Tuesday, November 16, 2004 Nativity Fast
Apostle Matthew the Evangelist
Kellia: Judges 19:1-9 Epistle: 1 Corinthians 4:9-16 Gospel: St. Matthew 9:9-11
Judges 19:1-9 LXX, especially vs. 4: "The father of the damsel
constrained him, and he staid with him for three days; and they ate and drank, and lodged
there." This passage from Judges is a concise account of classic Middle-Eastern hospitality, a
virtue highly ranked among the peoples of the Biblical world and blessed of God. The Prophet
Job confessed before the Lord that "the stranger did not lodge without and my door was opened
to everyone that came" (Job 31:32 LXX). The best known example of hospitality among the
ancient People of God occurred during the visitation of Abraham by Three Angels at the Oaks of
Mamre when the Patriarch "took curds, and milk, and the calf which he had prepared and set it
before them"(Gen 18:8). This kindness gained the old man and his wife Sarah the blessing of
God for a son.
When the Lord Jesus sent the Twelve out with virtually no resources (Lk 10:4), He assumed their
well-being, because hospitality was a cultural expectation (Lk. 10:5). Yet, as a matter of fact, the
Lord assured His disciples that His blessing would be upon all those who would welcome his
missionaries into their homes (Lk. 10:6). For all Christians, the virtue and blessings of
hospitality remain, being an Apostolic precept: "Be kindly affectionate to one
another...distributing to the needs of the saints, pursuing hospitality (Rom. 12:10,13).
The father-in-law of the Levite reveals three basic elements of true hospitality: 1) He extended a
hearty welcome to his son-in-law, his attendant, and his animals. 2) He pressed beyond all
demurring and hesitation, and "constrained" (Jdgs. 19:4,7) the young man to accept his cordial
offerings of food, shelter, and companionship. 3) To put an earnest seal upon the welcome which
he offered, the father revealed a desire not only for the physical comfort of his guest but that he
enjoy himself and finally accomplish his goal of returning to his own home.
Observe that "the father of the damsel saw him and was well pleased to meet him" (vs. 3). The
impression which the phrase "well pleased to meet him" may indicate is that the father had never
met the son-in-law. Because the damsel was a concubine, rather than a veiled wife with a
dowery, and since concubines usually were obtained as war booty or by slave trading, the young
woman may well have been sold by her father because of poverty, being traded within the tribes
of Israel. The point is that the father welcomed the young man heartily. The hospitality was not
given grudgingly, for over and over again, the father constrained the son-in-law to stay on well
beyond the three days which custom demanded, he himself entertaining the Levite.
The repeated efforts of the father to overcome any polite hesitation on the part of the son-in-law
reveal another dimension of true hospitality: that it be pursued earnestly, without grudging, but
with a hearty desire to make welcome. The customary three days are mentioned in verse four, but
the father continues to press the young man to a fourth and fifth day (vss. 5-9). The father may
have been poor, but as St. Theodoros instructed monks living in elected poverty: "Even if you do
not have [bread and water], but simply make the stranger welcome and offer him a word of
encouragement, you will not be failing in hospitality;" and so the father did.
Finally, the one offering hospitality always should keep in mind the goals and needs of the guest.
The father was not tricking the son-in-law into staying, but endeavoring to make him fully
welcome, for each time he urged the Levite to stay he recognized the young man's need to return
to his home on the slopes of Mount Ephraim (vss. 5,8,9). In true hospitality, let there be a
sensitive balancing of the warmth of one's welcome and the needs and goals of one's guest.
O Christ our God, shower Thy blessing upon the homes of thy servants, and grant them grace to
extend true and warm hospitality to all whom Thou dost bring to them as guests.
Wednesday, November 17, 2004 Nativity Fast
Gregory the Wonderworker, Bishop
Kellia: Judges 19:10-21 Epistle: 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 Gospel: St. Luke 12:48-59
Judges 19:10-21 LXX, especially vs. 12: "And his master
said to him, 'We will not turn aside to a strange city , where there is not one of the children of
Israel, but we will pass on as far as Gibeah.'" The first portion of the account of the wayfaring
Levite tells us of true, lavish, and loving hospitality (Jdgs 19:1-9); but once the traveler decided,
against his father-in-law's counsel, not to spend yet another night enjoying the protection and
cordiality of his wife's father in Bethlehem, shadows began to gather over his journey.
He and his companions made only six miles when advancing night became apparent even to his
young servant who suggested that they resort to the available refuge providentially at hand - the
city of Jebus. The Levite, with all apparent wisdom, chose rather to press on to a true Israelite
settlement - either Gibeah or Ramah; for he distrusted the prospect of lodging among idolaters.
By the time the travelers covered the short distance from Jebus to Gibeah, they were forced to
stop by total nightfall; yet, ironically among their own, no one offered hospitality. The natural
fall of darkness was matched by a surprising unnatural social darkness. Still, an old man from the
Levite's homeland took them in and cared for all their needs.
The mix of irony and providence is something which all human beings experience in our present
existence. Sometimes, we find that people or events oppose whatever we seek to do, but other
times, matters seem to come together so as to promote our accomplishments and progress. At
some junctures, we find that we are able to perceive the hand of God in ironic turns of events or
providential coincidences. On other occasions, it seems that God has withdrawn His protective
hand from every aspect of our best choices and efforts. How then do we proceed when there are
no certain indications of the best path, the God-pleasing way ahead?
First, Christians should consider the societies in which we find ourselves. Let each one of us
realize that increasingly the communities of the contemporary world are best described as
"pluralistic," meaning that their members are of diverse ethnic, racial, religious, and social
groups, each with special interests and values within larger shared civilizations. Such diversity
marks the majority of world's nation states whose boundaries often have been arbitrarily set by
fortuitous events or accidents of history. This certainly was true of Palestine in the age of the
Judges, a land in which the twelve tribes of Israel were scattered among a number of pagan
Canaanite peoples. For the Levite to seek for shelter among Israelites of the tribe of Benjamin
was by all appearances much the better plan, far better than risking himself and his companions
among Jebusites, a community of practicing idolaters who knew not the Law of God.
Second, the thoughtful, God-fearing person ought never to forget that all human beings are fallen,
wounded by sin and death, and liable to wrong-doing despite the teachings of their family, tribe,
and religion. It is possible to receive God-pleasing treatment among foreigners and to fare ill at
the hands of those of our own Faith and kind. The poor Levite and his companions discovered
that the people of Benjamin did not even maintain the barest regard for hospitality. Finally, let
none of us who call ourselves Christians place ultimate trust in man, but in God alone. As the
Prophet David declares: "in God have I put my hope, I will not fear what man shall do unto me"
(Ps. 55:10 LXX). Why not fear what man can do? Men do terrible things! Before God it is
better to trust in Him and never trust in men, for our relationship with God has eternal
consequence, even if men should shun, abuse, or kill us.
My God is my helper, and I will hope in Him, my defender, and the horn of my salvation, and my
helper. With praise will I call upon the Name of the Lord. (Ps. 17:2,3 LXX).
Thurs, Nov. 18, 2004 Nativity Fast
Martyrs Platon, Romanos, Zacchaeos & Anastasios
Kellia: Judges 19:22-28 Epistle: 2 Thessalonians 2:13-3:5 Gospel: St. Luke 13:1-9
Judges 19:22-28, especially vs. 22: "And they [the old man and his
guests] were comforting their hearts, when behold, the men of the city, sons of transgressors,
compassed the house, knocking at the door; and they spoke to the old man the owner of the
house, saying, 'Bring out the man who came into they house, that we may know him.'" In his
essay, Terrorism: The Ritual of the Devil, Harun Yabya, says plainly that "the Devil....is often
behind certain events which impel human societies into disaster and which cause harm to the
innocent." Could this grizzly instance of violated hospitality have been anything less than a work
of Satan? Only those who already have wholly given over control of their lives to the enemy
could even consider such actions as the men of Gibeah carried out.
What light does God reveal to our hearts from this terrible record of despicable events? First is
the knowledge that the revulsion and grief which arises in us as we read of blatant evil is ours by
the grace of God through Whom "we have the mind of Christ" (1 Cor 2:16). Second, our Lord
kindly is warning us to turn away from the first hints of craving by our passions, for He knows
well the weakness of our flesh before the power of the evil one. Being Lover of mankind, He
would save us from maniacal corruption. Third, the Lord contrasts the beauty and warmth of
genuine hospitality with a most terrifying account of violated hospitality so that, anticipating
sudden reversals in this life, we may receive whatever happens with peace of heart and soul,
knowing that even the worst comes to us by Divine allowance.
