrony Sakharov’s book, We Shall See Him As He Is (p.69).  

Formed of the dust of the ground, we make up a tiny fraction of the massive body of mankind from which it is not at all easy to escape, especially in our day when practically the whole universe is under the control of officialdom in general.  One cannot appeal to the princes of this world for help: a small good turn from them and we risk losing our liberty.  Our best ‘gamble’ is a childlike trust in God’s providence in the pursuit of a life where first place is given to Christ.

St. Sophrony then goes on to quote the Sermon on the Mount to illustrate what “a life where first place is given to Christ” looks like.  Particularly what caught my attention are Jesus’s words, “do not resist evil”  or “an evil person.”  What a radical response.  You are slapped on the left cheek and what does Jesus tell you to do?  Turn the other cheek.  Jesus tells us to love our enemies.  Jesus tells us to bless those who curse us and to pray for those who despitefully use us and persecute us.  

But I am reminded here of a story in the Life of St. Isaac the Syrian.  He had just been made bishop of Nineveh, and was asked to settle a dispute between a creditor and a debtor.  When the case had been explained to St. Isaac, he suggested that according to the Gospel the creditor should forgive the debt.  The creditor then said, “this is business, let’s leave the Gospel out of it.”  St. Isaac then said, “if we are going to leave the Gospel out of it, then why am I here?”  That’s when St. Isaac went into the desert to pray for the world.

I get it.  I don’t want to be persecuted.  I don’t want to be slapped on the face economically or socially and certainly not physically.  And I’m pretty sure that I would not turn the other cheek—at least not without a superabundant outpouring of Grace in that moment.  I like being cozy and comfortable in the world.  

But if history is a reliable teacher of what’s to come, then we can be pretty sure of at least one thing: the world will change.  Regimes come and regimes go.  The Church finds favour and the Church loses favour in the eyes of the world.  If it’s not the current Great Reset that brings severe persecution on the Church, it will probably be the next one.  But whether it’s here or there, now or then doesn’t really matter much.  If we love the world and the things in the world, then any change in the world will be traumatic.  If we are comfortable in the world then an economic reset or political upheaval will evoke fear and anger, and if we are able to frame it as a religious war, it will evoke righteous indignation.   

But if this world is not our home.  If we are but salt and light, sojourners in a strange land, then we will adjust.  We will find a way.  We will carry on, looking for a City whose foundations and builder is God.

– Archpriest Michael Gillis

Духовная жизнь – это не хобби, не развлечение, на которое у нас может хватать или не хватать времени. Это основание, на котором мы строим все остальное.

Святейший Патриарх Московский и всея Руси Кирилл

“Spiritual life is not a hobby, not entertainment for which we may or may not have enough time. This is the foundation on which we build everything else.”

-His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia

Следует знать вот что: когда лекарства не помогают – это значит, что болеет не тело, но душа. А исцеление души мы можем обрести только лишь у Христа. Понимаете? Нашу душу исцеляет только Христос.

— Преподобный Порфирий Кавсокаливит

“You should know this: when medications do not help, it means that it is not the body that is sick, but the soul. And the healing of the soul we can find only from Christ. Do you understand? Only Christ heals our soul.”

• Venerable Porfiry Kavsokalivit

1-14-2021

James 4:7-5:9

James begins by telling us to resist (that is, be insubordinate to) the devil and to draw near (submit) to God. To do this, we must first understand that this is not a metaphorical idea. This command is not some form of allegory or anything else, but rather a command which requires action and willingness on our behalf. And to accomplish this requires that we understand what God commands of us, and in so doing, we can know the passions that we are resisting. James goes on to give us a few examples (for lack of a better word). “Cleanse your hands, you sinners,” he begins. To sin is to literally “miss the mark.” It is an archery term which means to miss the target. And in life, there are only two targets, there is God, and there is the devil. And, when we consider this, each thought that we think, each word that we utter, each action that we perform, makes us more like one of the two. And rest assured, if something doesn’t make you more like one, it makes you more like the other. So with each thought you have, each word you speak, each action you perform, as yourself who it is making you more like. If I speak badly of someone who has “irritated” me, does that make me more like Jesus, or more like the devil? If I refuse to help someone in need because I’m afraid I may not have the money to do something I want, am I submitting to God or am I serving the passions? “Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom,” he continues. Where am I finding my contentment? Am I finding my joy, my happiness, my comfort in earthly things, or am I focusing on the eternal?

And he goes even further. He goes on to speak specifically of slandering another. Of criticizing someone else. See, we consider this such an everyday thing, even in jest, to speak badly of someone else, that we don’t really consider this a bad thing. I wonder how many would even consider it something to be repented of. And yet, when we consider the truth of what we are doing, we realize how wickedly sinful it truly is. Slandering another is pride. It is pride made manifest in our words. If we speak ill of another, or “put them down,” even in jest, what we are truly doing is elevating ourselves higher than they are. It could be that we are doing so to point out how much of a “better job” we could have done than that other person. Or, it could even just be that we are elevating ourselves above that person by proclaiming ourselves a judge of that person. But either way, we are elevating ourselves as being above that person in one way or another. It displays not only a lack of humility, but also a lack of true faith, coupled with wicked deeds. Our words become not only a slight to that person, but an offense against God Himself. God’s will is to love others through compassion, humility, and mercy, even if they are truly wrong; which He Himself will be the judge of.

