11/27/2018 Meditation on Matthew 25

Here we see the ten virgins with their lamps. Of them, five had prepared for the coming of the Bridegroom, bringing with them ample amounts of oil, while the other five had brought just enough to last until the time that the Bridegroom was supposed to return. This serves to complete the Lord’s teaching on watchfulness, versus trying to figure out the exact time of His return, the exact schedule of the end-times. The word for oil, “elaion” and the word for mercy, “eleison,” each have the same root in the Greek. Thus, we see in this that the oil represents mercy, charity, almsgiving. What we see are the five spending their time practicing these virtues in abundance, whilst the other five try to measure exactly how much they need to do to be prepared for the coming of the Bridegroom, the “bare minimum” necessary to be a part of the wedding party. Thus, when the coming of the Bridegroom wasn’t exactly according to their plan, they came up short and missed the return of the Bridegroom.

This is a beautiful image and a grace warning at the same time. When we live our lives according to the commands of the Lord, when we overflow with this mercy, with this compassion, with this love for mankind; then when the Lord returns we will be welcomed with open arms into the Kingdom. However, when we seek this “bare minimum” approach, this approach of “what’s the least that I can do and still be allowed entrance,” we will always fall short of the glory of God. It is the wise who order their lives in obedience to the commands of the Lord, while the foolish seek their own desires and goals and then give the rest out of their abundance. In the Parable of the widow’s mite, we see a widow who gives two coins, all that she has, and her offering is more pleasing to Jesus than the wealthy who, though they gave larger amounts, gave out of their abundance. For a man with a million dollars to give five thousand is a minimal sacrifice, but for the man with six thousand to give five thousand is a huge sacrifice. A child may only give a dollar, but there is a good chance that child has only a dollar to give; thus that sacrifice would be more meaningful to the Lord than a millionaire who gives thousands.

We must always be good stewards of those things which the Lord has given us to be responsible for. The money that we safeguard belongs to the poor; the clothing which we keep stored in a closet belongs to the naked; the bread which we keep in our kitchen belongs to the hungry. When we horde these things, they do no good to anyone; they are the talent that the man buried in the ground for safe keeping. The tax-collectors take the money; the moths consume the clothing, the bread molds; while all throughout the world millions are still poor, naked, and unfed.

Each of us was formed in the image and likeness of God. Each of us is an icon of Christ walking on this earth. We must pray to see this icon not merely in other Christians, not merely in Church, but in every person that we meet each day. When we refuse to give to a homeless man, we refuse Christ; when we refuse to feed a hungry man, we refuse Christ; when we refuse to visit the sick, the elderly, the prisoner, we refuse Christ. Jesus tells us this very thing in this passage, “I say to you, whatever you have done to the least of these, you have done to Me.” John Chrysostom teaches us that “If you can’t find Jesus in the beggar outside the church gates, neither will you find Him in the chalice.”

To those whose lives are filled with charity, with almsgiving, with this mercy, Jesus says, “Come you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you. For I was hungry and you fed Me; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.” To those whose lives are filled with their own pursuits, to those who disregarded the needful, to those whose lives were never filled with this love and compassion, He says, “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels, for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in; naked and you did not clothe Me, and and in prison and you did not visit Me…inasmuch as you did not do to the least of these, you did not do to Me.”

May our lives be always characterized by this giving, by this mercy; by the same mercy that we ask the Lord for each day of our lives for ourselves. Let us give, love, care for each, from the least to the greatest, and may we all see Christ Himself in each person; remembering that whatever we do or don’t do to one created in the image of God, we do or don’t do for God Himself.

May the peace of the Lord be with you all, my beloved brothers and sisters.

Daily Meditation, 11-22-2018

Matthew 20

Jesus tells us a parable about a vineyard owner who, throughout the day, hires various laborers and commissions each for the same wage. There is, in this, a very valuable lesson which so often gets overlooked in our search for piety. It is a very spiritual meaning, displayed through our earthly behaviors; the very essence of our salvation.

See, each of these workers had agreed to a particular wage, worked their allotted time, and received their agreed upon wage. In itself, each of them would have been perfectly content with, grateful for, even, the wages which they had received. It was not until they began to compare their compensation and time with that of others that they began grumbling.

We would do well to not merely study, but actually apply this lesson to our own lives. In our generation, it is almost commonplace to see the highlights of everyone else’s lives and compare our own lives to these highlights. See, when we focus our minds, our hearts, on those blessings which we have received, it is possible to remain truly grateful for those blessings. However, the moment we allow the covetous spirit of our age entrance that we begin to be overcome with this feeling of ingratitude, this feeling of “why did they get that, while I’ve only got this.” It is when we begin comparing our lives to others that we begin to grow discontent, that we begin to say “this isn’t fair,” or “I wish I had…” It is at the very moment that we allow ourselves to be overcome with this avarice of our culture that we are no longer content with everything that we have been given.

See, if each of the workers in this parable had received their due, given thanks, and gone their way, they would have been perfectly content with what they had received. However, the moment they began comparing what they had earned to what the others had earned, this spirit of discontent came over them. Rather than saying, “I was unable to find work and you employed me, now I can feed my family, thank you,” they began saying, “I worked twice as long as him, how dare you pay me the same thing that you paid them.” So often, when we receive blessings with a sense of ingratitude, it’s easy to forget what it was like before we had them. We become the unemployed man who finally finds employment and then begins complaining that someone else has more than us. We begin to be overtaken with this spirit of constantly desiring more.

May we learn from this lesson. May we always be content with those things which we have received, knowing that ingratitude is leaven which will begin to permeate our lives. May we constantly look on our own lives with sincere gratitude, constantly giving thanks to the Giver of all that we have received. And may we never allow the covetousness and greed of the age a place in our hearts, lest we begin to grumble against God Himself.

