Sun., Jan. 16, 2005 Tone 8
Veneration of the Precious Chains of the Apostle Peter
11th Vigil of Theophany: 1 Kings 18:30-39 Epistle: Colossians3:4-11 Gospel: St. Luke 17:11-19
St. Luke 17:11-19, especially vs. 12: "Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were
lepers, who stood afar off." Lepers were constrained to keep out of villages and far away from contact with others during
biblical times. Isolation was the only known way in those days to prevent the spread of the disease to others. That practice
of radical separation continued until quite recent times. To provide for the care of lepers, before modern medical practice
developed more effective treatment, leprosaria were established by the Federal government even in the United States in
out-of-the way rural places mostly in the southern states, because of the prevalence of the disease in hot, moist climates. In
Hawaii, the island of Molokai was reserved for lepers, and when any person on the other islands contracted the disease, he
was immediately taken there, never again to return to the embrace of family and loved ones.
This ancient policy of isolation found its way into the prayers of the Church, which all Orthodox Faithful will recognize:
"As Thou didst not refrain from entering and eating with sinners in the house of Simon the leper [Mt. 26:6], so also
vouchsafe to enter the house of my humble, leprous and sinful soul." In our inmost depths, we know that our sins against
the living God, like leprosy, create that deadly condition of heart and soul that separates us from our saving God. It is out
of this experience of distancing that we are led to cry with the tax collector, to whom the Lord Jesus gives voice in His
parable: "God be merciful to me a sinner!" (Lk. 18:13). We realize that it is our sins that may well bring us to the torments
of Hades, where we will only be able to see "Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom" (Lk. 16:23).
Lepers that we are, each repentant Christian readily finds himself in the company of the ten lepers who stood afar off. With
them, we can only be quick to lift up our "voices and [say], 'Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!'" (Lk. 17:13). And best that
we do so! For, as of old He still says, "'Go, show yourselves to the Priests.' And so it was that, as they went, they were
cleansed" (vs. 14). What is striking in the present account is not that they went to the Priests for an official declaration of
their healing. After all, the official inspection and certification of cleansing would enable them to return to human society,
but the important matter we should not miss is that one of them returned, first of all, to Jesus "when he saw that he was
healed...and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks" (vss. 15,16).
That tenth leper was already healed of his leprosy, but he disdained to make the visit to the Priest His first priority - even to
his Samaritan Priest. Rather, since he discerned in Jesus the presence of God, the Source of all healing, he "fell down on
his face at His feet, giving Him thanks" (vs. 16). Who else but the God alone can forgive our sins, can heal us of our
manifold diseases, can trample down the gates of Hades and lift us up to Abraham's bosom? St. Peter is quite right in
reminding us that "the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will
call" (Acts 2:39).
If you heart is troubled, your strength has failed you, and the light of your eyes is not with you so that even your friends and
neighbors and your nearest of kin stand afar off from you, do not despair (see Ps. 37:10,11 LXX)! God is with us, attentive
to the voice of our cries. What He teaches us in this account is His eternal message, even what He revealed to us through
Jeremiah the Prophet: " I am a God nigh at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off" (Jer. 23:23). Learn from the
Samaritan leper: nothing should separate us from the living God! He is ready to heal us. "When thou shalt turn and mourn,
then thou shalt be saved" (Is. 30:15).
Swiftly let Thy compassion apprehend us, O Lord; for we are greatly impoverished. Help us, O God our Savior; deliver us
and forgive us our sins for Thy Name's sake.
Monday, January 17, 2005
The Venerable Anthony the Great
3rd Vigil of Theophany: Exodus 15:22-16:1 Epistle: Hebrews 13:17-21 Gospel: St. Luke 6:17-23
St. Luke 6:17-23, especially vs. 20: "Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said: 'Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God." Among the Saints of God, St. Anthony is a shining example of the blessings of asceticism. He was born of well-to-do, Christian parents in Egypt, yet from his youth he displayed an unusual and singular desire to devote himself completely to the Lord Jesus. Whenever he heard the Scriptures read in Church, he immediately applied the teachings to himself in the most direct, practical manner.
When he was twenty, his parents died and he inherited the family fortune. Hearing in Church the Gospel of the rich, young ruler (Lk. 18:18-30), St. Anthony gave away his worldly possessions and fully embraced the ascetic disciplines. Through twenty years of struggle, he defeated every temptation. He reduced his diet to bread, salt and water, eating no more than once a day, sometimes only every other day, frequently even less often. He lived in absolute solitude all those years, maintaining unceasing prayer and overcoming every imaginable demonic wile.
By the grace of God, the ascetic blessings manifested in St. Anthony ignited, within the Church, the monastic movement, a permanent, visible witness to the value of utter self-surrender to the Lord. Today, the Church's monks and nuns continue to demonstrate the blessings that come from embracing poverty, hunger, tears, and austerity. The monastics continue to provide us with living models of what the Lord teaches in the present Gospel reading (Lk. 6:20-23). Let us read this passage with care, for there is a basic antipathy between the life which Christ offers through Orthodox ascetic practice and the consumerist "lifestyle" that everywhere surrounds us.
Consider the Lord's teaching. On the one hand, those who choose poverty are blessed with the kingdom of God (vs. 20). Quite to the opposite, secular society promotes convenience and comfort in abundance. Television and the other media repeatedly emphasize our "need" for things to fulfill our lives. However, Orthodox are blessed with the reminder in the funeral Liturgy: "All things are vanity and exist not after death. Riches endure not, neither doth glory accompany on the way: for when death cometh, all these things vanish utterly."
Still, in the "climate" of today's world, without the monastic example, who could imagine finding a blessing in poverty as did St. Anthony? And how do we embrace the blessings of ascesis amidst the lives we are leading? Surely there is nothing to prevent cutting back on conveniences, simplifying our lifestyles, and doing with less that we may give to the poor.
Also, the Lord teaches the blessing of hunger (vs. 21). The Fathers of the Church similarly insist on the necessity of fasting, and not by monastics only, but by all the Faithful. Beloved, how blessed we are: our Orthodox Faith has not sold-out to the modern, cultivated palate. The Church still teaches discipline for the stomach as the birthright of every Christian. Actually, how difficult is it for us to fast from fish, meat, dairy products, wine and oil on Wednesdays and Fridays or during the four seasonal fasts? God promises spiritual blessings if we will faithfully and diligently keep the fasting disciplines and train our appetites to serve Him. Finally, Christ teaches us to "weep now" in repentance (vs. 21), that we may join in the rejoicing of the widow of Nain, Jairus, the woman with the precious ointment, and the friends of Tabitha. Let us weep now that there may be joy and healing from our Savior. Let our Pastors guide us in self-examination, confession, and unleashing the tears of cleansing. Let us devote regular time to prayer and the struggle against the demons who aim to disrupt and mislead us.
O Christ our God, implant in us the fear of Thy blessed commandments that we may trample down all carnal desires, and enter upon a spiritual manner of living.
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
Athanasios and Cyril, Patriarchs of Alexandria
13th Vigil of Theophany: Isaiah 49:8-15 Epistle: Hebrews 4:1-13 Gospel: St. Luke 21:12-19
St. Luke 21:12-19, especially vs. 19: "By your patience, possess your souls." The next three
readings this week describe the last period in the Lord's ministry before His Passion. He used the time to prepare the
Church for the persecutions which He prophesied for His followers (vs.12). He hid none of the degrading pain associated
with oppression: pursuit, arrest, abuse, jail, trial, betrayal by family and friends as well as hatred and death (vss. 16,17).
His goal was to help His disciples triumph in the midst of persecution, and He solemnly promised God's help to His
faithful martyrs, confessors, and witnesses.
Twenty centuries of Christian history have confirmed every word of these important teachings of the Lord. Whether we
experience what the Lord describes here or whether we will be left alone in the serene eddies of life along the banks of the
raging torrent of oppression, let us realize that persecution is not the exception, but rather the norm of discipleship. It has
swept down upon a great many of our brethren. Every awakened Christian knows that tides of intolerance and opposition
to the Gospel often rise to flood stage. We do well to pay attention to the Lord and learn how to possess our souls through
disciplined patience and practice.
How do we possess our souls by patience? Surely, first of all, by honestly recognizing how unruly our souls are. The
watchful Orthodox Christian understands the depth of struggle that is required to possess one's soul. St. John of the Ladder
reminds us that our souls are like greedy kitchen dogs running from one garbage can to the next. Those who have made
even mildly serious attempts at unceasing prayer know that we are "dull of hearing," babes who "need milk" rather than
solid spiritual food, "unskilled in the word of righteousness," and often given to dabbling in discussions of "the elementary
principles" of Christian Faith (Heb. 5:11-6:1).
How then may we break this tyranny of the passions and gain possession of our souls? The Holy Fathers teach that
freedom comes with the help of the Holy Spirit as we love and practice self-control, "first curbing passions of the soul
and...second, those of the body." Desires not submitted to Christ must be converted, one after another, until we reach what
the Fathers call "dispassion." Let us not grow weary, but "by [our] patience, possess [our] souls" (vs. 19), by the steady
subduing of each of the passions with the help of the Life-giving Spirit of God. In turn, peace of soul will equip us for
those certain seasons when we shall be asked to witness, when persecution and resistance to the Faith will demand that we
take a stand. The Lord gives His true disciple the words and wisdom that adversaries cannot contradict nor silence (Lk.
21:13-15).
Dispassion is a Divinely blessed state that enables the Christian to face betrayal by his own family and dearest friends.
Dispassion is the impregnable redoubt from which God's love sallies forth, either to capture hatred in its embrace or to be
crowned with the victor's wreath as a blessed martyr or an honored confessor. Dispassion is that grace which God gives to
His Faithful ones whereby "not a hair of your head shall be lost" (vs. 18).
Once the point is grasped that the battle is within us and not exterior, then we may be abused and killed and nothing will be
lost. Beloved, we receive these precious truths from the Passionless One, Who, in order to "bring many sons to glory, as
Author of their salvation, was perfected through sufferings...and through death...destroyed him who had the power of death,
that is the devil" (Heb. 2:10,14). He gives His Holy Spirit to help us also gain passionlessness, by patience to possess our
souls. We have the resources of His kingdom. Let us begin!
"Deliver me from them that persecute me, O Lord, for they are stronger than I. Bring my soul out of prison, that I may
confess Thy Name." (Ps. 141:6,7 LXX)
Wed., January 19, 2005
Mark Eugenikos, Metropolitan of Ephesos, Pillar of Orthodoxy
6th Vigil of Theophany: 2 Kings 5:9-14 Epistle: Galatians 5:11-6:8 Gospel: St. Matthew 18:23-35
St. Matthew 18:23-35, especially vs. 28: "But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants
who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, 'Pay me what you owe!'"
We who have lived any appreciable time in this modern, enlightened age have many images that come to mind when we
consider the nature of inhumanity. Gross barbarisms have filled our media with the details of crimes and cruelties, and we
have responded by calling the worst of these violations inhumane.
How are we able to besmirch the noble and best of our race by dragging the name human into association with such
viciousness? We might think to call such acts bestiality, but even the wildest of animals do not perpetrate the kinds of acts
for which we reserve the label inhumane. Let us use our God-given wisdom to say that there is something about the nature
of sin that is unique as it works itself into the psyches of human beings - or to certain fallen spirits. Further, we recognize
that the special quality of evil that lodges in sin, for men and demons, does not touch animal nature. In our fall we are
much the worst of all creatures, far and away the most dark and sinister.
In the parable of the Lord Jesus that is today's Gospel, inhumanity comes forward to dominate our Savior's teaching in His
story of debt and forgiveness. The first point we should observe as we consider the account in this light is the One Who
tells us the tale, our God and Creator Himself Who joined His Divine nature to our maniacal nature, yes, the God-Man
Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul reminds us about Jesus Christ, both that "He knew no sin" and that He became "sin for us"
(2 Cor 5:21).
If we are appalled at what sin generates through our nature, should we not be more amazed that God would involve Himself
with creatures that so readily spawn fiends. Thus the One Who tells this parable is the most important Person of the
parable itself. For He makes it possible for us to hear this story and to say that the unforgiveness of the one servant was
inhumane; for Christ has restored humanity to the right hand of God the Father.