Horror and repugnance are healthy responses to unbounded depredation. If a hostage is beheaded
by a fanatic, the feelings of grief, loathing, and anger are God-given. They are evidence of His
grace at work in us. However, if we couple the revulsion, which God in His grace places in our
hearts, with hatred toward the killers, we spoil and waste the grace by which we are able to detest
evil. And if we are proud that we never would participate in violent acts of savagery, let us
reconsider and confess our sin of pride to God and acknowledge the weakness in our flesh that
could allow us to join in some vicious mob action. The gift of the "mind of Christ" is just that - a
gift, a blessing from God to keep us far from terrible feelings and actions engendered by Satan.
We think of St. Paul as an example and proponent of every effort to attain "love, joy, peace,
longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" (Gal 5:22-23) , yet he
calls himself "chief" among sinners (1 Tim. 1:15). Are we better than the great Apostle to the
Gentiles? It is fearsome to face one's capacity for barbarity and mania, yet blessed is the
Christian who encounters the power of evil to stir the heart and repents for his own readiness to
take up "the first stone" (Jn 8:7).
Let us pray for the grace of God to keep us from every sin and to be unceasingly watchful over
our hearts, ready to reject every suggestion from the Devil to indulge our passions. The old man,
who provided hospitality to the travelers who came in innocence, was ready even to offer his
virgin daughter, but the Levite intervened to save the maiden by "[laying] hold of his concubine,
and [bringing] her out" to the crazed men of Gibeah (Jdgs 19:25). Both the old man and the
Levite knew that hospitality is sacred and inviolable.
Finally, let us ever be aware of how quickly pleasantry and good times can become shattered and
thrown into the past, as when a terrorist walks into a wedding party and blows himself up. The
comfort of heart enjoyed by those in the old man's home was rudely ended by the demands of the
mob at the door to "know" the stranger (vs. 22). Still, as Metropolitan Philaret has taught us,
when reversals intrude, let us pray God to "teach us to treat all that comes to us throughout the
day with peace of soul and with firm conviction that Thy will governs all."
Friday, November 19, 2004 Nativity Fast
The Holy Prophet Obadiah
1st V Pres Theotokos: Exodus 40:1-5, 9-10, 16, 34-35 Epistle: 2 Thessalonians 3:6-18
Gospel: St. Luke 13:11-35
Exodus 40:1-5, 9-10, 16, 34-35 RSV, especially vss.1-3: "The
Lord said to Moses, 'On the first day of the first month you shall erect the tabernacle of the tent
of meeting. And you shall put in it the ark of the testimony, and you shall screen the ark with the
veil.'" One of the hymns at the Vespers of the Feast of the Entrance of the Theotokos declares:
"Today the living temple of holy glory, the glory of Christ our God, who alone is blessed and
undefiled, is presented in the Mosaic Temple, to live in its holy precincts. Wherefore, Joachim
and Anna rejoice now with her in spirit, and the ranks of virgins praise the Lord with songs
honoring His Mother." Of course, the "living temple," of whom the hymn speaks, is the Holy
Virgin Mary, the Mother of our Lord and God and Savior, Jesus Christ.
The event described in the hymn is Saint Mary's entrance as a three year old child into the
precincts of the ancient Jewish Temple in Jerusalem to remain there in residence through her
youth. The details of the occasion are recorded in two apocryphal gospels, Pseudo-James and
Pseudo-Matthew, pious literature written in Syria perhaps as early as the second century AD, but
no later than the fourth century AD.
The apocryphal gospel of Pseudo-James begins its narrative with Mary's conception and birth as
an answer to the fasting, prayers, and devout offerings of her heretofore barren parents. Her
mother, Anna, childless after many years of marriage, vowed before an angel of the Lord that "if I
beget either male or female, I will bring it as a gift to the Lord my God; and it shall minister to
Him in holy things all the days of its life." At this same time, Joachim, Mary's father, after a
long, forty-day fast in the desert, was told by an angel, "the Lord God hath heard thy prayers. Go
down hence; for, behold, thy wife Anna shall conceive." And Anna brought forth a girl-child.
When the child was one year old, "Joachim made a great feast and invited the priests, and the
scribes, and the elders and all the people of Israel; and they blessed her, saying: O God of our
fathers, bless this child, and give her an everlasting name to be named in all generations." Then,
when the child was two years of age, the couple decided to wait one more year before taking her
to the Temple to give her to the Lord. Finally, in Mary's third year, "Joachim said: Invite the
daughters of the Hebrews that are undefiled, and let them take each a lamp, and let them stand
with the lamps burning, that the child may not turn back, and her heart be captivated from the
Temple of the Lord."
At the Temple, she did not turn back, but entered joyfully as "the priest received her, and kissed
her, and blessed her saying....In thee on the last of the days, the Lord will manifest His
redemption to the sons of Israel. And," as the narrative notes, "Mary was in the Temple of the
Lord as if she were a dove that dwelt there" until she was twelve when she was put into the care
of the noble widower, Joseph, who received her and provided for her under the Lord's protection.
The vesperal reading from Exodus describes how the very first and all of the subsequent
Tabernacles, or Temples of the Lord, were to be arranged, all in accordance with the word of the
Lord to the Prophet Moses, their devoted nature being manifested by their anointing, that they
should "become holy" (vs. 9). In the heart of the tabernacle, Moses was to place the ark of the
testimony, screened off and separated from common view with a veil (vs. 3). These
arrangements form a type of the life of the Holy Virgin Mary herself, the "Maiden of God, the
Theotokos" who was "forechosen from all generations for the abode of Christ, King of All."
Let us praise her with songs who hath been manifest as Theotokos, for today she is offered to the
Lord in the Temple as a child, as spiritual fruit to the righteous God.
Saturday, November 20, 2004 Fish, Wine, and Oil
Gregory of Decapolis
2nd Vesp Pres Theotokos: 1 Kings 7:51; 8:1, 3-7, 9-11 Epistle: Gal 1:1-10
Gospel: St. Luke 9:37-43
1 Kings 7:51; 8:1, 3-7, 9-11, especially vs. 6: "Then the priests brought
the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place, in the inner sanctuary of the house, in the most
holy place, underneath the wings of the cherubim." Like the first reading for the Feast, from
Exodus, this second reading returns our vision to the resting place of the ark of the covenant, to
the "inner sanctuary," the "most holy place" in the Temple of the Lord. The imagery in these
passages leads our hearts and minds to a glorious reverence before the Lord our God Who chose
our Lady, the most holy Theotokos and ever Virgin Mary, as His resting place among us.
The present reading firmly reminds us that Mary, the virgin mother of the Lord, was every bit a
human being like any one of our race. This was necessary, so that when "the power of the
Highest" overshadowed her (Lk. 1:35), He might draw from her body and blood a full, complete,
human nature, exactly like ours in every respect - except without sin (Heb. 4:15).
What was this Temple, which today we recognize as a type of the Virgin? It was the best men
could construct, yet, in every respect, still a fabrication of mortal, fallible men. Hence, it was the
best which the ancient People of God could fashion from their accumulated treasures. The
essential design of it had been given to the Prophet Moses by God on the Holy Mountain of Sinai
(see Ex. 40), Israel's greatest Kings provided for it (1 Kngs. 7:51), and the finest craftsmen
constructed it, sparing nothing. As the best of humanity could produce went into the building, so
God selected from among human women the very best, the most pure, to be His mother.
Notice that "when all the work...on the house of the Lord was finished" (vs. 7:51), the ark of the
Lord was brought to its rightful place, "in the inner sanctuary of the house, in the most holy
place" (vs. 8:6). Recall that under the Old Covenant, the ark of the Lord contained nothing but
"the two tables of stone which Moses put there at Horeb" (vs. 8:9). The ark was the unique,
tangible symbol of the Lord's bond with His People, that they were His People and that He was
their God forever.
Of course, under the New Covenant, the Lord Jesus Christ, the son of Mary, is the eternal bond
between God and His People. All of us who "were baptized into Christ have put on Christ" (Gal.