May the peace of the Lord be with you all, my beloved brothers and sisters.

Daily Meditation for November 15, 2018

Matthew 13

All throughout this chapter we see Jesus speaking to His disciples in parables. Unlike one lesson that I have heard taught, the parables were not given to make the things of the kingdom easier to understand; to the contrary, Jesus spoke in parables to make it harder, to disguise His spiritual teachings from those undiscerning and hardened hearts.

But, it’s important to note that He didn’t do this so that only the “elite and intellectual” could understand. In fact, like all things in the faith, it is those very people, filled with the pride of human wisdom, who are unable to discern His teachings. It is the simple, the humble, who approached Him and asked what He meant. And He replied, “to you it has been given to know.” Not because they were these special, elect people, but because they were willing to humble themselves and say, “Jesus, I don’t understand. What does this mean?” He was willing to give the meaning of the teachings to those who were receptive to the meaning of them, not as they perceive them, but as He meant them.

See, Jesus uses the parables to open the eyes of those who seek the truth; using those truths to produce the fruits of righteousness in our lives. Understanding the parables does not require a Master’s degree, or a certain score on an IQ test; rather it requires the humility to admit that we don’t know something, and the heart willing to receive the answer in spite of earthly concerns. It requires this sort of spiritual enlightenment that comes from true faith.

In the parables, Jesus uses things which we can relate to; and uses those very things to draw us in beyond the images, opening the doors to the kingdom of Heaven. We should never seek to comprehend the parables through human wisdom, which will inevitably be corrupted by human temptation to selfishness and greed. It’s not unheard of for a teacher to read into the parable of the Good Samaritan that it has nothing to do with helping those in need. I’ve heard a pastor tell me that when Jesus said “whatsoever you have done for the least of these, you’ve done for Me,” that He meant absolutely nothing about feeding the hungry, or visiting prisoners, or clothing the naked, or caring for widows, that there was a “spiritual meaning” associated; thereby interpreting it so that with a clear conscience we could walk past a homeless beggar on the way to a Bible study.

So, instead of reading the parables through human wisdom, we should instead look to the ways that the Lord has given us to understand the things of the Lord. We should read the parables through spiritual eyes, entreating the Lord to open the eyes of our mind to understand. We should always look to them through prayer, heeding the teachings of the fathers of the Church, of two thousand years of anointed men who were willing to die to preserve the integrity of the Church. We should approach the parables, not with equations and formulae in mind, but rather spiritually. We should find what each is saying, and what it says about the kingdom of heaven and of His expectations for us, and then respond in kind.

We should allow the parables to draw us beyond the gates of this world, laying aside whatever attachments we have to things here, whatever we presume to know about them, and allow them instead to draw our hearts into the very reality of the kingdom of God.

May the peace of the Lord be with you all, my beloved family.

John 2:1-5

Here we see the first of seven signs revealed by the apostle in his Gospel account. The wedding of Cana, the nobleman’s son, the healing of the paralytic, feeding the five thousand, walking on water, opening the eyes of the blind man, and raising Lazarus from the dead.

The setting of this, as well as the timing, is of extreme significance, because it is before Jesus’ earthly ministry had begun. Thus, this, more than any of the other signs, would have been set against the backdrop of the Old Testament; the Law and the Prophets. See, in the Old Testament, marriage feasts were often used to symbolize the union between the Lord and God’s chosen people. We see this most strongly represented in the Prophet Hosea, who takes for his bride a “child of fornication,” meant to represent the spiritual adultery of the nation of Israel. That this feast takes place in Gallilee, which was largely a gentile region, shows that salvation is no longer, nor has it ever been, reserved only for a select or elect group of people, but rather displays the gospel spreading throughout the world, offered freely to all who would accept it. The water also is turned to wine, the miracle made available to all who wish to receive it, as it is available to any who are at the feast, not merely a select group of people. It’s important to note that, in this image, there is not an elect group of elite who are able to receive this wine, but rather all who are present are free to partake of it, should they so choose. Thus, the Lord has not set about a certain list of those who are able to partake of this miracle, but instead offers it freely to all who are present.

That this miracle is performed on the third day also evokes a resurrectional overtone to the story. It shows that the marriage of Christ and His bride, the Church, will occur on the third day, when He is resurrected from His burial tomb.

This passage shows something else which is often overlooked, and when not overlooked, is frequently dismissed, criticized, and even blatantly shunned. It shows the intercessory nature of Mary. Consider the imagery in this passage; Jesus at the wedding party, the wine runs dry, and when this happens, it is Mary, His mother, who stands in intercession. Now, before you too quickly dismiss, allow me to rewind a moment. As Christians, we believe that those who have fallen asleep in the hope of the resurrection are still alive. We believe John 3:16, that “those who believe shall not perish but have eternal life.” Hopefully, I am correct in assuming this. Thus, Mary, Paul, Stephen, Peter, John; each of them are alive and dwelling in the Kingdom of God. Now, considering that, also consider this; would you think it odd were I to ask you to pray for me? We do it all the time, in prayer chains and prayer requests. No one would think it odd to consider that I ask you, my brother/sister in Christ, to pray for me. And yet, so often we immediately decry heresy towards any who would consider asking any of the saints who came before us to pray on our behalf. And yet, according to Scripture, we are “surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses.” (Hebrews 12:1). So, if we truly believe that those who have gone before us are still alive, having received the gift of eternal life from our beloved Lord, then why would we ever consider it heresy to ask those who are alive, merely living in the kingdom instead of on earth, to pray on our behalf to the Father? Why is it tantamount to heresy to ask Stephen to pray on my behalf, if Stephen has received eternal life and is dwelling within the kingdom which the Lord has prepared for us? Why would we declare a heretic the person who asks the prayer chain (the living) as well as Mary (alive in the kingdom) to pray for us? Think about that for a moment and allow the question to truly search your soul.