The debt of the unforgiving servant was immense. James Hastings points out that the debt of 10, 000 talents which was
owed to the master would have required in the coin of the day "an army of nearly 8600 carriers, each with a sack 60 lbs in
weight...[who if they] were placed in a single file a yard apart, the train would be almost five miles in length." Our debt to
God is staggering, but the debt between the two servants was pocket change. The core issue in unforgiveness is loss of
humanity, the negation of human potential which He Who tells the parable fully reveals to us. He hangs on the Cross upon
which we humans placed Him, and He says, "Father forgive them, for they do not know what they do" (Lk 23:34). This is
the potential of humanity which the God-Man reveals while He also reveals why barbarities are inhuman.
Unforgiveness on our part sells ourselves, our families, and all that we have into slavery to the devil himself, to one who
has no claim to humanity whatsoever. When we do not forgive, that fallen angel, that master of darkness, owns us body
and soul. And truly, he is a torturer who will exact every ounce of humanity out of us until we pay all to him; but God,
Whom we, as Christians, are graced to call "Our Father," also hands us over to Satan if from our hearts, we do not forgive
our "brother his trespasses" (Mt. 18:34,35). Theophylact points out that Christ did "not say 'your Father', but 'My Father'.
For such as these [who do not forgive] are unworthy to have God as their Father. He wants us to forgive from our hearts
and not only from our lips. Understand, then, what a great evil is remembrance of wrongs, since it revokes the gift of God.
A wonder to behold, how Thou, the Maker of heaven and earth, was suspended on the Cross. Wherefore, O Savior, save us
from the sin, grave, and torture of unforgiveness.
Thursday, January 20, 2005
The Venerable Euthymios the Great
2nd Blessing of Water: Isaiah 55:1-13 Epistle: 2 Corinthians 4:6-15 Gospel: St. Luke 21:28-33
28-33, especially vss. 32, 33: "Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means
pass away till all things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away." By
many means, the world promotes preparation for "great futures:" secure retirement, good education for the children, or
protection of valuables against all risks. Notice: every one of these promotional plans is for time-limited hereafters, for a
set period that looms before us in the days, months, or years ahead.
Better still, hear the Lord's words about the future: "Heaven and earth will pass away...." How does one prepare for the
demise of the universe - space, time, the whole physical creation? Today's reading asks a question of us: "Into what
should we pour our energy, into what future? What should preoccupy our attention in this life: some probable near or
eventual time within the present existence, or the everlasting and unending Kingdom of Heaven?"
More to the point: Whom should we believe? The world and its options, or the Lord and His promise of eternity? The
world prefers to ignore what the Lord says. Secular man calls it "pious talk" or "religious jargon." He discounts eternity as
a vague, spiritual prospect far removed from a meaningful future with no bearing on any present or foreseeable events.
However, Beloved, dismissing concern about the ultimate end of "all things" is sorely contrary to the Lord Jesus' advice.
He is firm and definite. He desires us to be alert and "watch" for the signs of the final conclusion of "all things" (Lk.
21:28-31). He repeats the admonition twice, as if to say, "Such a perspective is really important. Are you listening?" (vss.
28,31).
The Blessed Theophylact of Ochrid reiterates the Lord's admonition. He enjoins us to believe our God and Savior, not to
be drawn off by the world with its immediate, short-term concerns. Listen: "Here He shows that He holds the Church in
greater honor than all creation, for if all creation is changed, then no part of it outlives or is superior to His words and the
Church of the faithful, which shall not pass away." Come then, let us examine this passage and consider carefully, "Whom
should we believe? Where should we invest our energy?"
Notice first: the Lord emphasizes looking and watching, "look up, lift up your heads" (vs. 28), "Look at the fig tree, and all
the trees" (vs. 29), "When they are already budding you see and know..." (vs. 30), "So you also, when you see these things
happening, know..." (vs. 31).
What is Christ's meaning in these remarks? In Gethsemane He said to His first disciples, who kept falling asleep, "Watch
and pray, lest you enter into temptation" (Mt. 26:41). Especially He is directing us to watch our hearts. Let us labor to free
our hearts from degrading passions and worldly thoughts, for "When Jesus perceived their thoughts, He answered and said
to them, 'Why are you reasoning in your hearts?'" (Lk. 5:22). He emphasizes watching within, as Blessed Theophylact
explains: "the first coming of the Lord was for the re-fashioning and rebirth of our souls, so the second coming will be for
the rebirth of our bodies." Let us look within to meet the Spirit Who can help us cleanse our souls. "Watch out for your
souls" (Heb. 13:17).
Therefore, let us now concentrate on the cleansing of our inner life. Then, when the Lord does come, we shall be found
worthy of His perfect liberation - for both soul and body. Let us be alert for the return of the Lord, focusing on those inner
movements that cause us to sin, for sin alone keeps us from Him. As we struggle to please Him, fear of the Lord grows
within us to reveal what yet remains to separate us from Him. "Glory to Thee Who hast shown us the light!"
O Christ, our God, multiply Thy mercy upon us that we may so pass through things temporal, that we lose not the things
Eternal.
Friday, January 21, 2005
The Venerable Maximos the Confessor
1st Vespers Holy Monastic: Wisdom 3:1-9 Epistle: Philippians 1:12-20 Gospel: St. Luke 12:8-12
St. Luke 12:8-12, especially vss. 8, 9: "Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men,
him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God. But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the
angels of God." Maximos is called a Confessor, but, in all honesty, he approaches some blurred line between Confessors
and Martyrs. Repeatedly asked to deny that our Lord Jesus Christ has two wills - human and divine - for the sake of the
truth he would not do so. The subsequent brutality inflicted on Maximos for unflinchingly confessing the complete
Divinity and humanity of Christ certainly led to this noble man's death. Maximos' sufferings for Orthodoxy cannot be
described: tortured by hierarchs, spat upon by the mass of the people, beaten by soldiers, persecuted, imprisoned; until
finally, with his tongue cut out and one hand cut off, he was condemned to exile for life in Skhimaris, where he gave his
soul into God's hands in the year 662.
Confessing and denying, as Maximos reveals, take us directly into the realm of apostasy versus faithfulness. One either
stands up for Jesus or separates himself from Him in the sight of others who can physically account for our words and
deeds. We are for Him or against Him. Although our actions associated with confessing and denying occur before men, at
the court of human observation, in fact, they are made before God's dread judgment seat. The turning point is obedience.
Equivocating or waffling has to be counted as denial; will not our good Lord surely say, "I never knew you, depart from
Me" (Mt. 7:23) when we adroitly avoid confessing Christ by what we say, how we act, or what we choose? Our lives are
always on the line.
In regard to confessing Christ, Blessed Theophylact draws our attention to a significant point in the grammar of the original
which is regularly blurred by most translations. First, the original text actually reads: "Whosoever shall confess in Me
before men, in him shall the Son of Man confess before the angels of God; but he that denieth Me before men shall be
denied before the angels of God" (Lk. 12:8, 9). Of course it is the preposition, in, which most translators omit. About this
Theophylact says, "He means, 'Whosoever shall confess while in My strength and while I work in synergy with him, I also
shall confess in My strength and while I work in him, that is, in him who works in synergy with Me." We cannot confess
Christ unless we collaborate with Him. We need God to enter the ranks of witnesses, much less to be Confessors or
Martyrs. As Theophylact adds, "if we do not give Him cause to do so, He will not confess on our behalf."
Notice: the tiny in, the preposition, is not employed when denying is described, for in such cases certainly God is not in
those who deny Him. After all, those who deny the Lord do not dwell in Him, nor He in them. Wherever their hearts and
minds may be, they are separated from Christ Jesus. Nice people or not, if the Lord is not in people, they deny Him
perforce. This is why we Orthodox Christians always begin our services of worship with the prayer, "O Heavenly King, the
Comforter, Spirit of truth...come and dwell in us....!"
What then about those who speak "a word against the Son of Man" (vs. 10)? How is it God can forgive them?
Presumably, ignorance is involved in speaking against Jesus. There is another case, however: when the Spirit leads a man
to confess the Trinity, and he later denies the truth of the Spirit, he blasphemes against the Spirit. It is saying and
maintaining, "Him Whom I once knew is not real." Only those who once were truly among the Faithful can blaspheme.
"No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God" (Lk. 9:62).
Deliver us, O Good One, from every snare of the adversary, from encounter with evil, from the demon of the noonday, and
from evil visions, and keep us ever as children of the Light.
Saturday, January 22, 2005
The Holy Apostle Timothy
2nd Vespers Holy Monastic: Wisdom 5 :15-6:3 Epistle: 2 Timothy 1:3-9
Gospel: St. Matthew 18:32-33, 37-38; 19:27-30
St. Matthew 18:32-33, 37-38; 19:27-30, especially vss. 32, 33: "Therefore whoever
confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men,
him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven." At ordinations, as a candidate is vested, the Bishop invites us to
affirm along with him that "He is worthy! Axios! He is worthy!" In today's Gospel, the Lord delineates between some
who are worthy and others who are "not worthy." Those who confess Christ before men are worthy of the Lord's
confession before His Father in heaven (vs. 10:32). Those who deny Him before men, He will deny before His Father in
heaven (vs. 10:33), for they are unworthy. Similarly, whoever places love for parents or children above love for Christ is
unworthy (vs. 10:37). Any who avoid the cross in life and will not follow Christ to the cross, are not worthy of Him (vs.
10:38). Conversely, those, like Peter and the Apostles, who placed Christ above everything and everyone in order to follow
Him are worthy (vss. 19:27-29). However, deciding who truly is applying these standards may confound us, so that we
should be cautious about judging worthiness and unworthiness from evidence that "meets the eye" (vs. 19:30).
Given that appearances of worthiness and unworthiness are deceptive (vs. 19:30), still some questions naturally arise as we
consider this selection of verses: 1) What constitutes confessing and denying Christ before men? 2) How does one assess,
for himself - much less on behalf of others - whether one's love of family or love of Christ predominates? 3) What tests or
measures determine whether one is worthy of Christ? 4) Who determines one's worthiness or unworthiness before God
and the likelihood of one inheriting eternal life? The most obvious healthy response to questions such as these is great
caution.
We veer dangerously close to presumption with respect to God's prerogative in the matter of judgment that underlies all
these questions. Nevertheless, Christ our God has given us some measures for our meditation, to consider on bended knee
before Him.
With respect to the first question, the Church provides us with the martyrs, confessors, heretics and apostates as sharply
defined examples of confessing and denying. In the case of the worthy martyrs and confessors, they stood up to the test
before men when the moment of truth came. These chose punishment, abuse, and even death in order to be counted as
Christ's own. Many of us have not been put to tests as definitely as were the Saints, nor so clearly denied our Lord as did
those dubbed as heretics and apostates. We muddle through, go to confession, and keep trying to be faithful in doing God's
will by means of our decisions and actions.
Secondly, it is difficult to assess the state of one's heart or what is our deepest love. The answers come to us most often in
our failures. Occasionally, in moments of clarity before tough choices and risky actions, we discern something of the
interplay of our allegiances. In such times of real decision, what can we do but cry out, Lord Jesus, give me light and grace
to do that which is pleasing to Thee. "Lord, I believe, help my unbelief!" (Mk. 9:24).
Application of the standard of the cross surely is a touchstone of true commitment to the Lord Jesus. Peter and the other
disciples "left all and followed" up to the cross (Mt. 19:27). Only one betrayed Christ. Peter denied Him and wept. Most
fled. Yet they reassembled and the risen Lord filled them with His Spirit. Let us keep praying never to give the kiss of
betrayal!
God knows the secrets of all hearts and all our weaknesses; and He still loves us enough to die for us. Be not dismayed.
He will not forget our labors of love for Him at the Judgment. Have mercy upon me and forgive my transgressions both
voluntary and involuntary, of word and of deed, of knowledge and of ignorance, and make me worthy of Thy Holy
Mysteries.