3:27), therefore without hesitation we may rejoice and say, "Christ is in our midst: He is and ever
shall be." Understand: by taking up residence "in the inner sanctuary" of her body, the Lord
Jesus, the eternal Word of God, transformed Mary's womb into a "most holy place," a throne for
Himself. We have in Him an indestructible meeting place between our fallen race and the Holy
God upon Whom no one, angels or men, may gaze. However, we may look upon Christ Jesus
and behold for ourselves the Godhead precisely as He said to Philip (Jn. 14:8,9).
For this reason, the Church, through centuries of liturgical, theological, and historical
development, defended, as especially appropriate to Mary, the title, "Theotokos": - "Theos", that
is, "God," and "tokos," meaning, "a bringing forth" or "a birth-giver" - in very simple terms,
"the Birth Giver of God." The "ark" that God made of her womb differed radically from the ark
that was placed in the Temple of Solomon, for in Mary, God was Incarnate: The Man for all men.
This passage, celebrating Mary's entrance into the former Temple, reminds us that, as the priests
of old "could not stand to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house
of the Lord" (1 Kngs. 8:11), so we too ought to fall down before Him Who set aside His glory to
be born of the Virgin maid and to magnify her who contained the Uncontainable.
More honorable than the Cherubim, and more glorious beyond compare than the Seraphim, thou
who without stain bearest God the Word, and art truly Theotokos, we magnify thee.
Sunday, November 21, 2004 Fish, Wine, & Oil (Tone 8)
Presentation of the Theotokos
3rd Vesp Presentation: Ezekiel 43:27-44:4 Epistle: Hebrews 9:1-7
Gospel: St. Luke 10:38-42; 11:27-28
Ezekiel 43:27-44:4, especially vs. 2: "And He said to me,
"This gate shall remain shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it; for the Lord,
the God of Israel, has entered by it; therefore it shall remain shut." At the heart of Christian life
is the mystery of the Incarnation of God the Son. Uncreated from before time, being eternally
begotten of God the Father - without mother - He condescended to enter time as a man and here
to be born of a human mother, the most holy Theotokos, the Birthgiver of God. How such a
temporal entry was effected by the Eternal Word Himself is ineffable.
That is, how "He humbled Himself" (Phil. 2:8), and "was seen with our [human] eyes...and [how]
our hands have handled...the Word of life" (1 Jn. 1:1) is a reality incapable of being explained in
any human language. In Metropolitan Hierotheos' words, the Incarnation is inexpressible in
human terms, "just because there is an enormous difference between the uncreated and the
created." Hence, "the union of created human nature with uncreated nature in the Person of the
Word is...where the mystery is seen, as well as the impossibility of man's reason to interpret it."
Without doubt, to speak of the birth of God the Word in time was what led St. John of Damaskos
to say, "Without abasement He humbled His unhumiliated height." St. John's thought helps us
consider the particulars - the cave, the manger, and gestation in a woman's womb - which, in
turn, permits consideration of the ecstatic vision of St. Andrew of Crete: "O strange wonder!
God in a woman's womb, He Whose throne is heaven and Whose footstool is the earth. God in
the womb, the supracelestial Sharer of the everlasting throne of the Father." As Metropolitan
Hierotheos says of the Virgin, "The Son and Word of God became a full man, assumed the whole
human flesh in order to deify it. But this took place outside the laws of nature. Therefore in a
troparion of the Church we are told: 'Having conceived God in ways past understanding, O
Maiden, thou hast escaped from the ordinances of nature.'" Here is another mystery, not just the
Incarnation, but a related mystery - the person of the Theotokos herself.
Ezekiel the Prophet was permitted to foresee this mystery of the Theotokos in the midst of the
entire, sweeping, Divine vision of the Messianic age, including the perfect Temple and its new
worship (Ezk. 40:1-48:35). In symbolic language, the Prophet foretells the mystery inherent
specifically in the Theotokos whose name, as St. John of Damaskos notes, "constitutes the entire
mystery of the economy" of God for the salvation and deification of man. She is the "sanctuary"
(Ezk. 44:1), "which the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered" (vs. 2), and the "temple" which "the
glory of the Lord filled" with His ineffable presence.
Listen to Metropolitan Hierotheos: "For just this reason the holy Fathers insist on the theology
concerning the person of the Theotokos and sing her praises and glorify her. She is the 'key' to
the experience of the Incarnation of the Word of God, as well as the deification of man....All that
has been said should help us to our personal annunciation. The good news is that after the
Incarnation of Christ there is the possibility of our becoming members of the deified Body of
Christ." Let us seek the prayers of the Theotokos; for God also offers us the grace of Christ's
indwelling, the hope of attaining that for which Eve grasped sinfully by her own will.
The Holy Virgin, without blemish, revealed deification. Her entry into the earthly Temple was
the beginning of her deification and permitted her to serve as the gate of entry for the Lord, which
"shall remain shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it" (vs. 2).
Today the Virgin...is led to the temple, to become the habitation of God the King of all, Who
sustains our life. Today...the most pure Sanctuary is led into the Holy of Holies.
Monday, November 22, 2004 Nativity Fast
Hieromartyr Sisinios
Kellia: Judges 19:27-20:11 Epistle: 1 Timothy 1:1-7 Gospel: St. Luke 14:12-15
Judges 19:27-20 11 LXX, especially vss. 8, 9: "And all the people
rose up as one man, saying, No one of us shall return to his tent, and no one of us shall return to
his house. And now this is the thing which shall be done in Gibeah: we will go up against it by
lot." When the Lord God gave the Law of His Covenant through Moses to the People of Israel at
Sinai, He ratified His commitment to the covenant with them by declaring to Moses: "And thou
shalt serve the Lord thy God, and I will bless thy bread and thy wine and thy water and I will turn
away sickness from you" (Ex. 23:25). "And Moses went in and related to the people all the
words of God and the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice, saying, 'All the
words which the Lord has spoken we will do and be obedient'" (Ex. 24:3). This covenanting
between God and His People was solemnly ratified by God by "the appearance of the glory of the
Lord was as a burning fire on the top of the mountain before the children of Israel" (Ex. 24:17).
Among the statutes found in the Old Covenant applicable to the barbaric events at Gibeah of
Benjamin are those obvious ones from the Ten Commandments: "Thou shalt not commit
adultery" (Ex. 20:13) and "Thou shalt not kill" (Ex. 20:15). In addition, we ought also to note
these additional specific ordinances: "If [a female slave] be not pleasing to her master, after she
has betrothed herself to him [as in the case of the concubine], he shall let her go free." (Ex. 21:7).
"Thou shalt not associate with the multitude for evil" (Ex. 23:2), "Thou shalt abstain from every
unjust thing: thou shalt not slay the innocent and just" (Ex. 23:7). "And ye shall not afflict a
stranger, for ye know the heart of a stranger; for ye were yourselves strangers in the land of
Egypt" (Ex. 23:9). This extract from the Law makes perfectly obvious the reason for the violent
grief of the Levite and the outrage of the people of Israel against the men of Gibeah of Benjamin.
The present reading calls what happened "wickedness" (Jdgs. 20:3), "lewdness" and
"abomination" (vs. 20:6). "Abomination" is appropriate because the actions of the mob in Gibeah
against the home and guests of the old man from "the hill country of Ephraim" (Jdgs. 19:16-18)
were direct violations of the Divine Covenant. In essence the mob acted without regard to the
universal law of God the Lord which applies to all men at all times everywhere. Their behavior is
aptly called "wickedness" because the men of Gibeah intended to act and behaved in "a manner
likely to cause harm, distress, trouble, and loss of life" - the language of the dictionary definition
of "wickedness." "Lewdness" applies especially since the gang rape intended against the Levite
(Jdgs 19:22) and carried out against the concubine (Jdgs 19:25) was sexually unchaste and
grossly obscene.
All Israel heard the facts of this case which breached the brotherhood of the people of God (Jdgs.
20:3-6), took counsel before the Lord (vs. 20:2), and laid a plan to deal with the perpetrators (vss.
20:8-10). Let us note that they were unanimous in their response and judgment (vss. 20:1,11).
What is more, their plan was formed squarely within the boundaries of the Divine Law given
through Moses: "eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for burning,
wound for wound, stripe for stripe" (Ex. 21:24). While for Christians interpersonally (Mt. 5:38)
the later, higher standard raised by our Lord Jesus Christ eschews this earlier standard, societies
world-wide, including Orthodox nations, still consider such acts worthy of punishment in kind, as
the Orthodox Study Bible notes: "This teaching [of the Lord] does not...contradict a state's right
to protect its citizens and to punish criminals."