This passage, this exchange between Mary and Jesus, shows Mary, seeing the need for Jesus’ assistance, acting as intercessor between those at the wedding and Jesus Himself. The wine here is symbolic of life, thus Mary’s statement has two separate meanings: 1.a marriage is not complete without the presence of Jesus in it, and 2. the Old Covenant under which this wedding was performed was unable to bring life even to the most faithful of people. Without the wine which the wedding was missing, the ceremony, the wedding feast, was incomplete. When Mary stepped in, Jesus’ reply “what concern is that to Me,” is more properly translated, “what is that to you and I?” (gyne, tis emoi kai soi). This statement is not so much a refusal, merely a declaration that it is not yet time for Him to do such things. The fact that, regardless of His statement, He still does so reveals that which James would later state, that “the intercessions of the righteous have great power,” and it show specifically Mary’s ability to prayer on our behalf. It displays more than anywhere else in all of Scripture the power of Mary to intercede on our behalf.

Now then, and I want to be very careful on this, because I understand the dangers of what this passage reveals. It is Jesus alone who saves, Jesus alone who answers prayers. It is very easy, and a very thin line, between asking the saints and Mary to pray on our behalf, and praying to the saints and Mary. To ask Saint Stephen to pray that we would be filled with the guidance and wisdom of the Holy Spirit is completely different than praying to St Stephen that we would be filled with the Holy Spirit. Stephen is a holy and righteous man, a martyr of Christ, and the prayers of a righteous and holy man prevaileth much, however it is not he who would grant me those things, but rather he praying on my behalf, much as I would ask a friend, a pastor, or any other man of God to pray for me. And I firmly believe that is where the line gets blurred amongst the different factions, the Orthodox, the Catholic, the Protestant. The Protestant considers the Orthodox and Catholic to be praying to the saints and to Mary, the Catholic and Orthodox considers it to be asking them to pray on their behalf.

Further, I am in no way saying that the Protestant who doesn’t ask the saints to pray on their behalf is wrong, as though their prayers will not also be answered. I am merely trying to clarify because, so often, when we think of someone praying “to the saints,” we consider them to be guilty of idolatry. We consider a Catholic or an Orthodox to be praying to a saint instead of to Jesus, when in reality that person is actually asking the saint to pray to Jesus for them. But, if we truly believe that “He is not the God of the dead but of the living” (Mark 12:27) and that “all who believe in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16), then how is it any different to ask St Basil to pray on our behalf than it is to ask Pastor Frank to pray on our behalf? If we truly believe that Elijah and Moses, long since fallen asleep, were physically present on the Mount of Transfiguration, and that all are one in Christ Jesus, then how could we ever condemn someone for asking Stephen, Paul, Peter, Polycarp, John, Athanasius, or Mary to pray for us to our Lord, Jesus, whom we all affirm to be the only true source of our salvation, our King and our God?

Personally, I am not so proud as to think that I don’t need the prayers of others. Sinner that I am, I know that I need the prayers of as many of the body of Christ as are willing to pray for me. I need the prayers of everyone I know who has faith in the One true God, Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox alike. Those who are currently walking the earth, and those who have previously. Thus, each day, I pray, “Lord, through the prayers of our Holy Fathers, and through the prayers of the saints and the Prophets, and through the Prayers of your most holy mother, Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me and save me, a sinner.”

And may we all find the same peace. May the peace of the Lord be with you all, my beloved brothers and sisters. In Christ.

Morning meditation

Matthew 9

Chrysostom teaches us that the Church is a hospital, not a courtroom; and here we see Jesus teaching this very lesson. The Pharisees condemn Him because He goes to dine with “tax-collectors and sinners.” They, being self-righteous, feel as though these sinners are unworthy to be in the presence of a Jew, thus Jesus should instead be dining with the “clean” people, those “worthy.” See, it’s important to notice that Jesus won’t share company with those who deny their need for Him. When we minimize our sin, we minimize our need for salvation. As a sick man who thinks he is well would never seek the doctor who could cure him, neither can a man who doesn’t recognize his sinfulness fully seek after the salvation of the Physician who can heal his soul. It is not until we fully admit our sinfulness that we will ever truly seek the One who can save us from it.

Then we see examples of exactly that. We see the woman with the flow of blood, whose faith is such that she believes that merely the touching of the hem of His robe will heal her. Two blind men who believe so strongly that He can heal them that they actively seek Him, crying out “Lord have mercy.” A man whose daughter had died, whose faith was so strong that he truly sought after Jesus, believing that He could raise her back to life.

See, without this faith, each of us is unclean, each of us is blind, each of us is dead. I’ve oft heard the statement that, “if you are happy with where you are, keep doing what you’ve always been doing.” Separated from the grace of Jesus, each of us continues seeking the same happiness in the same ways, the same earthly pursuits, trying the same methods; and yet, expecting to find a different yield. Lost in our own ways, seeking our own goals, completely separated from the joy and contentment that only Jesus can bring us.

But, each of us also has another option. Like each of these examples, we have the opportunity to go to the great Physician, confessing our sickness, and faithfully pleading “Lord have mercy.” And He, the great Physician, will heal us and invite us, like the “tax collectors and sinners” to join Him in the heavenly feast.