Sunday, January 23, 2005 Tone 1
Hieromartyr Clement, Bishop of Ancyra
3rd Vespers Holy Monastic: Wisdom 4:7-15 Epistle: 1 Timothy 1:15-17 Gospel: St. Luke 18:35-43
St. Luke 18:35-43, especially vs. 42: "And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath
saved thee." St. Ephrem, reflecting on the Lord's healing of the blind man at Jericho, observed that "Light came into the
world to give sight to the blind and faith to those who lacked it." St. Luke's account of a blind man who cried out to the
Lord illustrates the ways in which the Lord constantly is creating faith and saving men and women thereby. The passage
provides a concrete illustration of the Apostle Paul's declaration that the Lord is "the author and finisher of our faith" (Heb.
12:2).
The Evangelist begins by revealing how Christ initially "authors" faith in human hearts. First, He creates a climate
conducive to faith and trust in Himself. Then, He calls those in need to respond to Him in faith. The passage also shows
how the Lord brings faith to a finished state, by giving those who come to Him tangible opportunities to express their faith
directly. His grace always is active, working in advance of men's faith. Also, the Lord Jesus' grace actively creates faith
within, so that one may respond to Him and thus be saved. The encounter of the Lord and the blind beggar at Jericho holds
up the dual truth: that "by grace you have been saved..." and that salvation comes "through faith," that is, when faith is
exercised (see Eph. 2:8). This Gospel reading shows how salvation is synergistic, a cooperation between man and God.
St. Luke records that the blind man heard a multitude passing and asked "what it meant" (vs. 36). He was told "that Jesus
of Nazareth was passing by" (vs. 37). His reaction was instantaneous: he immediately cried out to the Lord (vs. 38). Why
did he do so? The obvious answer is that the Lord's fame and notoriety as a healer were well known by this point in time -
especially to a blind man. The Lord Jesus had been preaching to the poor and healing various diseases (Lk. 4:40), including
the giving of sight to many blind persons (Lk. 7:21). His evident care for those in need, coupled with His well-documented
capacity to help people, was drawing huge crowds (Lk. 8:19). The beggar knew about Jesus, for the Lord had created an
extraordinary climate of faith. He was feeding crowds of 5,000 or more (Lk. 9:12-17) and even giving life to the dead (Lk.
7:11-18). All around us today He continues to heal miraculously. And we hear the Gospels read to us with one account
after another providing reasons for faith; and despite a dry climate of doubt and scoffing, the wonders of God continue in
and through His Church. Truly, Christ our God not only responds to faith, but is creating it on every side in our own day.
Next, notice that when the blind man cried out irrepressibly, the Lord called him to Himself (Lk. 18:38-40). The Lord
Jesus creates faith by calling those to Him who wish to have Him act in their lives. His parable of the importunate widow
tells of a woman who drove a judge to distraction until he gave her vengeance. By such illustrations, the Lord encourages
appeal to God (Lk. 18:2-7). Pay attention to the behavior of the blind beggar, for we ourselves are blind beggars. We can
cry out to the Lord from our darkness with faith, and He will hear us and call us to Himself. Let us ignore the voices
around us that ask, "What is the use?", or the voices that warn us, "You are not important enough!", or that query, "If God
exists, will He reverse or change this situation?" The Creator of faith does not abandon us in dark doubt. Cry out!
Finally, when the blind man stood before Him, Christ gave him an opportunity to exercise faith for himself. He asked him,
"What do you want Me to do for you?" (Lk. 18:41). Do you think the Lord did not know what the blind man wanted? St.
Cyril chides us, "Was his request then unknown to Him?" No! The Creator of faith also lets us venture in faith.
O Christ, Creator of all things, grant us the grace of faith always to cry out unto Thee.
Monday, January 24, 2005
Venerable Xenia of Rome; Blessed Xenia of Petersburg
1st Vespers of Theologian: Proverbs 3:13-16 Epistle: Hebrews 11:17, 27-31 Gospel: St. Matthew 21:33-42
St. Matthew 21:33-42, especially vs. 40: "Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes,
what will he do to those vinedressers?" In contractual relationships, failure to perform as one agreed is called "breach."
As we say, breach is going back on one's word, not performing as promised. In the Lord's parable, the tenants of the
vineyard reneged on the terms of the lease in failing to deliver the owner's portion of the crop. Worse, they compounded
that violation with a series of bold, shameless and heinous crimes - assault, murder, and conspiracy to commit a major theft
(appropriation of a vineyard for themselves). The tenants were what Holy Scripture calls men of "reprobate mind," "being
abominable, and disobedient" (Titus 1:16) "to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness"
(Rom 1:28-29). What is striking about the behavior of the tenants in the parable is their effrontery, their willingness to
indulge blatantly and recklessly in every manner of wrongdoing.
Beloved, every Orthodox Christian, in reading this passage, needs, first of all, to realize that the Lord Jesus' parable - in its
original context - was a direct indictment of the chief priests and the elders of the people when they challenged Him for
teaching in the Temple: "By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?" (Mt. 21:23).
Looked at from their perspective - in the context of first-century Judaism - Jesus was an untrained carpenter daring to teach
without permission within the precincts of the Temple for which they were responsible.
On the other hand, looked at from the perspective of our confession of Jesus Christ as God the Son, the exchange must be
seen in quite another way. As God-in-the-flesh come into His Temple, Jesus was teaching naturally, rightfully, and
correctly in His own precincts. While the Jewish leaders saw His actions as effrontery against their authority, the Lord
Jesus understood their resisting Him as effrontery against God. To drive home His point He warned them as follows:
"Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you, and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it" (Mt.
21:43).
Most important for us as Christians, as followers of Jesus Christ, is that we consider what our Lord, God, and Savior is
saying to us in this parable! Certainly His warning is clear: any failure on our part, by whatever means, to deliver that
which is rightfully His constitutes breach of covenant on our part. Worse yet, if we refuse His servants or abuse them in the
performance of their duties, then we are guilty of effrontery against God - bold, shameless temerity.
Most sobering of all is the fact that, if we reject the Lord's rightful claims on us to worship Him and obey His
commandments, or, if we disregard His teaching whenever and however it constrains us from doing what we prefer, in
effect, we take the Lord Christ "and cast him out of the vineyard" of our hearts and souls, and we kill Him (Mt. 21:39). We
have made Him dead within us. We have attempted to "seize his inheritance" for our own (vs. 38). Very often, especially
because the world around us encourages us to do what pleases us, we lack acute awareness that we are guilty of effrontery
or of doing anything heinous in God's eyes. This is why the Holy Fathers urge us always to examine ourselves, to be
watchful over our souls. To do so we must practice reflecting on what we are thinking, saying, and doing - as much as we
are able - so we see through God's eyes. Meditation on Holy Scripture and the attentive reading of Fathers can so open the
eyes of our hearts. Matthew the Poor describes meditation as withdrawing oneself "into God's word as if into a strong
room inaccessible to thieves."
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Thy presence, and take not
Thy Holy Spirit from me. (Ps. 50:10,11 LXX)
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Gregory the Theologian, Archbishop of Constantinople
1st Vespers of a Theologian: Proverbs 8:6-10 Epistle: Hebrews 7:26-8:2 Gospel: St. John 10:9-16
St. John 10:9-16, especially vs. 16: "...them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and
there will be one flock and one shepherd." Beloved of God, here is a question formulated by St. Nikolai of Zica, a matter
to set before one's heart, to ask of oneself in all honesty before God: "If human philosophy can content a man, why did....so
many, many...who first sought an explanation for the enigmas of the world and light for their souls in philosophy...then
[draw] near to the Church and [come] to worship Christ the Lord?" When anyone allows this question to precede all else,
he will find himself standing at the edge of a field which is "for sale" and in which there lies hidden an incalculable
treasure (Mt. 13:44). He may now realize for himself why so many have drawn near the Church to worship Christ.
They have found in Christ Jesus the door they can enter and by entering, can "be saved" (Jn. 10:9). To speak of being
"saved" suggests relief from some danger, security from a threat, safety from an attack. What is the danger that threatens
and is attacking every single one of us? Is it not to know that we will die sooner or later, that death and annihilation are
staring us in the face, undercutting everything that is "important." Life has an ultimacy about it which hounds human
beings with the question, "What is it all about?" This is the universal human question, a problem that animals do not have.
They live, struggle to live, exert themselves to stay alive as long as possible and then die. But we ask, "Why?"
The Saints have found the gateway into security and safety for their humanity in this life. They are empowered by their
discovery to venture into the perplexity and assaults of this existence and to "have life, and...have it more abundantly" (vs.
10). That makes "the door" an amazing find, and it leads one, who will consider what is thrown against us in life, to ask,
"How can one 'have life abundantly' instead of the universal 'theft, destruction, and death?'"
The answer which Christ extends to us is "I Am the good shepherd [Who] gives His life for the sheep" (vs. 11), for His
Passion faced and overcame once and for all that "wolf [who] catches the sheep and scatters them" (vs. 12). We know that
wolf well enough. We can see all around us the scattered remains of lives that he has wasted. We can see his marauding
work in our own selves. The good Shepherd has beaten him at his game: allowed him to kill Him and then "trampled down
death by death" revealing that man can rise from the dead - any one of us.
That death-defying feat, that death-denying defeat of the wolf, was carried out by One Who knows us better than we know
ourselves. As He says, "I know My sheep, and Am known by My own" (vs. 14). Furthermore, His victory qualifies Him
supremely to be "the Good Shepherd" Who is entirely capable of extending His victory to His own. Furthermore, His own
"hear His voice" (vs. 16). His own hear His offer of victory over life-denying death, and they run to Him, draw near to His
Church, and worship Him, crying, "My Lord and my God!" (Jn. 20:28).
Beloved of the Lord, when we have drunk long enough at the bitter springs of human ideas, when we have exhausted all
that the world offers us, when we have been harried enough by the wolf and his grinning pack, then in the stillness within
our hearts let us listen for the voice of Christ Jesus our God and Savior. Let us come with gladness into His Church and
worship Him for ourselves. Let us come to the Good Shepherd and have life and have it abundantly. Enough of the world
and its placebos, its patch-up of our hurts and its pompous answers to the basic question of this life! Let us repent, enter
the Door, and say with joy,
"The Lord is my shepherd, and I shall not want. In a place of green pasture, there hath He made me to dwell; beside the
water of rest hath He nurtured me." (Ps. 22:1, 2 LXX).
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
Translation ~ Relics of the Venerable Theodore the Studite
2nd Vespers of a Theologian: Wisdom 6:12-16 Apostle: Acts 9:32-42 Gospel: St. Mark 10:11-16
St. Mark 10:11-16, especially vs. 15: "...whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a
little child will by no means enter it." In this verse, the Lord declares what is required to have life in Him: if we would
have Him take us in His arms, lay His hands on us, and bless us (vs. 16), we must, before all else, convert and "become as
little children" (Mt. 18:3). In today's Gospel, the Lord reveals how one may be transformed into such an untainted child
within, so as to be handed over to Him (vs. 13). It is necessary to strip away all that prevents us from coming in innocence
to Him (vs. 14), for what could be of greater worth than to receive His blessing and the laying on of His hands (vs. 16)!
St. John Chrysostom points out that "the soul of a little child is pure from all the passions." Though we show "him the
queen with a diadem, he prefers her not to his mother clad in rags...and nothing more than necessary things doth he seek."
Furthermore, "The young child is not grieved at what we are grieved, as at the loss of money and such things as that, and he
doth not rejoice again at what we rejoice, namely, at these temporal things." The Lord's injunction to become as little
children is given so that we "by choice should practice these things, which young children have naturally." The secret of
being little children lies in recovering our natural virtues.
Notice that the Gospel clearly states that children did not come to the Lord "on their own account." They were "brought to
Him" (vs. 13). To be "brought to Him" one needs "good" parents who can bring us to Christ. Thus, if we are not borne in
the arms of our Mother the Church, then we shall pursue the virtues of the world - which are not virtues. Instead, we shall
depend on our imperfect, rational minds, and we shall be led astray. To have good Fathers - which we require - St. Nil
Sorsky declares that the Holy Fathers who followed the Apostles must be the "main guide for those who wish to be saved
and...attain Christian perfection."
The Lord sharply corrected His as-yet-unillumined disciples when they prevented children from coming to Him (vs. 13).