My brethern, our words have power. They have the power to build up, or to tear down, the belief of someone whom God wishes to turn to Him in repentance. If my words push someone away from our God, who desires that all men be saved, then I am in no way becoming more like God, and thus am giving myself over to Satan himself. Our words also reveal what is truly in our hearts. Outward displays of piety are meaningless if by my words I murder my brother or sister. Whatever the actions we perform, whatever reward we may think we are gaining, we immediately nullify them the moment we speak ill of another. The moment we seek pride over compassion, or acclaim over humility. If I strictly keep the forty day fast of great Lent, and yet complain about what I have given up, I have completely lost the meaning of the fast. If I keep the full fast, but instead devour my brother with wicked words, then I have done nothing more than relegate myself to a tasteless diet. Overcoming the passions to draw closer to God is lost if during such time I speak ill of my brother, if I place myself in the judgment seat reserved for Christ, if I complain about this great gift which has been given to me. Overcoming the passions by focusing on God is a great gift, which has been given to us by the Church for the purpose of our salvation, of our spiritual growth, and we immediately absolve that gift when we surrender to other passions.

No, my brethern, let us instead depart from these passions joyfully, by focusing on God and His great love for all of us. Let us do this anxiously awaiting the joys and the pleasures of the Kingdom to come, as we confess daily in our prayers. Let us resist the devil, as James here admonishes us, and in so doing draw closer to our Lord, to whom is do all honor, glory, and worship.

Christ is in our midst.

2 Timothy 1:1-2,8-18

Paul’s second letter to his spiritual son Timothy, written from Rome near his execution under the Emperor Nero in around 67 AD.

Paul exhorts his son Timothy to not be ashamed of all that he (Paul) has suffered in the name of the Gospel, but rather to share in his sufferings with him; to observe all that he has suffered for the name of Christ and to share that with others that it might serve for necessary edification of those others who are suffering for the name of Christ. To share it with others that they might look to the example of steadfastness that Paul represents to the faithful. But, he also takes a moment to remind Timothy that while walking in the faith does require necessary works, our salvation and calling are not based on the merits of our works, but rather on the grace and love of mankind of Christ. This is such an inspiring message to his young son Timothy, and to all believers, because it’s so easy to become despondent the moment we fall back into sin.

We must remember that, while we are called to overcome the passions and overcome sinfulness, which requires conscious willingness to do so, it is only through the grace and love of Christ that we could ever fully do so. It’s so important to remember this fact, if you fall into sin and become angry or despondent and follow with the resolve to “never do that again,” your heart is not where it needs to be. Rather than trusting in God’s grace, you are trusting in your own will, and even if you were to overcome that sin, you would merely replace it with another far worse sin, which is pride. Rather, you should fill your heart with the grace and love of Christ and then all of those sins will slowly lose their power over you, unnoticed. I have a friend who is a true inspiration to me who overcame alcoholism, and he did so not by “resolving never to drink again,” nor even tracking his “days clean,” but instead by resolving to keep his daily prayer rule, and in so doing has been sober now for years, never missing a day of prayer.

And it is through this love that Jesus “abolished death and brought immortality to light through the Gospel.” Jesus Himself submitted to suffering death, “even death on the cross,” so that He might break the power of death. And it’s truly imperative that we understand that fact. It was through His willingness to take on our flesh and suffer as we suffer that He overthrew the power of death in our lives, that He removed it’s sting. And Paul here, through his willingness to suffer, is imitating Christ, and he beckons us likewise to be willing to do the same. “Imitate me, as I also imitate Christ,” (1 Corinthians 11:1) he exhorts us, remembering that “the Kingdom of Heaven is taken by force” (Matthew 11:12) and that even the apostles glorified that they were “counted worthy to suffer for the Gospel.” (Acts 5:41).

The Christian walk is one of joy and contentment, but it is not joy and contentment brought about by earthly comfort. Rather, it is because instead of earthly comfort, we seek the joy of eternal comfort. Jesus Himself teaches us that “blessed are you when men shall revile you and persecute you for My name’s sake, for great is your reward in Heaven.” (Matthew 5:11).

Make no mistake, my brethern. I am not saying that we should ever strive for this suffering. We must never seek to offend and we must never strive for suffering, however, we also must never flee from it or fear it. Suffering and persecution will come to us as the Lord permits. However, looking to Paul as our example, we must remain steadfast in the faith, regardless of our consequences. Paul never went out of his way to find suffering, to cause discord, to create strife; but likewise, he never allowed the possibility of any of these things to prevent him from speaking the truth and upholding the traditions of the faith. Here in the West, we are constantly being faced with decision that may or may not affect our lives, and we must always cling to the traditions of the Church when faced with these decisions. We must never go out of our way to create this hostile environment, but likewise, we must never flee in the face of it. Rather, we must take St Paul as our example and not allow the dictates of the world to cause us to fear the repercussions of speaking the truth.

Christ is in our midst.

Originally appears on Pravmir…

“In his teachings and life, the Lord shows us what agape is and how it is to be expressed.  It can be felt but it is more than feelings. Three times, Jesus asked Peter if he loved him. Each time, after Peter replied that he did love him, the Lord said “feed my sheep.” If you love me, do something!!! Agape was supremely displayed on the Cross. It was shown in the martyrs, apostles and prophets.  It is unselfish love shown not just by words and feelings but by deeds.

How do we live in this adulterous and sinful generation? We stop being adulterers. We no longer live with divided hearts and loyalties. We must regain an undivided heart. How is this done? Since the Cross was an act of love, the Lord invites to share in this love. It means we must do something: pick up your cross, deny yourself and follow Christ. This command seems burdensome and hopeless to a divided and adulterous heart. To an undivided heart, it is a call to love itself.

May the God of love draw us to the Cross for it is the only cure for an adulterous and sinful heart.”

https://www.pravmir.com/adulterous-and-sinful-generation/