None of us is perfect. But, like the Pharisees in this passage, rather than confessing our own faults, all too often we prefer to point out the weakness and sickness of others. See, each of us, the lawyer, the prostitute, the policeman, the thief, the doctor, the addict, the gossiper, the gambler; each of us has this same opportunity. There is no sin bigger than any other, for Jesus gave us many facets of one Law, not many laws. Thus, to break any one of them is to break the whole of the law, for the Law itself is one.

But, He has also given us the Church as His hospital, not for our judgment or condemnation, but for the sake of our healing; and has prescribed the sacraments, the disciplines, the traditions to us as our medication. If we will but go there, confess our sickness, and actively seek His mercy, then we will be healed; and we can hear His voice, as did each of those in this passage, stating, “your faith has made you well.”

To sin means literally to miss the mark. When we consider this, we must consider that there are only two marks, one is Jesus, and one is Satan. With each thought, each word, each action, we draw closer to one of the two marks. The question that we must ponder is, which one are we drawing nearer to? With each thought that we have, with each word that we speak, with each action that we perform, we must truly question, are we becoming more like Satan or more like Jesus in so doing?

When we begin to see things from that perspective, we will no longer wonder whether we can or cannot listen to a song, or watch a particular show or movie. Can we imbibe this or partake of that? No, the question will no longer be, what can I get away with? The question will become, “is this making me more like Satan or more like Jesus?”

To sin means to miss the mark. Jesus doesn’t expect any of us to be fully perfect in this life. We’re all messy people and we will all make mistakes. The goal isn’t to be perfect, but to be going in the right direction. To aim for perfection in Christ through His grace, and then if we miss to recognize that, repent, and confess our sins.

No, He doesn’t expect us to be perfect, He expects us to abide in Him, to obey Him, to follow Him. No, He doesn’t expect us to be perfect, but He expects us to be growing in Him, fully maturing in His ways. To grow more like Christ with every moment, with every breath that we take. That is the goal of the Christian walk, “Christ formed in you.” So, with each action, we need to meditate on, which mark are we aiming for? Which mark is this thought, this action, this word, going to make me more like? Who are we truly following, seeking to be like?

And when our goal is Christ, we may not attain to that level, but we at least get a little closer each time. We miss, we repent, asking, “Lord have mercy,” get up and begin again. But each time we get a little bit closer to the mark, which is our beloved Lord, Jesus.

May the peace of the Lord be with you, my beloved family.

John 1:46-51

Once Philip tells Nathanael that they have found the sought after Messiah, Nathanael’s response here at first seems slightly cynical. Philip had told him that “we have found the Messiah, it is Jesus of Nazareth,” to which Nathanael responds, “can anything good come from Nazareth?” We must remember, however, that the Scriptures the Prophets themselves, had declared that the Coming One would be of Bethelehem. Thus, for Nathanael to question this claim shows not cynicism, but rather caution. “And you, O Bethlehem…though you are the fewest in number in Judah…yet out of you shall come forth the One to rule over Israel.” (Micah 5:1 LXX). Thus for Nathanael to hear this statement of Philip, which seemed to so strongly contradict the Prophets, would truly have been confounding.

And yet, notice, that even with this questioning, he never insults, argues, claims heresy, disqualifies; nothing that would in anyway discourage Philip or insult his faith. Rather, he goes to meet Christ for himself. Truly seeking the Messiah rather than clinging to what he thought he knew, he acquiesces to Philip’s request that he go to meet him. See, this is a message that is truly so relevant to us in this age, to learn this lesson from Nathanael. To approach with a truly open mind even those whose teachings seem to go against our preconceived ideologies. By all means, we should always be guarded and vigilant. Paul himself warns us, “do not quench the Holy Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things. Hold fast what is good. Abstain from what is evil.” (1 Thessalonians 5:19-22) and John strongly admonishes us “do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God or not.” (1 John 4:1). However, so often, when we find any teaching which is contrary to our own opinions, we quickly dismiss those teachings. Rather than approaching them with an open mind and truly testing them, we resort to cliches like “this person is unqualified to teach.” In our generation, we base our faith in the teaching on the prestige of the teacher, rather than on the faith of the teacher. I love the Book of Amos, because it shows a man who had neither the education, nor even really the desire, to be a prophet, but whom God Himself called to warn the nations. In our generation, an entire school of teaching teaches that the miracles and signs have ceased, but when we test that teaching against Scripture, we find it to be false. May we, as a generation, instead of beginning with the opinions of man, begin with the foundation in the words of God and then approach any teaching with an open mind, carefully and diligently testing whatever teachings we encounter against it, as we see in this passage with Nathanael. Had Nathanael our mindset, he would have detected the one statement as being contrary to what he personally had believed, and thus would have dismissed immediately the claim of Jesus as the Messiah.

And note Jesus’ response to this caution, and yet desire to truly meet the Lord. Jesus states as Nathanael approaches, “a man in whom is no deceit.” Jesus, in stating this, declares Nathanael to be a good hearted man, a man who seeks only the truth, even if it contradicts his own opinion. A man who was willing to sacrifice his pride for the sake of the truth. How many of us, convinced that someone is wrong, would still view the issue with an open mind, non-confrontationally? In his place, would you or I have gone to meet Jesus for the sake of discovering the truth, or for the sake of proving ourselves right? It is important to note that Jesus praises Nathanael for his caution, and yet, even moreso praises him for his desire to know the truth. He recognizes that his motives were pure, even if his understanding was wrong.

While Scripture never directly explains it, Chrysostom explains that the fig tree that He references was the very place where Nathanael and Philip had met, where Philip had told him of the Messiah. Thus, when Jesus says, “I saw you under the fig tree,” He saw the caution that Nathanael had concerning the Messiah. And based on that very brief witness, He had determined that Nathanael was “a man in whom there was no deceit.” Jesus was, by this one brief event, praising Nathanael for his diligence and caution in studying the Scriptures, seeking to find the truth within them. It was obvious that Nathanael had studied the Scriptures with the Messiah as the beginning point of them and worked outward. Thus, when something seemed to be against his understanding, he cautiously questioned. And yet, in spite of that, he was still willing to see firsthand, thus Jesus’ statement in praise of his desire to find truth rather than deceit.