Following His example, let us countermand in ourselves whatever prevents our coming to Him in innocence (vs. 14).
Acquiring godly virtues requires diligent work directed against all that arises from the sinful self, the world, and the devils -
whatever suggests that we should indulge ourselves. As Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos reminds us: "when a person
struggles to subject his body to his soul and his soul to God, the virtues of body and soul are produced." Let us begin this
work, of restraining and retraining.
Consider: the Lord's desire that "little children" come to Him (vs. 14) is also a positive prompting to cultivate those godly
virtues which the Church reveals. Metropolitan Hierotheos provides us with some obvious starting points: "Self-control
and love rid us of impassioned thoughts. By controlling anger and desire we quickly do away with evil thoughts. Vigils
also contribute a great deal.…Let us receive everything with a good thought. Even if everything is ugly, let us receive it
with equanimity, and then God will right the anomalies of things."
Every newly awakened Christian who addresses the negative and positive work spoken of above, discovers a monumental
task before him. Let us not imagine that we can accomplish purity of life and holiness in our own strength. That would be
a fatal delusion and would eventually plunge us into certain despair. Rather, let us be dependent upon the Church to bring
us to Christ, and there learn how to receive the touch of the Lord's hand, His healing, and His blessing (vs. 16). Thus,
truly, may we become little children. St. Gregory Palamas says, "the deified saints...are engendered by God, God gave
them the power to become children of God."
Burn Thou the thorns of all my transgressions, cleanse my soul, and hallow my thoughts.
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Translation ~ Relics of John Chrysostom of Constantinople
2nd Vespers Relics St. John: Wisdom 7:30-8:9 Epistle: Hebrew 7:26-8:2 Gospel: St. Mark 10:17-27
St. Mark 10:17-27 RSV, especially vs. 17: "Now as He was setting out on His journey, a man ran up and
knelt before Him and asked Him, 'Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?'" How far apart this earnest man
was from the Lord Jesus and the journey upon which the Lord was embarked - toward Jerusalem, the Passion, and the
Cross. So intent was the Lord upon this task that His disciples were "amazed" as He pressed ahead (Mk. 10:32-34). The
earnestness of the unnamed man - to find how to inherit eternal life - is demonstrated in his unusual behavior: he ran rather
than walked up to the Lord Jesus. He knelt before One he considered to be a Rabbi (That was not customary with Rabbis.).
He addressed the Lord in an unusual way, one not practiced by either Jews or Greeks - when he called Him "Good."
As the account unfolds, the gap between the Lord Jesus and the man becomes more and more evident: to overcome the
man's obsession with "inheriting" eternal life, the Lord confronts him with an extreme demand - to renounce all and follow
Him to death (vs. 21). That demand reduces the man to grief, and he walks away (vs. 22).
The man believed that a human being could rationally understand how to inherit eternal life. The Lord knew better. The
man was deluded. He believed that God expects more than is revealed in the Law for men to inherit eternal life (Deut.
30:19). The Lord Who gave the Law reminded him that the Divine standard does not change (Mk. 10:19). The man
assumed that sinners, by their own effort, could win eternal life. The Lord knew that only God makes eternal life possible
(vs. 10:27). They were worlds apart.
The Lord's response when he was called "Good," reveals a basic error in the man - that he could set the terms by which a
person inherits eternal life. The man believed that the human being he saw before him, the famous Rabbi, Jesus of
Nazareth, as man knew the answer. The Lord's question and assertion, "Why do you call Me good?" rejected the
assumption that any human can be "good," for only God is good (vs. 18). St. Hilary of Poitiers points out that the Lord
"would not have rejected the attribute of goodness if it had been attributed to Him as God." The idea that human beings
have the capacity to discover the path to eternal life is inherent in many of the world's religions, but it is utterly foreign
with the true God. From the very first Divinely stated requirement for life (Gen. 2:17), to the Apostolic declaration that
"eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us...is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ" (1 Jn.
1:2, 3), God alone reveals the mystery of eternal life.
There is no esoteric knowledge for the earnest who desire eternal life. Through His Holy People - Israel and the Church -
God has revealed to mankind "what is good; or what...the Lord requires of thee...to do justice, and love mercy, and be
ready to walk with the Lord thy God" (Micah 6:8). Still, the man who came to the Lord wrongfully sought a human
answer. This the Lord exposed by quoting the Law (Mk. 10:19). As St. John adds: "I write no new commandment to you,
but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning" (1 Jn. 2:7).
The distance between the deluded man and the Lord Jesus was fully revealed when Christ exposed his sin to him. Still,
what the Lord requires is for all (Mk. 8:34). Knowing the state of the man's heart, the Lord placed this demand before him
in unavoidable terms which he could not rationalize. The man chose to turn away, for he knew he was incapable of doing
what God required to obtain eternal life. Sadly, he did not wait to hear the Gospel caveat: "With men it is impossible; but
not with God; for all things are possible with God" (Mk. 10:27 NRSV)!
O Master, by the precepts that Thou teachest, save me Thine undeserving servant.
Friday, January 28, 2005
Ven. Ephraim the Syrian; Isaac the Syrian, Bishop of Nineveh
2nd Vespers of Theologian: Wisdom 9:1-13 Epistle: James 2:1-13 Gospel: St. Mark 10:23-32
St. Mark 10:23-32, especially vs. 25: "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than
for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." Long years before the Lord took flesh and dwelt among us, His Holy Prophet
David, being led by the Spirit of God to perceive grave danger in wealth, warned us: "if riches flow in, set not your hearts
thereon" (Ps. 61:10 LXX). Let us listen carefully, Beloved of the Lord. Where our heart is fixed, where it is "set," that
which delights it, whatever the primary goal it yearns for, that becomes the definition of a person's whole being. The Lord
Jesus Himself puts the matter quite simply: "where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Mt. 6:21).
Why then does Christ our God especially focus on riches? See, He warns us three times that wealth makes it difficult "to
enter the kingdom of God" (Mk. 10:23,24,25). Is there something inherently wrong with wealth in and of itself? Not at all!
The issue lies in the heart, as the Lord makes clear throughout Holy Scripture, and for fickle-hearted mankind, riches are a
proven stumbling block, shoals upon which many have wrecked themselves, both in this life and for the age to come. As
St. Augustine of Hippo notes: "it is hard to be saved if we have them; and impossible if we love them; and scarcely can we
have them, but we shall love them inordinately." There is the problem: to love them inordinately, to set the heart upon
them.
The setting of the heart is the whole of the matter, for that upon which we set our heart determines the shape of our whole
life. If one's primary attention is on gaining wealth, he may well attain his goal, or, perhaps, he may not; but let us who
profess Christ as our Lord heed St. Augustine: riches "are gained with toil and kept with fear. They are enjoyed with
danger and lost with grief." Surely let us not be so foolish as to set our heart primarily on elusive riches. On the other
hand, the Prophet David teaches the proven way: "delight thyself in the Lord, and He will give thee the askings of thy
heart" (Ps. 36:4 LXX). We "delight" in the Lord when we set our heart on knowing Him and keeping His ways, for then
we shall ask only that which pleases Him and shall receive the askings of our hearts, "good measure, pressed down, shaken
together and running over" (Lk. 6:38). God, Who is rich Himself, Who owns everything, and places all that we have at our
disposal, is especially generous toward those who have set their hearts upon Him and seek "first the Kingdom of God and
His righteousness" (Mt. 6:33). It is not difficult to understand the astonishment of the Disciples recorded in today's
reading (Mk. 10:24,26). They heard the Lord well. They understood how quickly human hearts trust in all sorts of things,
causes, people and goals. The Master's declaration chilled them, made them afraid (vs. 32). Who possibly can be saved
then? Caesarios of Arles answers clearly: "Rich and poor, listen to Christ: I am speaking to God's people. Most of you are
poor, but you too must listen carefully to understand. And you had best listen even more intently if you glory in your
poverty. Beware of pride, lest the humble rich surpass you. Beware of wickedness, lest the pious rich confound you.
Beware of drunkenness, lest the sober excel you."
Given our sinful hearts and the fickleness of fallen human nature, how is it possible for us to be established in the Lord
above all else? It is Christ Himself Who is able to "establish [our] hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father"
(1 Thess. 3:13). From Him let us learn to leave anything and everything that stands between us and Him (Mk. 10:28) and
let us not be "wise in [our] own conceit, but fear God and depart from all evil" (Prov. 3:7 LXX).
O Christ God, Who willed to lie in the hands of the old man Simeon as Thou didst ride in the chariot of the cherubim,
deliver us from the woe of passions and save our souls.
Saturday, January 29, 2005
The Translation of the Relics of St. Ignatios the God-Bearer
For a Hieromartyr: Sirach 51:1-12 Epistle: Hebrews 10:32-38 Gospel: St. Mark 9:33-41
St. Mark 9:33-41, especially vss. 35, 36: "And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them,
'If any desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.' Then He took a little child and set him in the midst of
them." During this week, the readings have directed us to different aspects of faith in Christ, toward union with the
Incarnate God, our Lord Jesus Christ. One can observe the shift in St. Mark's Gospel as the Lord Jesus begins announcing
His Passion and Resurrection (at Mk. 8:31). By repeated emphasis on the Cross, the Lord reveals that union with Him
requires us to take up our cross (Mk. 8:34).
In the present reading, the Lord teaches how to take up the cross. Blessed Theophylact of Ochrid captures the essence of
this 'how to:' "The Lord does not forbid us to desire to become His favorites, for He wants us to desire advancement in the
spiritual life. But He does not want us to grasp for honors and privileges, but rather to acquire the heights by humility."
Notice the manner in which the Lord develops the teaching. First He indicates the way with words: "to be first, the same
shall be last of all, and servant of all" (Mk. 9:35). Then He places a living icon before us, a tiny child. Who was that child?
Tradition identifies him as St. Ignatius of Antioch, yet as we approach the Lord's own Nativity, we might also think of that
child as Christ Himself, the humble, vulnerable God Who indwells the manger of our souls.
Without question, the Lord chose to be born in the lowest place when He became a man. The Imperial Roman society into
which He came was hierarchical in its class structure. The Roman Emperor and the Patrician classes were at the top,
followed by freeborn Roman citizens. Next, those who had attained freedom but were not citizens, and finally at the
bottom, in the lowest class, were the subjugated peoples and slaves. Under Roman Law, the slightest, minor legal
distinctions existed between slaves and subjugated peoples. Being born the subject of a conquered nation, the Lord Jesus
was in the lowest class with the slaves of Roman society.
As a citizen of a subjugated nation, the Lord was under the governance of a tiny Jewish satellite kingdom which was
governed by the Herod family within the greater Roman Empire. The Herods were a dynasty of petty princes from Idumaea
who ruled the Jews and retained power by Imperial favor. Scripture tells us that as a newborn, the Lord became the target
of a genocidal attack on all infant boys in the district around Bethlehem, this because of the political fears of Herod the
Great (Mt. 2:16). The infant Jesus survived, of course, by divine protection when His family fled into Egypt beyond
Herod's laws. As a refugee, the Lord again took on last place in His social world.
Note: even though a citizen of the kingdom of the Herods, the Lord still came under the larger, overarching Roman legal
system with its code of laws that applied to all persons throughout the Empire, both in districts managed directly by the
Romans and in all occupied or client states. Later in His adult years, when the Lord Jesus was arrested, tried for a capital
crime and found guilty, He received the routine death sentence of crucifixion from the Roman governor, a means of
execution reserved for those in the lowest social class.
Consider the two commands that the Lord issues to His followers: "take up your cross" and "be last of all." The Apostle
Paul, a freeborn Roman citizen, observed that the Lord "made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a
servant, and was made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross" (Phil. 2:7,8). The Master models what He expects of us.
O Christ God, Thou hast dwelt in a cave, and a manger did receive Thee: Glory to Thy condescension, O Thou only Lover
of mankind Who hast revealed to us the heights of humility.