Almighty God, bless all human courts of justice and give unto them the spirit of wisdom and
understanding to discern truth and impartially administer the law in the fear of Thee alone.
Tuesday, November 23, 2004 Nativity Fast
Gregory, Bishop of Agrigentum
Kellia: Judges 20:12-44 Epistle: 1 Timothy 1:8-14 Gospel: St. Luke 14:25-35
Judges 20:12-44, especially vss. 12, 13: "And the tribes of Israel sent
men through the whole tribe of Benjamin, saying, What is this wickedness that has been wrought
among you? Now then give up the men the sons of transgressors that are in Gibeah, and we will
put them to death, and the children of Benjamin consented not to hearken to the voice of their
brethren the children of Israel." Sir Walter Scott in his novel, Guy Mannering, provided
English speakers with the famous saying: "Blood is thicker than water." In this present passage,
we have an instance of the truth in that aphorism, but the truth was attended with the most terrible
consequences for the whole ancient people of God. First, with due restraint, Israel sought to
punish only the men who committed the vile atrocity against the concubine of the Levite from the
hill country of Ephraim, for, after counsel, they asked that just "the sons of transgressors" from
Gibeah be surrendered for execution (vs. 13). However, all the men of the tribe of Benjamin
joined in the guilt of the crime at Gibeah by refusing to surrender the culprits (vs. 13) and, worse,
by then going to their defense (vs. 14). The larger bond of brotherhood among the twelve tribes
of Israel was rejected and sorely tested by the Benjaminites as they favored a few men of their
own tribe, despite their being guilty of a most heinous crime (Jdgs. 19:22-28).
The community of Israel could not let the offense rest, for, thereby, they would have exposed all
the tribes to the judgment of God for not addressing the sin in their midst. The entire nation
would have become subject to the sort of consequences that befell the city of Sodom for similar
wickedness. God had, after all, made it quite clear: "if thou wilt not hearken to the voice of the
Lord thy God, to observe all His commandments...cursed shalt thou be" (Deut. 28:15,16). Civil
war among the tribes became inevitable.
What seems surprising is that Israel suffered terrible casualties in the first two battles at the hands
of the men of Benjamin (Jdgs. 20:20-25). Israel's losses came despite the fact that they had
consulted the Lord before taking action (vs. 18). In 'body count' alone, the majority, in seeking
to rectify the wrongs committed in Gibeah, paid a heavy price; and the decision of the
Benjaminites to resist on behalf of the small group of men at Gibeah deeply tested the bonds of
brotherhood among the twelve tribes, down finally to the very survival of Benjamin (vss. 35,44).
There is no predicting what happens when the bonds of brotherhood are tested. A numerically
small initial tragedy can widen into wholesale losses beyond what any could imagine at the
outset. Such was true in the American Civil War, which most felt would be ended soon and
settled with little bloodshed. How wrong that prediction proved to be!
The reader should note that God does not restrain His People in their prayerful efforts to set
injustices right, even when the cost runs very high. It would seem that the Lord would have us all
understand the pain of breaching and testing the bonds of brotherhood. Let those who would
carelessly or brashly offend their brethren, split parishes, or alienate fellow Orthodox Christians,
take heed lest they unleash worse outcomes by their deeds.
One of the important lessons to be learned from the series of battles between Israel and Benjamin
at Gibeah is the need of those who would correct injustice to maintain a prayerful stance before
God as events unfold in the process of settlement. Israel went back repeatedly to stand before the
Lord and to enquire of Him how to proceed (Jdgs 20:8-11,18,23,26; 21:3). Let us not plunge
ahead heedlessly once a course of action is chosen, but remain ever open to God.
Direct us, O Lord, in all we do with Thy most gracious favor, and further us with Thy continual
help, that in all our works, begun, continued and ended in Thee, we may glorify Thee.
Wednesday, November 24, 2004 Nativity Fast
Clement, Pope of Rome
Kellia: Judges 21:1-23 Epistle: 1 Timothy 1:18-20; 2:8-15 Gospel: St. Luke 15:1-10
Judges 21:1-23, especially vss. 6, 7: "And the children of Israel
relented toward Benjamin their brother, and said, Today one tribe is cut off from Israel. What
shall we do for wives for the rest that remain? whereas we have sworn by the Lord, not to give
them of our daughters for wives?" When the flush of battle subsides and there is time to
consider what has occurred, for those on both sides - victors and vanquished alike - there are
choices. After the civil war in Israel between the eleven tribes and the twelfth tribe, Benjamin, a
serious issue faced the People of God as a whole. The Lord their God had chosen them as one
nation composed of twelve tribes, related to each other as descendants of the twelve sons of
Jacob (also called Israel). However, in the aftermath of the recent conflict "one tribe [was] cut
off from Israel" (vs. 6). National wholeness was shredded.
What could be done to correct the loss of the tribe of Benjamin? (vs. 7). This was the critical
question. Since the conflict had been a holy war, a series of battles carried out strictly in the fear
of the Lord, under His Law and guided by His counsel, the rule of 'herem' - the total destruction
of everything and everyone - had been applied to Benjamin for their complicity in an horrendous
crime against the laws of hospitality, the sanctity of marriage, and the requirement to protect the
stranger (Jdgs. 20:43-48). The decimation had been thorough, but not absolute; for, we are told,
there were able-bodied survivors from the tribe of Benjamin who "turned and fled to the
wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, even six hundred men; and they sojourned four months in the
rock of Rimmon" (Jdgs 20:47). These six hundred men were survivors by the providence of God
and despite the elimination of all the towns and population of the territory of Benjamin.
Brotherhood may not be restored until there is repentance among the human participants; and the
best of the good news that came out of the ancient civil war among God's people was repentance
on the part of the victors from the eleven tribes: "The children of Israel relented toward Benjamin
their brother" (Jdgs 21:6). However, in the heat of the conflict, a solemn oath had been taken:
"No man...shall give his daughter to Benjamin for a wife" (vs.1). Still, where God gives a will,
solutions can and do emerge. Two solutions were found for the repopulation of Benjamin, both
aimed at the central issue - the lack of wives for the six-hundred survivors. First, if there were
those who did not join in the national oath to make Benjamin 'herem' to the Lord, daughters from
them might serve as wives for the Benjaminites. However, those who did not join with the nation
were tainted by their refusal to cleanse the nation of the breach against brotherhood. This was the
case with Jabesh-Gilead, and so that community was targeted for punishment by smiting "the
inhabitants...with the edge of the sword....every male and every woman that has known the lying
with man [being devoted] to destruction" (vss. 10,11). However, an exception was in the case of
"the virgins" of Jabesh-Gilead; they should be saved "alive" (vs. 11). These young women were
eligible for marriage and also innocent of the failure to join with Israel in its holy war against the
tribe of Benjamin.
Second, if the men of Benjamin somehow could seize virgin daughters from a community in
Israel 'fairly,' then there would be no giving "to Benjamin for a wife" (vs. 1). An annual festival
to God at Shiloh provided just such an opportunity, for it was an occasion when young virgins
were allowed to dance without close supervision; and so the elders of Israel commanded the
Benjaminites to seize wives at the feast, guaranteeing their safety in doing so (vss. 21-22).
O Christ our Savior, by the power of the Holy Spirit, break down the walls that separate men
from one another and unite all in bonds of love, accomplishing Thy purpose on earth.
Thursday, November 25, 2004 Nativity Fast
Great Martyr Katherine the All-Wise
For Thanksgiving: 1 Chronicles 16:7-34 Epistle: Galatians 3:23-4:4
Gospel: St. Mark 5:24-34
1 Chronicles 16:7-34, especially vs. 34: "O give thanks to the Lord, for He is
good; for His steadfast love endures for ever!" The admonition to give thanks to the Lord is
found all through Holy Scripture and the writings of the Fathers. The Apostle Paul lifted
thanksgiving up as the single appropriate constant for life: "In everything give thanks" (1 Thess.
5:18). Today's reading shows that King David directed Asaph to lead the entire People of God in
songs of thanksgiving, and he had reason to do so. For from the time he was thirty years old, as
he ruled over his own tribe of Judah for seven and a half years, he endured a painful civil war
with loyalists of the former king, Saul. Finally, when that war ended, all twelve of the tribes of
Israel asked him to rule over them. Soon afterwards, David moved to a new capital at Jerusalem
and brought the ark of the Lord into the city. On that day, as Scripture notes, "David perceived
that the Lord had established him king over Israel, and that He had exalted his kingdom for the
sake of His people Israel" (2 Sam. 5:12).