Nathanael, his heart stirred by this unknowable knowledge of Jesus, immediately recognizes His divinity. Merely by His presence, Jesus is able to convince Nathanael of His true place as the Messiah. Thus, we hear Nathanael’s immediate confession of faith, “You are the Son of God.” And again, it’s this idea that there’s nothing that we can do, no amount of apologetics or witty argumentation, no wise or beguiling words; nothing that our minds could ever formulate could ever bring the conviction that one could attain to solely by being in the presence of Jesus. To the grace and the glory of His majesty. Our goal can never be to bring someone to salvation, but rather, as Philip’s was, our goal should be to bring someone to Him and leave the remaining work to Him. Sure, to answer questions, but never to attempt through our own wisdom to bring someone unto salvation.

Jesus’ reply to Nathanael was “you believe because I saw you under the fig tree,” something that our rational mind could easily comprehend. But He goes on to evoke the Old Testament prophecy, “I say you will see Heaven open, and the Angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.” which illustrates the supernatural, the incomprehensible, unknowable power of God. We must consciously seek never to neglect either of these powers, for when we distill the power of God down to only that which we can understand in our finite minds, we miss the miraculous aspect of our faith. “The Son of Man” implies a man of heavenly origin able to usher in the kingdom, while Jacob dreamed of a ladder where he saw “a ladder set on earth, with it’s top reaching to heaven, and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.” (Genesis 28:12). And, in this passage, we see Jesus Himself as the ladder which the angels are ascending and descending, ushering in the kingdom, connecting the heavens with the earth.

My brethern, we must be truly cautious. Many have gone into the world teaching what they believe to be truth, interpreting and twisting the words of Scripture in their own way. The traditions of the Church are established for the very purpose of protecting us from these varied and numerous interpretations, for the sake of preserving the integrity of the Scripture. While we must always study the Scripture, we must be willing, as Nathanael was, to approach with an open mind, those whose teachings may not agree with what we think we know. We must recognize that our own understanding of the words of Scripture could very easily become skewed by our own inner desires, and thus, be willing to accept that perhaps, if the Church itself teaches contrary to what we want Scripture to mean, that we may in fact be incorrect. We must always carefully search the Scriptures with a fine comb, and be willing, with an open mind, to hear teachings that contradict what we think we know; testing those teachings against the Scriptures themselves to see if those teachings are correct.

Nathanael had studied the words of the Prophets, and thought that he knew all of the signs to seek with the advent, and yet, was willing to sacrifice his pride for the sake of the truth. May each of us do the same.

May the peace of the Lord be with you, my beloved family.

John 1:43-45

Here we see a very interesting transaction, for both Andrew and John had spent the evening with Jesus and were thus convinced. Philip, however, was not present during this time. Thus, when Jesus calls to Philip to “follow Me,” for Philip to straight do so with no question displays his zeal, his full true faith. See, Philip was a disciple of John the Baptist, who in this image is the Church. He had on his own studied the Scriptures, while looking to a teacher to help him interpret them, rather than looking to his own understanding. So strong was his zeal for the Messiah that he didn’t question when John said, “this is He.” He needed no convincing, no apologetics, no signs and miracles, no crafty arguments or empirical evidence. He had his Church, his “priest,” in whom he had placed his trust, and thus he believed without question or argument, in full obedience, when John stated who He was. Oh how we could learn from this. In our generation, we hate obedience. We hate having to place our trust in another person. So much so that we refuse to accept the teachings of the Church itself. We actually trust ourselves in our limited wisdom over 2000 years of Church history with it’s teachings and traditions. We constantly seek new and exciting ways to interpret Scripture instead of “holding to the traditions which have been handed down, whether by word or by epistle.” Rather than seeking the God of Scripture, we seek the god in the mirror, and, I promise, when we seek the god in the mirror, we will find him every time. The enemy has no reason to plant the seeds of doubt in our mind when we seek to create our own god, he need only fear when we seek the true God. Thus, when it is Jesus that we are seeking, he will fill our minds with doubt. He will convince us that we are following fools. He will quickly point out the first reason that we have to doubt, and then convince us that unless we see these miraculous things on demand, then we are going the wrong way. Consider the tricks he tried on Jesus in the desert. Jesus was hungry, Satan told Him, “command these stones to become bread,” then the devil told Him, “throw Yourself down, if God is real He won’t let You be hurt” and Jesus replied, “You shall not test the Lord your God,” and lastly, Satan told Him, “follow me and everyone will love You, You will rule everything,” and Jesus rebuked Him.

The last of those temptations really resonates with our generation. If you want everyone to love you, if you want everyone to accept you and be your friend, if you want to succeed by the world’s definition of success, just follow him. Just give into your every inner yearning and the world will accept you, because you will be just like them. Even moreso, the enemy will allow your attempts to go unfettered, because it means that you are following him. But, if you want to find true freedom, true success, then rebuke him and follow Jesus. In Proverbs, we learn that “to every careful thinker there is gain.” (Proverbs 14:24 LXX), and Jesus Himself strengthens this statement when He teaches us that “He who seeks, finds.” See, no amount of coercion, no amount of debate, will ever convince anyone to seek after salvation. No amount of arguing or debating will ever convince a non-believer to believe. So often, we think that we can open the eyes of the blind with witty statements and debates, pointing out the miracles as evidence of the existence of God. On the other hand, as we see here, to the one who is truly seeking, truly hungering after God; no amount of debating, no show of miracles or signs, is necessary. To the man who is truly hungering after the Lord, merely being in His presence is sufficient; to the man who is not hungering, no amount of signs or miracles even would suffice. Consider a man who awakens every morning to the sun shining down on the earth, providing necessary light and nourishment, whose every cell functions perfectly in unison to cause him to breathe, finding the necessary nourishment in that same oxygen, who has food enough to sustain life in some incomprehensible way. What miracles beyond those could we ever offer as evidence to the existence of God? What further evidence could you offer that man who has each of those things and yet still does not believe? No, as with Philip here, if this man is truly hungering after God, being brought into His presence would be all that were necessary. But, if he’s not, then no amount of human wisdom would ever bring Him to the cross.