Sun., Jan. 30, 2005 Tone 2
Sunday before the Presentation of Christ; Three Hierarchs
1st Vespers Hierarchs: Deuteronomy 1:8-1 7 Epistle: 1 Corinthians 12:27-13:8 Gospel: St. Matthew 5:14-19
St. Matthew 5: 14-19, especially vs. 17: "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did
not come to destroy but to fulfill." God is extravagant, never wasteful, but unstintingly lavish, which both His creation and
saving works disclose. To speak of His munificent design for the world, Orthodoxy employs the term "economia," a word
which draws the heart and mind toward God's rich generosity and His desire to complete, ennoble, and uplift our lives - in
the Lord's own words, "to fulfill" us (vs. 17).
The Lord Jesus Christ is God's fulfillment of and for mankind. In coming among us and joining Himself to our race, He,
our King and God, has forever dignified our flesh and revealed the gracious "economia" of God. "In Him dwells all the
fullness of the Godhead bodily" (Col. 2:9). He is the magnificent capstone of the lavish, Divine plan for creation and
history. How so?
First, note that the Lord yokes His coming into the world to Scripture (vs. 17), in this case to the Old Testament writings,
for, in a preliminary way, they contain the basic elements of God's grand design for our fulfillment. Speaking of the Lord's
coming in the flesh, Blessed Theophylact says, "...the painter does not destroy the sketch but rather completes it." Thus, by
His Incarnation, the Lord Jesus became the ultimate Expositor of Scripture, the Finisher and the Goal of the Divine Plan -
the Divine "economia"- and the First Man to do the will of the Father on behalf of all humankind, that others might also
fulfill God's will.
As the great Expositor of Scripture, Christ reveals the essence of God's written word. "You have heard it said to those of
old...but I say to you..." (Mt. 5:21,22,27,28, etc.): thus He leads beyond the formal keeping of the letter of the Law, and
takes us into the heart of God. There we are allowed to "read" the Scriptures through the eyes of Almighty God Himself.
The essence of these created words is to reveal the Uncreated Word. He Who inspired the human authors of Scripture
reveals Himself as their fulfillment.
For instance, in His command not to murder, the Lord desires not only to restrain our deadly impulse, but also to draw us
toward our brother. Our surges of hatred and anger are bedewed with grace (Mt. 5:22-26). Speaking of the
Commandments, the Apostle Paul in his Epistle to the Romans, says "...if there is any other commandment, [they] are all
summed up in this saying, namely, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore
love is the fulfillment of the law" (Rom. 13:9-10). Do you see? The Divine Expositor calls us to "love one another as I
have loved you" (Jn. 15:12), and to do so actively, expressing love.
In"action," Christ fulfills the Divine "economia" as the Divine Finisher. The Old Testament cast the shadow of Him Who
would come, but the righteous only could ponder how the mystery of the Messiah, "which in other ages was not made
known unto the sons of men...[would be] revealed" (Eph. 3:4,5). Sin and death have too long interrupted and disfigured
God's design for mankind. Then when the Word became flesh, through His suffering, dying, and rising in triumph over
death, the pathway opened for the restoration of humanity.
The Lord Jesus Christ kept the Law perfectly and thus became the Doer of the Law. "For I came down from heaven, not to
do Mine Own will, but the will of Him that sent Me"(Jn. 6:38). By obedience, He reversed Adam's transgression, creating
a new humanity formed by the union of the human will to the will of God. St. John Chrysostom notes, "...this is the
marvel, that He not only Himself fulfilled [God's will], but He granted this to us likewise."
O Eternal King, Thou didst cleanse the substance of mankind, anointing and perfecting it by the communion of the Spirit,
thereby translating it to life immortal. O Lord, glory to Thee!
Monday, January 31, 2005
Unmercenary Healers Cyros and John
2nd Vesp Hierarchs: Deuteronomy 10:14-21 Epistle: 1 Corinthians 12:27-13:8 Gospel: St. Matthew 10:1, 5-8
St. Matthew 10:1, 5-8, especially vs. 8: "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons.
Freely you have received, freely give." The Lord Jesus' dispatch of His Twelve disciples at this point - a third of the way
into St. Matthew's Gospel - is similar to an operatic prelude in that it contains many of the themes of the Great
Commission (Mt. 28:19-20) and of all the drama and glory that have occurred from the opening of the Book of Acts right
up to the present day.
There are significant differences, to be sure, but what the Lord commissioned in these verses has continued in splendor
since the Day of Pentecost. In the power of the Holy Spirit, the impinging of the Kingdom of God into this world is
preached and actualized over and over again: the sick are healed, lepers are cleansed, the dead are raised, demons are
exorcised, and all these wonders still are given freely by God through His own appointed successors to those first twelve
disciples. What we are living today is no Lohengrin or Aida, but the true Light, the heavenly Spirit, the true Faith, the
worship of the undivided Trinity Who hath saved us.
What a striking moment for the Twelve! They had heard it all, seen it, and lived through such acts as witnesses of this
incredible man Jesus Whom they followed as their Master. Then, in one moment, He turned the Kingdom upon them and
made them His heralds. There, you have seen it and known it directly; now go, announce it, and do it all. Out of kindness
and necessity for what else remained to be done in Jerusalem, on Golgotha, and in their gatherings later when He would
come to them triumphant from the grave, He narrowed the task to the "lost sheep of the house of Israel" (vs. 6). This was
to be a preliminary trial, a pre-test, a foretaste. They still were disciples - trainees - and not yet fully prepared to be
Apostles. That would come in time. One of the reasons for keeping the focus of the Twelve on their Jewish brethren was
to reduce cultural barriers, so that these undeveloped and hesitant fledglings might actually experience God working
through them first hand. They would find resistance enough, going out "as sheep in the midst of wolves" (Mt. 10:16) and
failures when "they could not cure" (Mt. 17:16). Still, they did directly experience what God could do through them -
unbelieving and imperfect as they were. As Seventy others found when they were similarly dispatched (Lk 10:1), "Lord,
even the demons are subject to us in Your Name" (Lk. 10:17).
By directing the Twelve to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, the Lord also foreclosed any complaint on the part of the
Jews that He avoided them in the proclamation of the Gospel. Their Messiah came to His own, but by and large, "His own
did not receive Him" (Jn. 1:11). Of course, the Twelve were Jews, as were the Seventy, and the thousands of others in
those first days of the first century who became followers of the Way subsequently - even before the Mission moved out to
announce the Kingdom of God to other peoples, tribes, and nations.
On this feast day of Cyros and John, we must not fail to identify that, even at this early juncture, the Lord Jesus made it
perfectly clear that the healing power He imparts to His Church is freely given and must be passed on freely to others with
no open or hidden charges (Mt. 10:8). Christ gives to each of us "the grace of God and the gift by the grace of [Himself]
the one Man, Jesus Christ" (Rom. 5:15). There is no room for the mercenary motive. This is why we give thanks to God
for the witness of unmercenary healers such as Cyros and John. They were not loathe to point out that illness comes upon
people mainly through sin and that men should cleanse their souls from sin by repentance and prayer to be restored in body
and soul.
O Holy unmercenary healers, Cyros and John, glory to Him Who hath given you power; glory to Him Who crowned you,
glory to Him Who through you accomplishes healing for all.
Saturday, January 1, 2005
Circumcision of our Lord Jesus Christ; Basil the Great
1st Vespers Circumcision: Genesis 17:1-7, 9-12, 14 Epistle: Colossians 2:8-12 Gospel: St. Luke 2:20-21, 40-52
St. Luke 2:20-21, 40-52, especially vs. 21: "...His Name was called Jesus, the Name given by the angel
before He was conceived in the womb." Shepherds tending their flocks near Bethlehem were told by an angel, "...there is
born to you this day in the city of David a Savior..." (Lk. 2:11), and their hearts opened at the stunning news. They heard
and saw the hosts of heaven praising God Who extends His peace to all mankind. Quickly, the shepherds went into
Bethlehem to see the wonder. Each detail they beheld was an echo of the angels' hymn. Yes, a Savior! A Savior is born to
us, among us, and for us. A Savior is born in the royal city. Joyous, they returned to their flocks in the pastures on the hills
beyond Bethlehem.
Are we surprised that as they went they also glorified and praised God? "... all the things that they had heard and seen [in
Bethlehem, were] as it was told them" (Lk. 2:20). The Child was in a manger. He was wrapped in swaddling cloths.
Further, when they shared what was told them, His mother, Mary, and Joseph both replied, "Yes, but listen! The Angel told
us to give Him the Name 'Savior' when He is Circumcised" (cf.: Lk. 1:31 and Mt. 1:25).
Beloved, let us not miss the Evangelist's point, for next he reports that on the eighth day, the Child was given the Hebrew
name that means "Savior." He was called "Yeshua," or in Greek, "Iesus." What led the Evangelist to fix our attention on
this Child as Savior?
The Apostles want the world to know what they learned as Jesus' disciples: His birth was no accident, but rather a great
step in God's high purpose from all Eternity. The Bethlehem shepherds learned this at the time of His birth (Lk. 2:11).
Likewise, the Evangelist wants us to understand - God the Lord came Himself to save His creation gone astray, to salvage
the unique race which He had formed in His Own image. Thus, St. Luke weaves the saving message throughout his
Gospel. God had intervened on behalf of His People for centuries. He had selected His chosen People to announce His
salvation to all nations, and repeatedly He had saved them. He freed them "...out of the hand of the Egyptians..." when they
were slaves (Ex. 14:30). The Prophet Moses told them that God goes with you "...to fight for you against your enemies, to
save you" (Deut. 20:4). Their neighbors learned the truth behind their claim: "Our God is the God of salvation, and the
pathways leading forth from death are those of the Lord's Lord" (Ps. 67:20 LXX). "He saved them for His Name's sake,
that He might make known His mighty power" (Ps. 105:8 LXX).
God, you see, had a greater plan. He was preparing salvation for all nations, a plan to break the power of death "thrown
over all peoples" (Is. 25:7, 8). First, therefore, He made Israel alert to His coming salvation. They learned to say, "The
horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the Lord" (Prov. 21:31). God revealed that in days to come "I
will raise unto David a righteous...King [Who] shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth"
(Jer. 23:5), a King for all nations, born in David's lineage. This is the expectation that caught the shepherds' hearts in
Bethlehem (Lk. 2:15).
"And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom..." (Lk. 2:40), for the grace of God was upon Him.
Joseph, His Mother, and the teachers in the Temple were amazed as His wisdom unfolded. His understanding and
knowledge of spiritual truth were astonishing to all, even when He was a young boy (Lk. 2:46, 47). The Seed of salvation
Who came forth from the Virgin's womb emerged as the Savior of the world. Jesus matured into the Name given Him
before His conception (Lk. 2:21). "Glory to Thine ineffable condescension, O Word!"
Eternal God, as Thou didst give Thine Incarnate Son the holy Name of Jesus to be the sign of our salvation, implant also in
our hearts the love of Him Who is the Savior of the World.
Sunday, January 2, 2005 Tone 6
Sunday before Theophany; Seraphim of Sarov
2nd Vespers of Circumcision: Proverbs 8:22-30 Epistle: 2 Timothy 4:5-8 Gospel: St. Mark 1:1-8
St. Mark 1:1-8 NKJ, especially vs. 6: "Now John was clothed with camel's hair and with a
leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey." How shall we understand strange, austere John the
Forerunner? He steps into history for a moment, inaugurating the Lord Jesus' ministry. His dress, diet, manner of
teaching, and use of ritual baptism for repentance form a dramatic portrait. He is not someone that we would likely meet
on the street. The Evangelist Mark announces "the beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God," but notice: he
immediately shifts attention to John. Who was this man? Why did he dress and eat as he did? Why does St. Mark focus on
him at the beginning of his Gospel?
St. Mark 1:2-3 are ancient prophecies concerning God's "Messenger" - three Old Testament verses woven together: Ex.
23:20, Mal. 3:1, and Isaiah 40:3. Scholars during first century Judaism accepted the prediction of the coming of the
Messiah in these verses. For them, the appearance of the "Messenger of the Covenant" would signal the dawning of the
age of the Messiah, of the coming of the Christ, and many saw St. John as that Forerunner of the Messiah.
St. John's dress and actions conveyed another message - the imminent return of the Prophet Elijah. Holy Scripture
described Elijah as "...an hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins" (2 Kings 1:8), and that was how St.