This song of thanksgiving from that day not only exhorts us to "give thanks to the Lord" (1
Chron. 16:8) and provides gracious words for our lips, but being a psalm of high gratitude reveals
the basic elements that constitute a complete thanksgiving: 1) an appeal to join in giving thanks
(vss. 7-12), 2) a remembrance of God's wonderful works (vss. 13-22), 3) an exaltation in the
good and gracious God Who is glorious above all things (vss. 23-28), and 4) a self-offering to
God in holy worship (vss. 29-34). "O give thanks to the Lord, call on His Name" (vs. 8)!
The psalm of Thanksgiving begins with an invocation, an appeal to all who will listen to join in
giving thanks to God. It is no routine command, but rather a joyous invitation from one filled
with thanksgiving who offers a half-dozen reasons for expressing gratitude: he speaks of God's
"deeds," of being grateful that the Lord acts on our behalf (vs. 8). The singer knows how
praiseworthy God is (vs. 9). To evoke the Name of God is to touch Divine power (vs. 9). The
invocation assures those who are seeking the Lord that they may rejoice, for God reveals Himself
(vs. 10). Having known the Lord himself, the Psalmist encourages us to seek Him and to do so
"continually" (vs. 11). Does anyone feel weak? Seek the source of true strength (vs. 11)!
Thanksgiving in Scripture is inseparably yoked with remembrance. In the Septuagint (LXX)
version, the Greek word, "remember" (vs. 12) is based on the same root as the word which the
Lord used at the Mystical Supper on the night in which He was betrayed - when He said, "Do
This in remembrance of Me" (1 Cor 11:24,25). There is so much that God has done and is doing
and promises to do! He not only utters judgments, but visibly accomplishes them on the earth
(vss. 12,14). Having chosen us, He continues to shower us with inexpressible gifts (vss. 13,15).
While the world finds us insignificant, remember that God does not (vss. 16-22). Should anyone
ask "Who does all these things?", let the psalm tell us of the incomparable God, "the Lord [of] all
the earth!" (vs. 23). He is the Savior of all nations and peoples (vss. 23,24). No creation of man,
no idol or "god" can be measured against Him Who is the Creator of all (vss. 25,26). Honor,
majesty, strength, joy and glory are "due His Name" (vss. 27,28).
In the most natural way imaginable, the singer concludes this thanksgiving with an appeal to
offer ourselves to God, to worship Him in awe and trembling (vss. 29,30). He appeals to all who
are on earth, to the heavens, to every creature on land and sea and air (vss. 30-33). Indeed, "give
thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His steadfast love endures for ever!" (vs. 34).
Having partaken of the divine, holy, immaculate, immortal, heavenly, life-giving and dread
Mysteries of Christ, let us worthily give thanks unto the Lord!
Friday, November 26, 2004 Nativity Fast
New Martyr George of Chios
Kellia: 2 Kings 4:8-17 Epistle: 1 Timothy 4:4-8, 16 Gospel: St. Luke 16:15-18; 17:1-4
2 Kings 4:8-17 MT ~ 4 Kings 4:8-17 LXX, especially vs. 13:
"'Behold, thou hast taken all this trouble for us: what should I do for thee? Hast thou any
request to make to the king, or to the captain of the host?' And she said, 'I dwell in the midst of
my people.'" St. Maximos the Confessor identifies five reasons why "men love one another
commendably or reprehensibly...1) for the sake of God, as the virtuous man loves everyone, and
as the man not yet virtuous loves the virtuous...2) by nature, as parents love their children and
children their parents...3) because of self-esteem...4) because of avarice...or 5) because of self-indulgence....The first of these is commendable, the second is of an intermediate kind, the rest are
dominated by passion." Can we discern that the kindness of the Shunammite woman in feeding
and providing shelter for the Prophet Elisha and Gehazi his servant falls into the category of the
work of a virtuous person for the sake of God? It probably seems so upon a quick reading.
Notice that the great lady from Shunem was careful to point out to her husband, "I know that this
is a holy man of God" (vs. 9), and thus it would appear that her motivation for helping Elisha was
related to his being God's servant. In addition, she probably understood that to serve a man of
God expressed love for God Himself. In support of this conclusion, note that her provision for
the Prophet fit the standards for charitable actions given elsewhere by St. Maximos: "The work
of love is the deliberate doing of good to one's neighbor as well as long-suffering and patience
and the use of all things in the proper way." In constraining Elisha she exhibited deliberation as
well as in seeking her husband's agreement to expand their hospitality (vss. 8-10). Food and
lodging were provided properly and with due care. Her patience is implied by the manner in
which she came to Elisha and stood before him whenever asked (vss. 12,15).
Still - solely on the basis of the verses we have noted above - we cannot be absolutely sure; one
might conclude she had unrevealed desires for self-esteem or personal gain. However, if Elisha
was uncertain in himself about her inner agenda, his question to the woman and his probing of
Gehazi about her, clearly revealed her motive as virtuous love for others. She did not take
advantage of the offer to have Elisha put in a good word for her to those in high station; but
rather, she was satisfied with her life among her own people in Shunem (vs. 13). What finally
confirms the conclusion that her motive was pure is that she did not even seek the Prophet's
prayers for her, that she might have a child. Only later would her longing for a child appear (vs.
16). Gehazi most likely surmised her desire for a child because of the age difference between the
lady and her husband - given the standards of ancient society (vs. 14).
St. Theophan notes that "you must indeed love your neighbor, but your love must not cause harm
to your soul. Do all your works in a manner simple and holy, with nothing in view, except to
please God." A careful reading of the passage allows us not only to discern the deep purity of the
motives of the Shunammite, but, as we read the passage attentively, we also are struck by the
lady's simple and God-pleasing manner throughout. She offers hospitality lovingly, comes when
bidden, but never seeks for herself and even quails at the Prophet's declaration that she will have
a child.
Let us feel most confident in discerning a deep love for God in the Shunammite's actions. Does
she not match St. Theodore the Ascetic's declaration about those who love God - that since "God
is love, he who has love has God within himself"?
O My Creator, cleanse my soul, and hallow Thou my thoughts. Establish me wholly in Thy fear.
Adorn me, teach and enlighten me. Show me to be a dwelling place of Thy Spirit.
Saturday, November 27, 2004 Fish, Wine, & Oil
Great-Martyr James the Persian
Kellia: 2 Kings 4:18-25a Epistle: Galatians 3:8-12 Gospel: St. Luke 9:57-62
2 Kings 4:18-25a MT ~ 4 Kings 4:18-25a LXX, especially vs. 23:
"And he said, Why art thou going to him today? It is neither new moon, nor sabbath. And she
said, It is well." Lifting out this verse from the exchange between the Shunammite woman and
her husband draws us into a consideration of faith, or trust, and its nature. Many things transpire
in this interchange: the wife expresses her concern to leave for Mount Carmel with the utmost
speed. The husband expresses his puzzlement at the need to meet with the man of God on an
ordinary day of no special consequence that he is able to recall - neither the time for the religious
feast of the new moon nor the weekly sabbath. She mollifies any latent concern on his part by
assuring her husband, "It is well," in case he should link her journey to the earlier complaints of
their son - that his head hurt (vs. 19). How shall we understand the trust of the husband in his
wife? What shall we make of her trust in God and in His Prophet, the man of God, Elisha, given
that her son lay dead? How do we understand her comment,"It is well," when the death of the
boy plainly renders the family's life not at all well? Can we discern in her a functional trust in
her husband when she mollifies him with a statement contrary to fact? Let us see!
The basic fabric of marital and family life either is suffused with mutual trust or else these natural
bonds shred and fail. The same is true for every person in relationship with God. Again, the
marriage of the unnamed man and woman from Shunem reflects an abiding trust of the partners
in one another. There was no objection or resistance on the part of the husband when his wife fed
the Prophet during Elisha's regular visits to their community and home (4 Kngs 4:8). Note
further that she made no special effort toward her husband to 'sweeten' the proposal that they
provide lodging for the man of God and Gehazi his servant (4 Kngs 4:9,10). On the basis of her
trust in her husband, she simply proposed "an upper chamber," it came to be, and continued as a
place of respite for the wandering holy man.