And, it’s interesting to note, Philip not only believed that Jesus was the Messiah, but immediately went back and began preaching. So strong and zealous was his faith that merely being in the presence of God not only made him believe, but he immediately began to tell others. The Scripture says that he went and found Nathanael and proclaimed boldly, “We have found the Messiah.” This claim can only be made by one who was already diligently seeking Him, otherwise, how do you find that which you are not already seeking? No, rather, the disciples of John, the members of the Church, were already seeking diligently the Scriptures, seeking to learn about the coming One, so that they would be prepared to find Him. And John helped them, by his teaching, and ultimately, his revelation of Jesus as the Messiah. And, further, Philip declares, “we have found Him of whom Moses in the law and the Prophets wrote.” See how much he had meditated on the Scriptures that, when he beheld them, he studied in anticipation of the advent of the Messiah.

This is something that we must be mindful to heed. So often, we tend to get so caught up in the historicity of the Scripture that we miss the very spirit of what is being said in it. Rather than seeing Jesus in all of Scripture, we get lost in the historical accuracy of it. In no way would I ever say that the Scriptures are historically inaccurate; however, when we focus on that aspect of them rather than the revelation of Jesus in all of the Scriptures, then we completely miss the point. Every verse of Scripture is a hymn to Christ. If we are unable to see Jesus in every part of the Holy Scripture, then the historical accuracy is irrelevant. Likewise, if you are able to see Jesus in every part of Scripture, then does the historical accuracy matter? I think of thousands of years of martyrs. Consider the apostles themselves. Was Stephen martyred because he argued that the world was created in seven 24 hour days? Was Peter crucified upside down because he believed in a global worldwide flood? When we read the story of Jonah, which we are all familiar with, do we see Jonah as a type of Christ, buried in the pit for three days and then returning to the world to bring salvation to everyone? If not, does it matter if he was literally swallowed whole by a whale? But, if we see Jonah as being a type of Christ, and recognize that he was sent to bring salvation to a people who were not already “God’s people,” then does the historicity matter?

See, we should always view the Scriptures from the perspective of what they teach us about the Lord, and then, through them, what He is teaching us. Philip had studied the Scriptures and, because he had studied them beginning with the Messiah, he anticipated His advent and then needed only to be in His presence to believe. All too often, we do it backwards. We begin with our preconceived notions and theological doctrines, study the Scripture based on what we already believe, and then bend the words of Scripture to fit what we had already determined we would find there. We use the words of Scripture to build our own opinions, to strengthen our own interpretation. To attach the name of Jesus to the god of the mirror. We place more faith in our own interpretation than in the teachings of the Church, and create a god in our own image. We must be careful, my beloved brethern, that we do not fall into this trapping of Satan. Let us instead read the Scripture in the light of what it teaches us about Him, His will, His Law; looking to the Church to help us to understand it. And then let us present this faith to the world, this faith which doesn’t require theological gymnastics or an M-Div to understand; heeding the words of St Paul that “God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise.” (1 Corinthians 1:27). Let us read the Scripture in light of Christ and let us read the words of Scripture and do them, as Jesus teaches, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it.” (Luke 11:28). And that should be our goal. To hear the words of Scripture, to look to the traditions of the Church to help us understand them, and to abide in them. In the Book of Acts, we read about the later days of Philip, who meets a Eunuch. And the Eunuch is reading from the Prophet Isaiah. Philip asks him, “do you understand what you are reading?” to which the Eunuch replies, “how can I, unless someone guides me?” (Acts 8:27-39).

May our lives exude this simple faith that comes into the presence of Christ, hears His words, and obeys them.

May the peace of the Lord be with you, my beloved family.

John 1:42b

So often in our generation, we have been taught that we should celebrate who we are, regardless of everything else. The multitudes cry out, “God made me who I am, why should He judge me for it.” The self-help gurus, the new-agers, the occultists, the humanists; so many teach us to rejoice and celebrate who we are naturally, to look inside ourselves, to seek the answers to our own happiness within ourselves. Even those well meaning individuals who seek to do this, however, do so to our detriment. In seeking to build up our confidence, they get us instead to build up temples to ourselves and worship at the altars of vanity. John Climacus refers to self-esteem as “the beginning and completion of the passions.” In the Book of Sirach, we read the strong warning, “do not set your heart on your possessions, and do not say, ‘I am independent,’ Do not follow yourself and your strength so as to walk in the desires of your heart.” (Sirach 5:1-2).