John dressed (vs. 6)! In those days Jewish scholars had concluded that Elijah would precede the Messiah as a "Messenger"
because he was the greatest of all the Prophets. Why? Nine centuries before, Elijah had ascended into heaven in a fiery
chariot. Hence, his return would signal a unique moment of history.
In the fourth century of the Christian era, St. John Chrysostom observed this about the Forerunner: "It was a marvelous and
strange thing to behold so great austerity in a human frame: which things also particularly attracted the Jews, seeing in him
the great Elijah." Our Lord Himself confirmed all these things about John: "Indeed, Elijah is coming first and restores all
things. And how is it written concerning the Son of Man, that He must suffer many things and be treated with contempt?
But I say to you that Elijah has also come, and they did to him whatever they wished, as it is written of him" (Mk. 9:12-13).
Thus, John was a key actor in God's eternal plan, fulfilling a significant part of the Divine prophecy concerning Elijah and
the Messiah.
Consider another aspect of St. John's behavior. The Forerunner's lifestyle followed the tradition of many ancient Prophets
of Israel. Often the Prophets lived apart from the normal rounds of human activity (2 Kngs. 6:1-7). An example of this
may be found in a published account of the life of the Prophet Isaiah. It is reported that, because of the lawlessness of the
people, Isaiah withdrew from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. Later, when the men of Bethlehem also proved to be wicked, he
withdrew even further south into the desert. There, with a company of men, he settled on a solitary mountain, again, apart
from society. The entire community wore garments of hair to signify their life as Prophets. They ate a diet of wild foods
from the desert.
Let us understand: for the people of the first century, the Forerunner's preference for life in the wilderness marked him as a
Prophet. As the Lord Jesus Himself said, "But what went ye out for to see? A Prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than
a Prophet..." (Mt. 11:8-9). As a Prophet, St. John foretold the greatest work of the Lord's ministry, "He will baptize you
with the Holy Spirit" (Mk. 1:8). Finally, we also must count St. John as the Messiah's Messenger, as fulfilling part of
Elijah's work, and as the greatest among the Prophets preparing for Christ.
Behold, the Hope of Israel hath come. Serve, O Prophet, thou lamp for the Light, the dawn of the Sun, the righteousness of
the Bridegroom, the Forerunner of the Word.
Monday, January 3, 2005
The Venerable Genevieve of Paris; Forefeast of Theophany
3rd Vespers Basil: Proverbs 10:31-11:12 Epistle: Hebrews 5:4-10 Gospel: St John 3:1-15
St John 3:1-15, especially vs. 3: "Jesus answered and said to him, 'Most assuredly, I say to you,
unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.'" The Evangelist John tells us that Nicodemos "came to
Jesus by night" (vs. 2). He came in darkness - not merely because he came at nighttime, but because he came in darkness
of spirit, with the eyes of his understanding closed. Contrary to the gift of God which is opened to every Orthodox
Christian in the Mystery of Holy Baptism and Holy Chrismation, this ruler of the Jews came to Jesus while "the light of
[the] Gospel [was not yet shining] brightly in him," while he was not "yet a child of the light", nor "illumined," nor clothed
with "a robe of light."
Nevertheless, can we deny that the grace of God was moving in Nicodemos? Stirred by what his physical eyes beheld, he
came to the Light of the World (Jn. 8:12). As he said, "we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do
these signs that You do unless God is with him" (Jn. 3:2). He came despite his darkness: "It is probable that
Nicodemos...early in the preaching of salvation...believed in Christ," for later, "at His Burial also he came carrying a
mixture of myrrh and aloes, a hundred menas in weight, or a hundred pounds, for the purpose of scenting and embalming,
and as a gesture of reverence and love to the divine Master."
Jesus Christ, Who for our sake was "born of the flesh [and forever] is flesh" (vs. 6), also being "begotten of the Father
before all worlds, Light of Light," is forever "born of the Spirit [and] is spirit" (vs. 6). As One of the Holy Trinity He
illumines us - as He did Nicodemos - "We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our
witness" (vs. 11). "He...came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man...[and] is in heaven" (vs. 13). In Him all is light
and no darkness at all. He is the treasure that we may call our own, hard as it is for us, being like Nicodemos, to understand
or to see all that Christ is revealing to us.
Still, as Grace Incarnate (Jn. 1:14) moved Nicodemos, so, at this very moment, He is moving us to come to Him, to be
illumined in Him by His Spirit. Let us not be slack in this matter, Beloved of the Lord. How necessary it is to continuously
open our lives to His Spirit!
Indeed let us cry out as the Church teaches us, "O Heavenly King, Comforter, the Spirit of truth Who art everywhere
present and fillest all things, come and dwell in us." Archimandrite Ioannikios Kotsonis makes very clear the necessity for
the Holy Spirit to be the Illuminator of the deepest center of our being, our nous - what Father Ioannikios calls 'the
intellect:' "Only the Holy Spirit can purify the intellect, for unless a greater power comes and overthrows the despoiler,
what he has taken captive will never be set free." Thus we could remain in darkness, but yet, in our night, like Nicodemos,
we can come to Christ.
Consider what it can mean: if we become "a dwelling place for the Holy Spirit, then we shall have the lamp of spiritual
knowledge burning always within us; and when it is shining constantly in the inner shrine of the soul, not only will the
intellect perceive all the dark and bitter attacks of the demons, but these attacks will be greatly weakened when exposed for
what they are by that glorious and holy light."
Beloved of the Lord, we have been born of water in the "laver of regeneration," let us therefore, from this moment ever
after, move forward toward the Light, as those born anew by the Spirit in Whom we have been sealed. As St. Diadochos of
Photiki encourages us: may we indeed choose "the path of righteousness [which] leads the intellect upward towards the
Sun of Righteousness and brings it into the boundless illumination of spiritual knowledge." In truth, "We have seen the
true light, we have received the heavenly Spirit; we have found the true faith."
Lighten our eyes, O Christ, that we may cry out to Thee in faith, Bountiful is Thy compassion toward us, O Lover of
mankind, glory to Thee!
Tuesday, January 4, 2005
Synaxis of the Seventy Holy Apostles: Forefeast of Theophany
1st Royal Hour Theophany: Isaiah35:1-10 Epistle: Act 19:1-8 Gospel: St. Matthew 21:23-37
St. Matthew 21:23-37, especially vss. 24, 25: "Jesus answered....'The baptism of John -- where was it from?
From heaven or from men?' And they reasoned among themselves...." Observe the response of "the chief priests and
elders of the people"(vs. 23) when faced with the Lord Jesus' question concerning the baptism of John: "they reasoned
among themselves" (vs. 25). In many respects, the Lord's question is closely akin to the bowing prayers which are offered
in every service of the Church. Take for example the bowing prayer in the Divine Liturgy. It is placed at the end of the
great prayer of the Anaphora after the offering of the Lord's Prayer and after the Priest has blessed the Faithful with Peace
in the Lord. He then bids those present: "Bow your heads unto the Lord." The prayer that is then offered is noteworthy:
"Do Thou Thyself, O Master, look down from heaven upon those who have bowed their heads unto Thee; for they have not
bowed down unto flesh and blood, but unto Thee, the fearful God."
What have the Lord's question and the bowing prayer in common? Both address the identical issue of commitment and
submission. Initially, Christ's question seems to raise the issue of the source of John's Baptisms, in effect asking whether,
in calling People to a baptism for repentance, the Prophet was obeying a prompting or revelation from God or was putting
into practice his own ideas for expressing repentance for sins humbly and honestly? At stake was whether John was
committed to God's will or his own; and this is exactly what faces every one who hears the bidding to "Bow your heads
unto the Lord." If you bow your head and heart, you are expressing commitment and submission to God. If you hear the
bidding and ignore it or resist it, you are not committed and submitted to God. Likewise, we can say with assurance that
the Forerunner was himself submitted to God and was calling others also to commit their whole lives to God, repenting for
their past lack of submission to Him. There is the connection.
Trace the Orthodox bowing prayers back to where they begin for each member of the Church - in the examination prior to
Baptism. After a candidate for the Baptismal Mystery is closely examined to see whether he renounces Satan and whether
instead he unites himself to Christ, he is then invited to assert the substance of his commitment to God by reciting the
Nicene Creed. Finally, he is challenged to "Bow down also before Him." And what does the committing Christian say? "I
bow down before the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit: the Trinity, one in Essence and undivided." Every bowing
prayer in every service subsequently is rooted in that initial affirmation and cannot be considered apart from it.
Understanding what the Lord's question is about, and seeing that it confronts each of us, we need next consider the
response of the chief priests and elders of the people: "they reasoned among themselves" (vs. 25). They understood what
Christ Jesus was asking and how it applied to them: to have answered the Lord, "From heaven," would have made them
liable to His asking them, "Why then did you not believe him?" (vs. 25). It would have exposed their disbelief in John's
call for Baptism and repentance. It would have exposed their unwillingness to submit to God themselves. On the other
hand, because of fear of public exposure, they would not suggest that John was not a Prophet of God. They were unable to
hear God in the appeal of St. John.
The reasoning of these men actually exposed their secularism, like so many around us today who reason away the challenge
to submit and commit to God in faith. One reasons in the mind because he is not in touch with the cry of his heart and soul.
It is the way of the world.
O Lord, we Thy servants bow our heads and submissively incline our necks awaiting not succor from men but entreating
Thy mercy and looking confidently for Thy salvation.
Wednesday, January 5, 2005 Strict Fast
Venerable Syncletica; Eve of Theophany
6th Royal Hr Theophany: Isaiah 12:3-6 Epistle: 1 Corinthians 10:1-4 Gospel: St. Mark 1:9-11
St. Luke 3:1-18, especially vs. 8: "Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance...." St. Cyril of
Alexandria identifies three fruits of repentance: "in the highest degree, faith in Christ; and next to it, the evangelic mode of
life, and in general terms the works of righteousness in contradistinction to sin...." Note that the Patriarch is here directing
the Faithful above all to the essential motive for repentance. Then, he points out that there is a characteristic manner of life
that flows from "faith in Christ," which, in its turn, produces observable behavior and actions - what may rightly be called
true or worthy fruits of repentance.
In the present passage from St. Luke, the urgency of right faith in Christ appears clearly in the statements of the Forerunner
John - toward the end of the selection: "One mightier than I is coming, Whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He
will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire" (vs. 16). St. John models the very repentance which he exhorts us to
embrace, contrasting himself with Christ Jesus, the stronger, the worthier, and the truest Baptizer.
Both Saint John and the Lord Jesus fearlessly speak the truth to persons of every station in society, even in the face of
death. Both paid with their lives, never wavering. John was beheaded for confronting Herod's adultery (Mk. 6:14-29), and
the Lord Jesus was condemned to death by crucifixion after challenging the exploitation by the social, political, and
religious elite of the day (Mk. 11:15-12:40). Which was mightier, then? Of course, St. John was right to identify that it
was Christ our God, He Who would rise from the dead on the third day.
What then is "faith in Christ," that which St. Cyril calls the "highest degree" of repentance? It is to risk obeying the Lord
Jesus' healing prescriptions: "arise, take up your bed and go to your house" (Mk. 2:11); "follow Me" (Mk. 1:17); "go home
to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you" (Mk.
5:19); "go in peace, and be healed of your affliction" (Mk. 5:34); "take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the
leaven of Herod" (Mk. 8:15); "take up the cross and follow Me" (Mk. 10:21); and "go into all the world and preach the
gospel to every creature" (Mk. 16:15).
Such prescriptions were given to heal specific needs or debilities, and each required trust in Jesus to do what He ordered
and to complete the task He demanded. May neither fear nor misplaced trust hamper us when the Lord prescribes healing
commands for us! Rather, let us go out and preach everywhere, the Lord working with us and confirming the word (Mk.
16:20). The primary attitude of those who truly are healed by Christ is obedience. Thus, when He orders up a
prescription, blessed are they "who hear the word of God and keep it!" (Lk. 11:28). St. John understood that those who had
faith in Christ would "fill the valleys" (Lk. 3:5), would hunger and thirst after righteousness (Mt. 5:6), would "level
mountains" (Lk. 3:5), would be poor in spirit (Mt. 5:3), would "straighten crooked places" (Lk. 3:5), would be pure in heart
(Mt. 5:8), would smooth the rough ways (Lk. 3:5), would be peacemakers (Mt. 5:9).