In the present passage, this same evidence of trust between the Shunammite and her husband
continues. When their young son complains of a headache, the father has a servant take him
immediately to his mother (4 Kngs 4:19), no doubt trusting that she would supply the nurture
required for his care. A little later, despite the man's puzzlement as to a reason for her sudden
trip to Mount Carmel, she was able to leave with a family servant without objection - as it is said
in the Book of Proverbs, "Her husband is not anxious about those at home" (Prov. 31:21).
What is the nature of such trust between persons? Faith of this type contains underlying, and
usually unspoken, assumptions concerning the performance of another. One is able to rely on a
trusted person only when genuine faith is operative in the relationship. Now consider: a child of
prophetic promise, a gift from God, has died. Although conceived and born in a 'natural' way, he
came to his parents at the word of the man of God, contrary to the Shunammite woman's
expectation (4 Kngs 4:16). In the present instance, the woman's immediate response in the face
of the boy's death reveals her faith in the Prophet and in God for Whom he speaks. She already
had concrete evidence that reinforced her initial perception of Elisha as a man of God (compare 4
Kngs 4:9 and 17). Therefore, she places the boy in Elisha's bed, and sets out to bring the Prophet
to the bedside of the child in the ultimate repose of death.
Let us learn from the kind of faith that we discern in the Shunammite in her loss and pain. She
seeks the aid of God through the intercession of His true Prophet. Can we do less?
O ye Apostles, Martyrs, Prophets, hierarchs, saints and righteous who have kept the Faith, we
beseech you, since ye have favor with the Savior, plead with Him for our sake.
Sunday, November 28, 2004 Fish, Wine, & Oil (Tone 1)
Martyr Irinarchos of Sebaste
Kellia: 4 Kings 4:25b-37 Epistle: Ephesians 5:8-19 Gospel: St. Luke 18:18-27
2 Kings 4:25b-37MT ~ 4 Kings 4:25b-37 LXX, especially vs. 30:
"And the mother of the child said, As the Lord lives and as thy soul lives, I will not leave thee.
And Elisha arose, and went after her." The prayer most frequently offered by Orthodox
Christians is, "Lord have mercy," which is found in a more extended form in the Jesus Prayer,
"Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me a sinner." In the present reading, one hears
the cry for mercy, but, more importantly, discerns the gift of mercy flowing in abundance. The
Shunammite riding intently was seen by Elisha yet a long way off (vs. 25). Christ our God sees
each of us coming to Him for mercy long before we reach him on the heights of heaven. How He
startled Nathaniel: "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you" (Jn.
1:48)! We do well to confess with the Samaritan woman, "see a Man Who told me all things that
I ever did" (Jn. 4:29), for He knows already our need of mercy (see Jn. 5:5,6). As Elisha, for
mercy's sake sent Gehazi to reassure the stricken woman (4 Kngs 4:26), so the Lord sends His
angels to assure us that He is ready to have us come to him (Lk. 2:9-11). Even before He Himself
appears in mercy to assuage our grief, His angels tell us that He is alive and present (Lk. 24:23).
Disciples of the Lord Jesus may not be able to cure our problems (Mt. 17:16), yet when He
comes, we find that He rebukes the demons that plague us (Mt. 17: 18).
Notice how Gehazi imagined to protect His lord from the woman who clutched his feet. He
would have "thrust her away" (4 Kngs. 4:27); but Elisha in mercy discerned that "her soul [was]
much grieved in her" and prevented him (vs. 27). The disciples, likewise, "rebuked" those who
brought little children to Him (Mt. 19:13) until the Lord Jesus with great mercy commanded
them: "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them" (Mt. 19:14). Are we in need
of mercy from the Lord Jesus? He urges us to persist in our quest for mercy, to be like a certain
woman who "by her continual coming" obtained mercy even from an unjust judge (Lk. 18:3-5).
Instead, He tells us in our need for mercy to "ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will
find; knock, and it will be opened to you" (Lk. 11:9), assuring us that "everyone who asks
receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened" (Lk. 11:10).
To confirm God's mercy to the Shunammite woman, Elisha sent Gehazi ahead of him with
careful instructions to "lay my staff on the child's face" (4 Kngs 4:29). Yet, as the Prophet was
approaching, still "there was neither voice nor any hearing" in the boy. Had she lost hope of
mercy, she would have found only a dead child in her home; but she declared, "'As the Lord lives
and as thy soul lives, I will not leave thee.' And Elisha arose, and went after her" (vs. 30).
Likewise, if we will not depart from Christ in seeking mercy from Him, He shall arise and come
with us into our pain; and though He appears neither to speak nor act on our behalf, let us be
certain that He is only waiting for us to evince our faith in His great mercy. He looks for us to go
beyond crying "out to Him, saying, 'Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David!'" (Mt. 15:22),
and to humble ourselves and reveal our deep trust in Him to be merciful (Mt. 15:26, 27).
Elisha "bowed himself on the child seven times" before "the child opened his eyes" (4 Kngs
4:35). Christ is ever working upon our needs, even as we wait to discern His mercy. The waiting
is ours until He calls us for He knows our lack of faith. Remember: "Jesus came..and stood in
the midst, and...said to Thomas, 'Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your
hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving'" (Jn. 20: 26-27).
O Christ, our Light and Resurrection, hear our cry unto Thee, and give us grace to confess that
Thou art our Lord and our God, according to the greatness of Thy mercy.
Monday, November 29, 2004 Nativity Fast
The Venerable Akakios of Sinai
Kellia: 2 Kings 6:8-14 Epistle: 1 Timothy 5:1-10 Gospel: St. Luke 17:20-25
2 Kings 6:8-14 MT ~ 4 Kings 6:8-14 LXX, especially vs. 12: "And
one of his servants said, Nay, my Lord, O king, for Elisha the Prophet that is in Israel reports to
the king of Israel all the words whatsoever thou mayest say to thy bedchamber." Military
wisdom of this present age recognizes the importance of what is called "on the ground"
intelligence for combat success. By this aphorism of current military wisdom, it is meant that
aerial reconnaissance and satellite surveillance, as accurate in detail as they have become
technologically, simply cannot supplant informers who are present in the halls, gatherings, and
councils of an enemy. What is required are agents in place within the key places and councils of
one's opponent. However, the penetration of an enemy's inner circle, where vital decisions are
made, is very risky to the informant who may lose his life for his troubles as a planted agent.
When one realizes that the king of Israel had an informant with all the powers associated with an
"on the ground operative," one can understand why the king of Israel was able repeatedly to
withstand the plans to ambush and overcome him by the Syrians (vs. 10). Of course, the really
impressive truth concerning this informant of the king of Israel was his modus operandi. The
informant, the Prophet Elisha, never left his home in Israel, never sat in on the meetings of the
Syrian command, and yet discerned their plans precisely by means of a gift from God. He was
clairvoyant, but not psychically as that term is used today. His was prophetic insight, a spiritual
endowment given him directly from God. This was all the more unnerving for the king of Syria,
who had become positively paranoid with fears of high-level betrayal (vs. 11). He didn't know
how high!
Let us be clear about Elisha's gift of prophetic insight. He was not, like the High Priests of Israel,
able to gain insight by a blessed form of divination-by-lots using the urim and thummim (see
Deut 33:8,10); and, certainly, he did not use any of the forbidden forms of divination specifically
condemned as demonic by Holy Scripture - necromancy, astrology, dreams, etc. As Metropolitan
Hierotheos Vlachos explains, "Divining and prophecy are indeed two different things: the
Prophet, setting self aside, speaks under Divine inspiration; the diviner for his part starts from
what has already happened, puts his own intelligence to work and foresees many future events, as
an intelligent person normally does. But the difference between them is great: it is the distance
that separates human intelligence from divine grace." The insight which Elisha received came, in
the words of St. Peter of Damaskos, strictly as "a supernatural gift granted for the good of the
community" of the People of God.
Why to Elisha? At least we can say because he was a true Prophet of God, which means that he
was characterized by certain qualities of personality. For one thing, as St. Peter of Damaskos
explains, true "discrimination is born of humility. On its possessor, [true discrimination] confers
spiritual insight, as both Moses and St. John Klimakos say: such a man foresees the hidden
designs of the enemy and foils them before they are put into operation." Along with humility,
love also was required, as St Seraphim of Sarov teaches: "and love is the source of prophecies,
the cause of miracles, a depth of enlightenment, the fountain of divine fire." All these divine
gifts were amply demonstrated by Elisha (4 Kngs 4:8-37).