See, all too often, this concept of constantly building up self-esteem leads to the statement that “my God would never…” You can complete this statement with whatever modern cliche you would like; ultimately it comes down to the statement, “my God would never disagree with me.” It can be political, social, economical; it could be something as simple as “my God would never punish someone for ___,” it all comes back to the same thought. There is something that you think is acceptable and someone has shown where God says it isn’t, so you get defensive. I often warn my brothers and sisters, if your god never disagrees with you; then be careful of who your god is. No man whose essence is mortal has ever been so perfect in righteousness as to never do anything out of alignment with all that God demands of us. In fact, God promises us that we will disagree with Him. In the Prophet Isaiah, we read, the words of the Lord, “My counsels are not your counsels, neither are my ways your ways. But as heaven is distant from the earth, so is My way distant from your way and your thoughts from My mind.” (Isaiah 55:8-9). See, it’s this idea that trying to use reason alone will never bring us to God, trying to understand the ways of an infinite God with our finite minds will never lead us to Him. And, when we try to do that, what we end up doing in trying to bring God down to our level is instead create a god that looks a lot like us; we create a god that is fully in agreement with everything we believe. A god that matches our political, social, economic positions; a god that is indiscernable from our own opinions about things. Instead of allowing the Holy Spirit to create in us a new heart, constantly renewing our minds daily, making us more Christ-like; we begin with ourselves and make Christ much more us-like. In the West especially we are guilty of this; our Christ looks much more like the American dream than the God of Scripture. Consider this, what is the American Church’s opinion of Jesus’ commands to asceticism and almsgiving, repentance, compassion, mercy, peace, obedience? How often do we consider ourselves blessed when we receive a promotion at work, and why? Is it because then we have more to give? Or is it because now we can take the extra nice vacation and buy the newest television, the newest cell phone, that nice new car that we have been coveting on social media for the last two years?

See, in our generation, those commands, those spiritual disciplines to asceticism, to almsgiving, mercy, compassion, repentance, obedience, etc get sacrificed on the altar of greed. And that greed is taught to us by the wisdom of the age, and then theologically justified with terms like “works-based salvation.” We’re taught that salvation is a one time event and to add anything onto that salvation is heresy, and yet, in Scripture, we’re constantly told to “work out our salvation with fear and trembling.” In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul exhorts the brethern, “be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:58). James tells us multiple times that “faith without works is dead.” Paul also tells us that “I discipline my body and bring it into submission, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified.” (1 Corinthians 9:27). See, over and over again, it’s this idea that there are things that are a part of our salvation, things that we, through the grace of God, are enabled to do, but that they are a part of our salvation. The idea of salvation is that we are saved from our sins, not for them, and, as Peter teaches us, “whoever suffers in the flesh has ceased from sin.” (1 Peter 4:1). We’re taught that fasting is not part of our salvation, and yet Jesus stated that “when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting.” (Matthew 6:16-17). Notice, it’s not if, but when you fast. Jesus expected that His followers would do so.

“Anyone who would come after Me, let him deny himself, pick up his cross, and follow Me.” (Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34, Luke 9:23) Jesus taught. Dying to ourselves, to our own goals, desires, dreams. This is central to Jesus’ teaching, stated in three of the four Gospels, and yet, to do so directly contradicts the message of our generation to “be the best you you can be.” To do that means to seek to perfect your own fleshly urges. The gambler becomes the best him he can be when he wins; the fornicator the best him he can be when lost in the throes of immorality. No, contrary to the wisdom of the age, Jesus teaches us that the only way to enter the kingdom is to die and be born again, of the Spirit and of water. To die to the very self that the world teaches us to embrace. He teaches us that “any man who follows sin is a slave to sin.” (John 8:34). St Paul teaches us that “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.” (2 Corinthians 5:17). And what does this new creation look like? “Behold, the old things have passed away; all things have become new.” In his first letter to the Corinthians, St Paul describes this passing, “The unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God. Neither fornicators, nor idolators, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers…and such were some of you. But you were washed.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-11). When we were in the world, we were partakers of those fleshly temptations, but when we were baptized, we were washed of those sins; their power over us was removed, and by the grace of God, we can become more and more like Him. I heard a great lesson the other day about sin. Sin means literally to miss the mark. And the mark is Christ. So, the question isn’t “is this wrong,” the question has to be, “is this Christ?” In modern terms, the goal isn’t just to not lose, it’s to win. Is your goal in your marriage just to not get divorced, or is it to have a healthy marriage? Is your goal legally to not get arrested, or to not break the law? So, if the goal of Christianity is “Christ formed in you,” why would your goal be to just not go to hell? No, it’s to put to death all of the old habits, the old sins, the old ways and to be reborn, to be formed into the image of Christ. To put to death the old man and be reborn in the Spirit. The Psalmist sings that “as far as the east is from the west, so He removes our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 102:12 LXX). Notice that it’s not the penalty alone of our sins that He removes from us, but the very sins themselves.

The first thing Jesus does when He meets Simon in the flesh is to give him a new identity. He says, “you are Simon, the son of Jonah. Now you shall be called Cephas, which translates ‘a stone’.” Thus, we see quite literally in the life of Simon that the first thing Jesus does when Simon comes to Him is to give him this new identity. Simon, son of Jonah, becomes Cephas (or Petrus in Greek), the follower of Jesus, adopted son of the most High. This is an interesting facet of our faith which I fear has been all but lost in Western Christianity and something that we should be weary of. So often, when we turn to the faith, we update our wardrobe (maybe), our music playlists (sometimes), our movie catalogue and our status on social media; but otherwise our lives remain unchanged. In other traditions, the very name of the person who has turned to the faith is changed, usually after a saint or other figure from Church history. Families disown them, governments seek to harm them, but it’s all worth it to them, because they are willing to sacrifice literally everything to become a follower of Christ.