Of course, those who seek, above all else, to acquire the Spirit with which the Lord baptizes (Lk. 3:16), have their lives
shaped by the attitude of trust essential to the life in Christ. As a result, they do not rely on their ethnic, cultural, or religious
heritage (vs. 8) but naturally share with those in need (vs. 11). They reject impulses to cheat, steal, or intimidate others
(vss. 13,14) and are content with their station in life (vs. 14). They struggle in themselves, working with the Lord, to
cleanse the chaff of their lives from the threshing floor of their hearts (vs. 17). O Divine Light, Who hath been manifest in
the flesh to those on earth, appearing to those in darkness, as Thy grace hath shone forth for all, may we also bear fruits
worthy of repentance.
The Theophany of Our Lord Jesus Christ
Thursday, January 6, 2005
1st Vespers Theophany: Genesis 1:1-13 Epistle: Titus 2:11-14; 3:4-7 Gospel: St. Matthew 3:13-17
St. Matthew 3:13-17, especially vss. 14, 15: "...John tried to prevent Him, saying, 'I need to be
baptized by You and are You coming to me?' But Jesus answered and said to him, 'Permit it to be so now, for thus it is
fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.'" While John the Forerunner lived silently in the desert, the Lord Jesus remained
quietly unrecognized in Nazareth. Then, as described in yesterday's Gospel reading, "the word of God came to John" (Lk.
3:2), and he began "preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins" (Lk. 3:3). It was "time for the Lord to
act." Therefore, the Lord "came from Galilee to John...to be baptized by him" (Mt. 3:13), not to observe, nor talk, nor
listen to him, but to be baptized by him.
Since the baptismal rite which the Forerunner offered was for "repentance" (Lk. 3:3), one must ask if there were not some
contradiction in Jesus accepting a ritual signifying personal repentance. After all, the Apostle Paul asserts that He "was in
all points tempted as we are, yet without sin" (Heb. 4:15)! Our expectation is inverted: the all-holy God-man is baptized by
John, the teacher of baptism for repentance. Why does Christ ritually unite His sinless humanity with our corrupt
humanity? Why does He subject His Light to our darkness and sin?
St. John, filled as he was with the Holy Spirit, saw the contradiction clearly: "And John tried to prevent Him, saying, 'I
need to be baptized by You, and you are coming to me? '"(vs. 14). But Christ understood that what is to be saved must be
fully assumed. In His baptism He was not repenting. Rather, He was uniting His all-pure Self to our corrupt nature in
order to restore us to Himself, despite our sinfulness. He was using His own humanity as a bridge from His holiness to our
sinfulness. As St. Paul said in another place: "He made Him Who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the
righteousness of God in Him" (2 Cor. 5:21).
The Holy Fathers note that, when the Lord was baptized, "the whole universe [was] watered by mystical streams." Hence,
the whole created order, by the entry of the All-pure Person of God the Word, was "lighted from on high....the land and the
sea have divided between them the joy of the world, and the world hath been filled with rejoicing. The waters saw Thee, O
God, the waters saw Thee; they were afraid. Jordan turned back when it beheld the fire of the Godhead coming down and
descending upon it in the flesh" (and see Ps. 113:3-5 LXX).
Thereby, the Lord's purpose in being baptized was grand in scale, yes, even cosmic in its scope. Not only are men restored
to God Who unites Himself to them again in Jordan's waters, but the "whole creation [which also] groans and labors with
birth pangs together until now" (Rom. 8:22) experiences in itself the wondrous process of its renewal.
By the mystery of Christ's Baptism, the waters of earth which suffused His Body were spiritually transformed to be a
means by which the Holy Spirit may be conveyed to men, to us. In Holy Baptism, the Spirit acts through water and we are
united with Christ. Part of Christ's purpose in Baptism was to prepare all of earth's waters for our new birth in the Spirit
(Jn. 3:5). Note carefully: the capstone that completes God's "arch of intention" in the Lord Jesus' Baptism was the descent
of the Holy Spirit and the spoken affirmation by God the Father: "This is My beloved Son, in Whom I Am well pleased"
(Mt. 3:17). In the Lord Jesus' Baptism, the mystery of the Holy Trinity is disclosed for the first time in a complete
revelation of the Divine nature of three Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Christ's Baptism is an eternity-filled moment which discloses the eternal glory, nature, and purpose of the Godhead.
Great art Thou, O Lord, and wondrous are Thy works, and there is no word that sufficeth to hymn Thy wonders!
Friday, January 7, 2005
Synaxis of the Glorious Prophet, Forerunner, and Baptist John
5th Vespers Theophany: 4 Kings 2:6-14 Epistle: Acts 19:1-8 Gospel: St. John 1:29-34
St. John 1:29-34, especially vs. 34: "I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God." The Hebrew
Prophets were called to declare God's living word to the chosen People so that Israel would witness faithfully among the
community of nations. "Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled....Ye are My witnesses,
saith the Lord, and My servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe Me, and understand that I Am He:
before Me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after Me" (Is. 43:9-10).
Anciently God had promised the Patriarch Abraham that "...in thy seed shall the nations of the earth be blessed" (Gen.
22:18). From this promise, Israel understood that "All the ends of the earth shall remember and shall turn unto the Lord,
and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before Him" (Ps. 21:27 LXX). However, Israel did not testify to the
nations, but withdrew into herself. Therefore, the Lord Jesus passed on to the Church the mission of testifying to Him
before the world, commissioning the Apostolic Community to "disciple all nations" (Mt. 28:19). What better model of
faithful testifying is there than the Forerunner John? He reveals how to prepare the peoples of earth to receive their life-creating Savior and Lord. First of all, St. John announced that the Messiah was present among the people, although
unrecognized: "...there stands One among you Whom you do not know" (Jn. 1:26). Likewise, the Church is to testify that
the Savior is present among all of earth's peoples. Let our living and worship divulge "The Lamb of God Who takes away
the sin of the world" (vs. 29). Let us manifest His presence to men and women, that they may recognize Him and turn to
Him.
The Church has two structures for testifying: parish churches and monastic communities. How great is the need for active,
worshiping parish communities in every city and village! Local congregations, however, are only one agency of the total
evangelical task and need the witness and aid of monastics. St. John, an ascetic formed by years as a solitary in the desert,
in testifying to Christ, sent his disciples to follow the Lord Jesus in the world (Jn.1:35-37).
St. John testified that the Lord Jesus is God's ultimate solution: "Behold! The Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the
world" (vs. 29). Yet sadly in today's world, the mental health professions burgeon because the Sin-Bearer's life-giving and
healing Mysteries are so little known. Brethren, let us strive to "worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness" (1 Chron.
16:29) as testimony to Him, and let our lives "tell of all [His] wondrous works" (Ps. 25:7 LXX).
In this connection, Beloved of the Lord, let us heed Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos' words: "Contemporary man, tired
and discouraged by the various problems which torment him, is looking for rest and refreshment...he is seeking a cure for
his soul....Orthodoxy...[aims to] heal man and guide him to God." St. John, the Prophet of the desert, reminds us of the
desperate need that exists today for living, prayerful, ascetic witness to the healing power of the Orthodox Faith.
The world does not need theories concerning Christ, but lived testimony to the Lord. It hungers for the living God Whom
St. John encountered: "This is He of Whom I said, 'After me comes One who is preferred before me, for He was before
me'" (vs. 30). As Archimandrite Sophrony Sakharov reminds us: "It is not enough to be convinced in one's mind of the
Divinity of Christ....We must make the maximum effort to live according to His word...we must follow up with a prolonged
prayer of repentance." Orthodox Believers, let us testify with our lives to Salvation Himself and not just tell people about
Him. Let us testify with words and deeds.
O Blessed Forerunner, thou didst show us the Lamb that taketh away the sin of the world. Implore thou Him that we also
may manifest Him Who sanctifies the nature of man.
Saturday, January 8, 2005
The Saturday after Theophany
12th Vigil of Theophany: 4 Kings 2:19-22 LXX Epistle: Ephesians 6:10-17 Gospel: St. Matthew 4:1-11
St. Matthew 4:1-11, especially vs. 1: "Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to
be tempted by the devil." Even the Lord Jesus was tempted. Why? St. John Chrysostom notes: "...He endures also to be
led up thither, and to wrestle against the devil: in order that each of those who are baptized (if after his baptism he have to
endure greater temptation) may not be troubled as if the result were unexpected....." St. Seraphim of Sarov warns us of the
same: "We must always be attentive to the assaults of the devil; for can we hope that he will leave us without temptation,
when he did not leave our Founder and Source of faith and Perfecter, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself?"
Temptation is our human lot (1 Cor. 10:13). But observe, Beloved: the Lord Jesus had a greater purpose in undergoing
temptation than merely to remove the surprise of it. As the great Commander of the armies in heaven (Rev. 19:14), He
aims at our survival in combat. Therefore we must be alert to "watch our flank." And more: the Lord went into the desert
to be tempted because He desires that each disciple understand how and when temptations are going to come.
Surprisingly, the Gospel lesson teaches us that temptations will come to the Faithful just as they did to the Lord Himself,
"at the leading of the Holy Spirit" (Mt. 4:1). The Spirit often drives Christians into the struggle against the whispering of
the prowler. Why? St. John Chrysostom says, "...to teach thee that thou art become much stronger" by being a Christian,
and "...that thou mayest continue modest, neither be exalted...that thou mayest in this way be made stronger and better
tempered than any steel...[and] that thou mayest obtain a clear demonstration of the treasures entrusted to thee." On the
other hand, what of temptation for the non-Christian? With the secularist and those of other religions, temptation is barely
significant. They are already under the management of the enemy, and so they blithefully pursue what the devil provides.
Temptation comes when we are in isolation (vs. 1). As St. Theophylact says of the Lord, "He is led into the wilderness to
show us that the devil tempts us when he sees us alone and without help from others. Therefore we must not put our trust
in ourselves without any counsel from others." The foul one caught Eve when she was apart from Adam. So St. John
Chrysostom suggests that we flock "...together continually, that we may not be open to the devil's attacks."
Temptation comes to us because we are honored by God in the Holy Mystery of the Faith. The Lord rose from His Baptism
(Mt. 3:16). The Spirit came upon Him (Mt. 3:16), and the Father glorified Him: "This is My Beloved Son" (Mt. 3:17).
Remember, the greatest honor is yours. You have been joined to Christ. You died and rose with Him from the Holy
waters. You have been sealed as His Own forever with the Holy Spirit. He has fed you with His Holy Gifts. The devil is
mad with rage and envy that we are honored. He wills to cheat us of our heritage.
Temptation also comes when you have been deprived or demeaned. The devil's name, "Diabolus," means "slanderer." So,
he suggests to Christ "IF Thou be the Son of God" (Mt. 4:3), insinuating that the Lord was abandoned. "Thou art washed"
in the name of the Holy Trinity, not abandoned. Never trust "feelings" of abandonment. "God is the Lord, He hath shown
us light!"
Temptation to turn from God also comes through the allure of power, riches, and this world's tangible pleasures (Mt. 4:8).
The devil paints the picture beautifully to arouse our passions, stir us up and lead us to fall. He offers bread when we are
hungry! (Mt. 4:3). A fast track to fame, the world at our feet, and no Cross. Beware, O my soul!
Blessed is my God, and let the God of my salvation be exalted. O my Deliverer from enemies...from them that arise up
against me wilt Thou lift me high. Ps. 17:47,48 LXX
Sunday, January 9, 2005 Tone 7
The Sunday after Theophany
Kellia For Prophet Shemaiah: 3 Kings 12:16-24 LXX Epistle: Ephesians 4:7-13 Gospel: St. Matthew 4:12-17
St. Matthew 4:12-17, especially vs. 12: "Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in
prison, He departed to Galilee." The Church identifies John, the son of Zacharias and Elizabeth, with a variety of names:
"Forerunner, Prophet, Baptist, and Servant." The title "Forerunner" is particularly intriguing since Holy Scripture does not
apply that specific term to St. John. Of course, when we speak of St. John as the Forerunner, it is because in the first
century, he helped to "prepare" men and women for the Lord's ministry, as he still does.