Given the nature of prophetic insight, let us be diligent to take the counsel of St. John
Chrysostom to heart during the Divine Services: "when prophets are chanting, and apostles
singing hymns, God is discoursing....letters from heaven are being read." Let us be attentive!
Illumine our hearts, O Master, Who lovest mankind, with the pure light of Thy divine knowledge
and open the eyes of our mind to the understanding of Thy Gospel teachings.
Tuesday, November 30, 2004 Nativity Fast
The Apostle Andrew, The First-Called
Kellia: 4 Kings 6:14-23 LXX Epistle: 1 Corinthians 4:9-16 Gospel: St. John 1:35-51STRONG> 2 Kings 6:14-23 MT ~ 4 Kings 6:14-23 LXX, especially vs. 17:
"And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, open, I pray Thee, the eyes of the servant and let him see.
And the Lord opened his eyes, and he saw: and, behold the mountain was full of horses, and
there were chariots of fire round about Elisha." This short account records how it was that a war
between the ancient kingdoms of Syria and Israel was brought to a peaceful conclusion by the use
of godly and spiritual tactics. While on the surface these verses contain some fine humor, they
also place profound lessons before us, that we may come to a better mind - as we pray at
Compline "for those who hate us and those who love us."
The first debt we owe for this passage is the blunt reminder that we live in more than the obvious
dimensions of reality we call the physical universe. Oh, there is so much more! It should be
obvious that there is a psychological dimension that spreads over all human societies and
cultures. Our language and writing systems, our messages, advertisements, non-verbal gestures,
signs, buildings, art - everything we construct - communicates to others. This includes ideas,
whole philosophies, hopes, visions, emotions, and so much else at the psychological level. It is a
whole interpenetrating realm of existence in which we participate as we walk, ride, and run
around; and how much more important it is than the physical artifacts and objects that make up
the material culture around us.
In addition, as this passage reveals, there is a spiritual dimension occupied with non-corporeal
beings (vs. 17); and this realm likewise encompasses our whole experience and life; for we are
not merely physical beings with psychological makeups, but spiritual beings as well that can
communicate and act within the spiritual realm. The Prophet Elisha asked God, Who is Spirit (Jn.
4:24), and Who meets us in the spiritual dimension through our spiritual hearts, to open the eyes
of his servant to see the hosts of the Lord. Likewise, he "prayed to the Lord, and said, 'Smite, I
pray Thee, this people with blindness'" (4 Kngs 4:18), and thus, he was able to lead the Syrians
into the heart of the capital of the nation of Israel, Samaria, and deliver them without a blow to
the king of Israel where "the Lord opened their eyes, and they saw" (vs. 20). See how different are
the rules of engagement in the spiritual realm! As in the physical realm there is warfare in the
spiritual dimension. That is why in Holy Chrismation we pray God to keep each Orthodox
Christian "ever a warrior invincible in every attack of those who assail him and us; and make us
all victors, even unto the end." Prayer is the primary weapon by which we defeat the unseen
enemies, and obtain aid from God in exerting His "trenchant might, speedily [to] crush down
Satan under our feet, and give us victory." Woe to those, like Elisha's servant, who, in spiritual
combat, are unaware of the resources around and available to them.
Our human friends and foes, if they are unaware of the spiritual warfare in which they exist, may
be used as pawns by the real enemy. In any case, human beings are not our primary foes. Our goal
in this life, given the reality of spiritual combat, is that the eyes of all of us - ourselves, our
friends and our foes alike - be opened that we may all see one another as brethren and thus
discern correctly who is the real foe and where the true danger lies for each one. Whatever
necessary tasks armies and police agencies have, beyond all, enlightenment by the power of the
Holy Spirit is the only way to lasting and genuine peace for mankind. To correct, to lead from
spiritual blindness, to forgive, and to bring all to the banquet of the Lord is our labor in Christ.
For the civil authorities of this land, for the welfare of our armed forces, for those who hate us
and those who love us, and for the soul of every Orthodox Christian, Lord, have mercy!
Monday, November 1, 2004
Holy Wonder-working Unmercenaries Cosmas and Damian
Kellia: Judges 14:20-15:20 Epistle: 1 Thessalonians 1:1-5 Gospel: St. Luke 10:22-24
Judges 14:20-15:20, especially vs. 14: "When he came to
Lehi, the Philistines came shouting to meet him; and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon
him, and the ropes which were on his arms became as flax that has caught fire, and his bonds
melted off his hands." The earlier portrait of Samson reveals a man divided between passions
and the call of God upon his life. The Lord's purpose within Samson (Jdg. 13:5) struggled to
break free from the obscuring cloud of his delight in a Philistine woman, but the repeated descent
of the Spirit on him enabled him to respond as a Judge in Israel despite his private desires.
Today's passage traces Samson's growth in God's mission for him. Every Christian, striving
against the passions and laboring with God for purity, will find encouragement here. God does
not abandon His People in their spiritual battles, but strengthens each one to accept the life in
Christ and to walk in that light. Like Samson, the Faithful are sealed with the gift of the Holy
Spirit. Observe how Samson's struggles reveal seven ways that God assists His own.
God permits events in our lives to frustrate what our passions desire. In Samson's case, God
allowed the young man's anger and his withdrawal from his wife (Jdgs. 14:19) to convince her
family to give his bride to his best man as wife, thinking he had divorced her (Jdgs. 14:20; 15:2).
Such frustration of the passions graciously allows one to reassess his desires and his life. When
our passion-driven wills are frustrated, the Lord never forces us to choose the right, but He gives
us the freedom to embrace His higher way. Samson was offered his wife's sister to fulfill his
desires, but he freely chose to follow his life's true vocation. Hence, he attacked the Philistines,
effectively burning up their harvest in their fields and vineyards (Jdgs. 15:3-5). We may always
continue fleeing from God, or we may heed His call and take up the struggle. When we choose
God's higher way, He graciously confirms our choices. The Lord allowed the wicked Philistines
to murder his wife and her family treacherously by arson, revealing their corruption openly to
Samson (vs. 6). That act moved Samson to accept his mission against the Philistines (vs. 7), and
so "he smote them hip and thigh with great slaughter" (vs. 8). As we answer God's call, He
confirms that we have heard correctly.
God blesses our drawing apart to stand before Him in prayer and worship. Samson "went down
and stayed in the cleft of the rock of Etam" (vs. 8). Similarly, the Lord Jesus withdrew for prayer
during His ministry (Lk. 5:16), and Christ blesses us when we take time apart for prayer.
Both during prayer and in changing circumstances, the Lord reveals new occasions for service.
The Philistines attacked the tribe of Judah and, in fear, the men of Judah convinced Samson to
help in their struggle (Jdgs. 15:9-13). Let us remain alert to new directions from God!
The Holy Spirit comes while we are acting in faith and are feeling overwhelmed. One man
bound with ropes, but filled with the Spirit, overcame the Philistines with the jawbone of an ass
(vss. 14-16). The Seventy found "that even the demons" were subject to them in Christ's Name
(Lk. 10:17). Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ (Rom. 8:38,39).
God supplies our spiritual and physical needs when we serve Him faithfully. In his thirst,
Samson appealed to God, Who opened the spring at Lehi for him (Jdgs. 15:18-19). The Lord
regularly extends the Holy Gifts to us, to revive and restore our thirsting hearts.
Thus God enabled Samson to become a judge in Israel (vs. 20). Will He not also give us "all
things good and profitable for our souls" if we trust and obey Him?
O my Creator, show me to be a Tabernacle of Thy Spirit only, that every evil deed and passion
may flee from me as from fire, and show me to be a child of the light.
Tues, Nov. 2, 2004
Martyrs Akindinos, Pegasios, Aphthonios, Elpidophoros, & Anempodistos
Kellia: Judges 16:1-14 Epistle: 1 Thessalonians 1:6-10 Gospel: St. Luke 11:1-10
STRONG> Judges 16:1-14, especially vs. 5: "And the lords of the Philistines came
to [Delilah] and said to her, 'Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lies, and by what
means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to subdue him; and we will each give you
eleven hundred pieces of silver.'" The previous chapter relates that Samson "judged Israel in the
days of the Philistines twenty years" (Jdg. 15:20). Having been put through the school of bitter
experience and the persistent tutelage of the Holy Spirit, Samson seems to have focused on his
Nazirite duties, subsequently devoting himself fully to the service of God. Apparently, he was
able to avoid further distractions caused by his eye for Philistine women.