We need to deeply evaluate ourselves, our lives, our faith. Have we truly died to ourselves? Are we denying ourselves? Does the God that we worship look like the God of Scripture, or does he look an awful lot like us? The first thing Jesus did was give Simon a new identity; have we allowed Him to do the same for us? Or are we still clinging on to the person that we were; obeying the desires and the wills of the flesh? If we have truly surrendered our old selves and died to ourselves, then any power that sin has over us is gone, thus if we continue to sin it is of our own willful decision. “As far as the east is from the west, He will separate us from our transgressions.” Knowing that His offer of grace and salvation is available, have we fully accepted it? Or do we suppose that He will allow us to continue to pervert His grace into the freedom to sin? Sirach strongly admonishes us, “Do not be so confident of atonement that you add sin to sin; and do not say ‘His compassion is great; He will atone for the multitude of my sins,” for both mercy and wrath come from Him; and His anger rests on sinners. Do not delay to turn to the Lord” (Sirach 5:5-7).

May we all turn unto the Lord, leaving behind our earthly passions and laying aside all earthly cares. May we reach ever outward to the Holy Spirit for guidance in the things of the Spirit, seeking to be conformed to the image of Christ. The Christian walk is the walk of salvation, the walk of being healed, the walk of becoming more like Christ. My brothers and sisters, let us make Christ our mark, and let us conceive the idea that when we contemplate something, we not ask if it is wrong, but rather is it Christ. And let us remember that, with that being the case, if it is not Christ, then it is wrong. Consider how much it would effect your life, your relationships, your daily mindset; if you were to view everything beginning with Christ. Is it wrong to ignore the homeless man asking for money, or is it Christ-like to ignore the homeless man? Is it wrong to watch that movie, or is it Christlike to watch that movie? Is it wrong to flirt with that person at work, or is it Christlike? The Spirit will guide you, if you allow Him, to grow further and further into the image of Christ. To separate us from our transgressions and to help us to walk with Jesus in our lives, not only for two hours after a convicting sermon on Sunday, but every day of our lives. Let us allow the Spirit to change us, to create in us a new heart, to renew our minds and to cast off the old man. And then, we will understand the grace of God on His terms, not ours.

May the peace of the Lord be with you, my beloved brothers and sisters.

I heard a lesson recently that I felt compelled to share with everyone. So often, in our generation, I hear/read those who question, “can a Christian (insert random questionable activity here)?” Whether it’s viewing particular TV shows and movies, listen to particular music, partake of mind-altering chemicals, etc…all too often I hear my brothers and sisters asking what’s the furthest that they can go, the closest they can get to sin, before they have committed it. And, this lesson sort of deals with that exact topic. Consider it in terms of your physical health. How many of us would go to a doctor and say, “Doctor, how fat can I get before I get sick.” Like, how overweight can we become before we start to develop high blood pressure or diabetes? None of us would ever do that. In fact, if that’s how we’re living our lives then we’re not going to do very well. No, rather, we would go to a doctor and ask them how we can live healthier. We would ask them what foods and exercises will allow us to optimize our lives.

But, spiritually, we do the exactly that. Spiritually, we tend to look at it as “what’s the bare minimum we can do?” We seek to find out how far we can push the envelope before we’ve fallen into sin. How many cookies can we eat before we have problems. And the problem with that is this; if we live our lives walking on the border of sin, then we’ve already sinned. The word sin itself means “to miss the mark.” Consider that it’s root meaning is derived from an archery term. And to sin means that we are aiming at the bullseye and miss. And, even the most skilled archer will sometimes miss the bullseye, they will miss the mark. And so too shall we often miss the mark. The goal of the life of a follower of Christ is to become more like Christ, and if He is truly our goal, then we will miss occasionally. Much like someone picking up the bow for the first time will often miss the bullseye, but the more that they practice, the more often they will hit the mark as well. When we begin to mature in our spiritual walk, we will find ourselves missing the mark much less frequently. And the more we will begin to notice those smaller “misses” in our lives. We will no longer consider hitting the target itself as sufficient, we will begin to hit the rings, and then our aim will come more towards the center, and eventually, our eyes will focus on that center mark, and we will notice all the scars from where we hit the outer rings and will no longer be content with adding to those scars.

The problem with this “what’s the furthest I can go” mindset is that it sets our pleasure as the bullseye. It’s dangerous to maintain that mindset because it doesn’t have being Christlike as the target. In archery terms, it would be the equivalent of grabbing the bow, taking sight, and then turning around and firing the arrow in the opposite direction. When the goal is our pleasure, we will never fail, but when the goal is the true happiness and contentment, the true freedom that comes from Christ, then, though we will occasionally miss, we will grow more able to hit the mark with the practice of maintaining a holy life. We will become more able to maintain those standards through the spiritual exercises, the spiritual disciplines, prescribed by the Church. We will grow in our discipline through prayer, through fasting; we will grow in our humility through almsgiving, through obedience to the canons and doctrines of the Church, through confessing our sins to one another (James 5:16,1 John 1:9); we will grow in our holiness through strict adherence to the traditions of the Church and the meeting together of others, through our discipleship and mentoring. And, as we grow, we will remain removed from self-righteousness by being ever more aware of our own shortcomings, focusing on those rather than the failings of others.

As we would never go to a doctor and ask them how out of shape we can become before our bodies destroy themselves; spiritually, the Church is our hospital. We can look to it and ask, “what’s the worst we can do and still enter the kingdom?” or we can look to the Church and abide in the methods it has given us to be healthier spiritually. We who were created in His image and bare His name, the question should never be, “can I get away with this,” but rather, “is this worthy of bearing His name.” Only once we have set our aim correctly can we ever hope to hit the target, my beloved brothers and sisters. We must ever “set our minds on things above, not the things of this earth.” (Colossians 3:2), and only then, having set our aim correctly, when we fall short, do we confess, repent, and are forgiven.

May the peace of the Lord be with you, my beloved family. Christ is in our midst.