In that time, two thousand years ago, St. John's preaching and baptizing signaled that the time had come for the Lord Jesus
to leave His private life in Nazareth and assume a public ministry (Mt. 3:13). In a similar way the death of the Prophet was
a sign for the Lord Jesus to go into Galilee and begin preaching, discipling, and healing (Mt. 4:12-17). The title,
"Forerunner," is fortuitous in several ways. The Baptist's prophecies forecast that the Lord's ministry would illumine men
with the Holy Spirit. St. John's message and work foreshadowed Christ's emphasis on repentance, and the Prophet's death
forebode the execution of the Savior.
St. John was a forerunner because he "forecast" the dynamic role of the Holy Spirit in the ministry of Christ. When John
was questioned about himself and his mission, he stated plainly that he was only a messenger announcing One "coming
after me Who is mightier than I, Whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire"
(Mt. 3:11).
In the present reading, the Evangelist Matthew indicates that the Lord Jesus, being filled with the Spirit (Mt. 3:16), caused
"Light" to dawn for "those who sat in the region and shadow of death" (Mt. 4:16). The Spirit enabled the Lord's preaching
to illumine the hearts of His hearers. By the power of God the Holy Spirit, the parables, the healing acts, and the teaching
of the Incarnate Word of God were effective in the hearts of those who heard Him. The Lord Jesus declared the presence of
the Kingdom, and the Holy Spirit caused Divine "Light" to shine within them, freeing them from the kingdom of sin and
death, bringing them to the Kingdom of Light.
St. John was a forerunner because he "foreshadowed" the message of the Lord's preaching and works. St. John warned the
people to prepare their hearts for the mighty One from God. Men should change their lives by active repentance before the
Messiah's arrival (Mt. 3:2). When Christ began His ministry, as the Gospel shows, He also placed repentance at the center
of all He did (Mt. 4:17). At the heart of the Christian Gospel lies repentance, the healing response initiated and made
effective by the Lord's saving Death and Resurrection through the work of the Holy Spirit. The Forerunner cast the
shadow, but the Lord engendered the saving reality.
Finally, St. John was a forerunner of the saving Passion, for his unjust death served as a type and "foreboding" of the
Lord's sacrificial death on the Cross. After the Lord's Baptism, the Prophet was arrested by the Tetrarch (the ruler of a
fourth part of a region), Herod Antipas. John had said to him, 'It is not lawful for you to have her' (Mt. 14:4), referring to
Herodias, the wife of Herod's brother Philip. St. John, as a faithful Servant of God, never hesitated to speak God's truth
honestly against adultery, as the Gospel summary of his preaching shows (Mt. 3:7-10).
John's death, like the Lord's, witnesses to the fact that our race prefers lies and murder to truth, even to the Truth Himself.
The Lord Jesus' own preaching was equally forthright (e.g., Mt. 23), and in a short three years, an unusual coalition of
religious, economic, and political groups decided on His death and brought about His arrest and crucifixion (Jn. 11:47; Lk.
23:12). The Master did forecall thee a Prophet, O thou who art more exalted than the law foretold; and having baptized
Him, thou didst appear nobler than all men. Pray for our souls.
Monday, January 10, 2005
Gregory Bishop of Nyssa; Bishop Theophan the Recluse
2nd Vigil Theophany: Exodus 14:15-29 Apostle/Day: Acts 19:1-8; Alt: 1 Peter 2:21-3:9 Gospel: St. Luke 3:19-22
St. Luke 3:19-22, especially vs. 21: "When all the people were baptized, it came to pass
that Jesus also was baptized...." The Orthodox Baptismal Liturgy connects our Baptism with the Lord's: "For Thou, O our
God, hath revealed Thyself upon earth, and dwelt among men. Thou didst hallow the streams of Jordan, sending down
upon them from heaven Thy Holy Spirit." St. Luke similarly emphasizes the connection, recalling that the Lord was
baptized "when all the people were baptized" (Lk. 3:21). As He joined Himself to our humanity, even so He received a like
washing in the water to which all men are called. In today's reading, St. Luke discloses five ways the Lord's Baptism and
ours are connected: by presentation, challenge, prayer, the descent of the Holy Spirit, and affirmation of sonship.
The Baptismal Liturgy begins with exorcism. Although the Priest will actively engage the baptismal candidate after the
exorcism is completed, during the rebuking and cleansing from all unclean spirits, the candidate remains entirely passive.
The Priest lays his hands upon the candidate and says prayers of exorcism over him "to prove him and search him, and root
out of him every operation of the Devil." In addition, the Priest breathes upon his mouth, his brow and his breast "to expel
from him every evil and impure spirit which hideth and maketh its lair in his heart." The candidate's sole activity is to
present himself for this ministry of the Church. In the same manner, the Lord presented Himself to the Forerunner, coming
with the people (vs. 21). After the exorcism, the Priest engages and challenges the candidate to declare that he renounces
Satan and all his angels, all his works, all his service, and all his pride. He commands the candidate to breathe and spit on
the Devil. He asks the candidate if he has united himself to Christ and if he believes in Christ as his King and God. He
requires the candidate to confirm his faith by saying the Nicene Creed. He charges him to bow down before the Lord.
St. John similarly challenged the people along the shores of the Jordan river, "preaching a baptism of repentance for the
remission of sins" (Lk. 3:3). His preaching was stark, direct, and called upon the people to "bear fruits worthy of
repentance" (Lk. 3:8). His exhortations were so bold that he incurred the anger of the ruling Tetrarch, Herod Antipas. He
rebuked Herod, "concerning Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done" (Lk. 3:19).
Eventually Herod would arrest St. John for such public criticism (vs. 20). The Lord Jesus affirmed St. John's challenge to
the people by coming to the Jordan during this time (vs. 21). Baptism is an occasion of intense prayer. There are prayers
at each stage during the rite, at the exorcism, at the examination, at the blessing of the water and the candidate, at the
Baptism and at the Chrismation and Communion that follow. The Evangelist mentions that when Jesus "was baptized...He
prayed" (vs. 21). Thus the Lord maintained His communion with the Father. The Orthodox initiation into the Christian
Mystery includes prayers for the infilling of the candidate with the Holy Spirit: at the conclusion of the examination, in the
opening prayers of Baptism, in the blessing and anointing of the water, and especially for "the seal of the gift of the Holy
Spirit" in Chrismation. Likewise, the Evangelist tells us that "the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove" upon
the Lord (vs. 22), empowering Him for His ministry to follow.
Each candidate initiated into the Faith is reminded that he is "no more a child of the body, but a child of [God's] kingdom,"
a child of the Light, and an heir of His heavenly Kingdom. At the Jordan, following the Lord's baptism, the Father said,
"Thou art My beloved Son" (vs. 22).
O Thou Who didst receive Baptism in the Jordan for our salvation, Christ our God, have mercy upon us and save us,
forasmuch as Thou art good and loveth mankind.
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
Theodosios the Great, Head of Monasteries in Palestine
4th Vigil of Theophany: Joshua 3:7-8, 15-17 Epistle: Hebrews 13:7-16 Gospel: St. Matthew 11:27-30
St. Matthew 11:27-30: "All things have been committed to Me by My Father. No
one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to
reveal Him. Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and
learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My
burden is light." To know God is to enter into the very life of the Holy Trinity. We have come to know the Father through
the Son as the Son reveals Him to us by the Holy Spirit.
Knowing God is not simply acknowledging His existence nor even bending to His sovereignty and dominion. Knowing
God is a personal knowledge that grows from living a relationship. It is similar to relationships with other human beings,
in which intellectual concepts play only a minor part. Knowing God is greater, permitting infinite and eternal growth of
interpersonal knowledge unknown in human relationships. The path to this knowledge is through union with and
submission to Christ by Whom one is filled with Divine life. As He "knows the Father," He enables us to enter a
relationship with the Unoriginate "Father." For the Father has given over all things to Christ including access and
knowledge of Himself. "No one comes to the Father but by Me" (Jn. 14:6).
We cannot say that those who claim to believe in God know the True God. There are many false gods of human creation
and speculation. Men have inclined to invent and worship these in place of the True God, the Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit. Pride leads men to create gods having a human image, human likeness, and human limitations. Mankind,
without the light of the knowledge of God given in Christ, prefers the idolatrous service of gods who fulfill human desires
at the beck and call of finite creators. Idolatry allows men to blame the gods they have fashioned for the disorder and
failure which they themselves have created. Men are able to project responsibility onto "the gods," onto the works of their
own hands. But the service of false gods leaves no peace, no joy, and no fulfillment - only giving place to demons.
Beloved, idolatry is a temptation and a "religious solution" into which we who call ourselves Christians may fall.
Enthroning a lesser god, and calling it "Christ" or "our Father" is actually a contrivance which conveniently avoids the real
difficulties and the actual demands of a living knowledge of the God Who is God. Such "packaging" and modification of
true faith is death to the soul, for the Source of true Life is replaced with a manageable god, an tidy little distortion that
allows us to pursue our passions and desires. Let us guard against those self-created, subtle movements of our hearts and
minds that would raise up false gods to suit our pride and our ego. When we refuse to surrender to the True God we
presume to bear the whole world and our own sins upon our own shoulders. In fact, these bear us down to hell.
Let us remember: knowing God requires surrender of our preoccupations and of our petty, inadequate delusions about self
and especially about God. But if we will struggle for union with Christ and submit to Him, if we will answer His call and
take up His yoke and His Cross, then He will bless us with rest in Himself. We shall be able to cry out from our ongoing
relationship and to say, "Our Father." It is in our surrendering to Christ that the Lord Jesus lifts away the heavy yoke of our
sins from us and then yokes us to Himself (Mt. 11:28,29). He shoulders the unbearable burden now made light for us.
"Blessed are the poor in spirit," who mourn meekly before God (Mt. 5:3-5) to whom He grants His own life and Sonship
with the Father.
Save us, O Lover of mankind, in the multitude of Thine infinite compassion and mercy!
Wednesday, January 12, 2005
Martyr Tatiana of Rome and Companions
7th Vigil of Theophany: Isaiah 1:16-20 Epistle: Romans 12:6-14 Gospel: St. John 10:39-42
St. John 10:39-42, especially vs. 41: "Then many came to Him and said, 'John performed no sign,
but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true.'" Earlier in Chapter ten, the Evangelist records that the
healing and teaching of the Lord Jesus sharply divided Jewish opinion concerning Him (Jn. 10:19-21). Subsequently, those
who were offended at Him more than once tried to silence Him, by stoning (Jn. 10:31) or seizing Him (Jn. 10:39). By
going down to a place on the east bank of Jordan River, away from the hustle and crowds of Jerusalem, to an area where
John the Forerunner baptized and preached earlier, the Lord was able to evade these efforts bent on His destruction. Still,
many came out to that wilderness place to be with Christ and to receive His teaching and ministry. Those who came to
Him moved not only the short geographic distance from Jerusalem to the Jordan, but traversed a greater spiritual distance,
starting from an attraction to Jesus of Nazareth and His message to believing in Him.
There is such a difference between believing that Jesus came from Nazareth, that He had interesting things to say, or that
He had a great capacity to heal the sick and deformed and actually believing in Him. Belief in Jesus connotes submission
to His purposes and way of life. When I say that I believe in Christ Jesus, my commitment can be tested or assayed by
others. Does my belief in Him alter the way I live, what I say, how I behave, where I go, what I do? If so, then it is
possible to surmise that I am a Christian. What is significant in today's Gospel is that the Evangelist reveals how people
move - not necessarily geographically - but in practice and in efforts from interest in Jesus to belief in Him as God and
King, a big jump!
First, there must be a withdrawal from the world. We are speaking here of effort and the investment of time, energy, and
self - "many came to Him" (vs. 41). Those who came certainly knew that there were those in power in their society that
wanted to silence Jesus by arrest or execution - those who were seriously opposed to Him. Thus, when anyone came out
into the Jordan wilderness and sought Him, they were making the first necessary steps toward a real belief in Him. They
were risking association with a social pariah and of suffering with