St. John of the Ladder sagely warns against lowering our guard in the struggle against the
passions, particularly the adversary which he calls "love with love...the material fire." As he
says, "a fox pretends to be asleep, and the body and demons pretend to be chaste; the former in
order to deceive a bird, and the latter in order to destroy a soul." Therefore, "throughout your
life, do not trust your body, and do not rely on it till you stand before Christ." However, after a
long twenty years, Samson's weakness for women returned in a moment when he relaxed his
vigilance. The desires of the flesh, which in his youth the Lord had healed through chastisement
and persistent recall to his true life task, in his mature years led to his famous downfall and death.
Let us explore how this happened to Samson, bringing a sudden end to his career as a Judge
through blindness, imprisonment, and death. Considering Samson's supernatural strength, he
might have guided Israel out of "the hand of the Philistines" (Jdg. 13:1), but that conquest God
would leave for the great King and Prophet David - and that many years later.
The reading begins with a very simple statement - not be overlooked: "Samson went to Gaza"
(Jdg. 16:1). Past experience should have set off alarms in his memory when that impulse to go
among the Philistines arose afresh. But note: the bitter results of the past were not in sufficient
force in his will, nor did he seem to give much thought to the fact that he was on the "most
wanted" list of the Philistines. Alcoholics assert that it is not the first drink that overcomes, but
the entertaining of negative thoughts. No matter! Whatever it was that drew Samson to Gaza, he
went to a place certain to inflame his passions.
The demon of fornication is pitiless, and, as St. John of the Ladder says, "with nature on his side,
he has the best of the argument." In Samson's case he had only to "see" a harlot, and he went in
to her (vs. 1). The dam of restraint was broken by mere sight. St. John adds that "great is he who
remains unwounded by the sense of sight, and who...has conquered the fire caused by sight."
Without repentance and immediate confession, Samson had opened the door to further troubles,
and these came soon after his escape from Gaza. He fell in love with Delilah (vs. 4).
Never in Samson's whole lifetime did he consider the wisdom in his parents' suggestion that he
consider taking a wife "among the daughters...among all our people" (Jdg. 14:3). Always he was
drawn to the allure of women "from the uncircumcised Philistines" (Jdg. 14:3). Delilah was no
exception. If she had scruples about protecting Samson, these soon were eliminated by the offer
from "the lords [no less!] of the Philistines," that each would "give [her] eleven hundred pieces of
silver" (Jdg. 16:5) - a tidy sum!
How she labored to entice Samson! Let us not, like Samson, suffer loss through lust but keep our
vigilance, for he who "does not fear God....disdains prayer" and is "out of his mind." May the
demons perish from the presence of us, Thy weak and impure servants, who sign ourselves with
the sign of the Cross and cry out unto Thee, Help us and save us O our Savior.
Wed., Nov. 3, 2004
Dedication of the Church of the Great Martyr George in Lydda
Kellia: Judges 16:15-31 Epistle: 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8 Gospel: St. Luke 11:9-13
Judges 16:15-31, especially vs. 17: "And he told her all his
mind, and said to her, 'A razor has never come upon my head; for I have been a Nazirite to God
from my mother's womb. If I be shaved, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak,
and be like any other man.'" As Holy Communion approaches in the Divine Liturgy, each one
who anticipates receiving the Holy Gifts entreats the Lord, "accept me today as a communicant:
for I will not speak of Thy Mystery to Thine enemies, neither will I give Thee a kiss as did Judas:
but like the thief will I confess Thee." In partaking of the Holy Gifts, each Christian comes face
to face with the inexpressible Persons of the all Holy Trinity.
Many may seek to verbalize this encounter, but how can anyone adequately begin to state what
the Lord gives and shares through the wonder of His Body and Blood? Who is able to do justice
to the reality of the Sacramental Mystery, of the Holy Meeting with Life Himself? Paltry,
fumbling, human words do not suffice. When one meets the Word Who is the source of all
words, there is nothing to say except, "I will not speak of Thy Mystery, O Son of God."
Standing in silence before Him speaks the truth of the One Who comes in the Holy Gifts far
better than many, many words. The Communion Hymn of Great and Holy Thursday points
toward the silence-creating essence of a relationship with the living God: "Let all mortal flesh
keep silence and in fear and trembling stand." Similarly, how could a man who was "a Nazirite
to God from [his] mother's womb" (vs. 17) explain the mystery of his being and calling from
God? With what words would he begin to "make sense" of the unfathomable spiritual mantle
laid upon his shoulders, and especially to one outside the Faith?
Still, since Delilah would not be deflected from her questions, all Samson could think to do in
response to her persistent demands to understand his "great strength" was to quote the Mosaic
Law and to expound from it the basis of his supernatural powers (vs. 17). As we read the
exchange between these mismatched lovers, we learn the reason for her insistence: there were
many hundreds of "pieces of silver" for her in obtaining the right answer (Jdgs. 16:5). She was a
committed collaborator, an enemy of the Lord. The hapless Samson, however, was "in love"
(Jdgs. 16:4), truly captivated by his passion, a fascination that left him entirely vulnerable to
Delilah's charm and manipulation. And see how she used his avowed love for her (Jdgs. 16:15).
Thus Samson was captured, having "become weak...like any other man" (vs. 17). The savagery
of the Philistines in blinding Samson ironically ended forever his weakness for "seeing"
Philistine women, and becoming infatuated. One look and, instead of seeing that they were
enemies of the Lord, he repeatedly was trapped by their outward appearance. The treachery of
Delilah actually turned into a blessing, in one sense, for it opened Samson's spiritual eyes.
Read Samson's final prayer carefully. Like the prayer before Communion, he asked the Lord,
"Remember me" (vs. 28). At last, thrust into physical darkness, he saw an opportunity to carry
out the will of God for his life. He had no fear in this, for at last he had plumbed the depths of
God's purpose for himself, a purpose from which he had too long been diverted by earthly beauty
and charm. But no more! "And Samson prayed, 'Let me die with the Philistines'" (vs. 30). In
pulling down the temple of Dagon, he carried out the Lord's judgment against the people of
Philistia, and, thereby, became numbered among the judges of Israel. And so "his family came
down and took him and brought him up and buried him" with his forebears (vs. 31).
Remove far from us our delusions, O Lord, and fill us with the faith, hope and love that are in
Thee, and enable us to fulfill those things which are well pleasing unto Thee.
Thursday, November 4, 2004
Venerable Ioanikios the Great
1st Vesp, Raphael of Brooklyn: Proverbs Selections Epistle: 1 Thessalonians 2:9-14
Gospel: St. Luke 11:14-23
Proverbs 10:7, 6; 3:13-16; 8:6, 32, 34, 4, 12, 14, 17, 5-9; 1:23 LXX,
especially vs.3:13: "Blessed is the man who has found wisdom, and the mortal who knows
prudence." Why is it that the "blessing of the Lord is upon the head" (vs. 10:6) of holy hierarchs
like St. Raphael of Brooklyn, St. John Chrysostom, St. Sava of Serbia, and other saintly Bishops
of the Church? For calling them "blessed of God" is implied most clearly when the Church
provides this particular extract of verses as the first reading at the Vespers of their feast days.
The quoted verse above, from the selection, provides the answer: these men trafficked for
wisdom and found her (vss. 3:14,13). But what is this wonderful "wisdom" that they found?
Above all, Wisdom is a Person, for notice that we are advised "to traffic for her" (vs. 3:14), and
she speaks (vss. 3:16) and she commands and exhorts us to hearken to her (vs. 8:6, 4). Some will
be surprised to learn that in Orthodox Tradition, the Person of Wisdom is identified with our
Lord Jesus Christ, yet this can be confusing for readers who may think of wisdom as a woman
because of the feminine pronouns - her and she. Nonetheless, the traditional identification with
Christ is a fact. For instance, the Hagia Sophia, the Church of the Holy Wisdom in
Constantinople, was dedicated by the Orthodox Emperor, Justinian, to our Lord Jesus, Holy
Wisdom. The confusion arises because sophia, wisdom, happens to be feminine in Greek as well
as in the original Hebrew of the Book of Proverbs. Still, all the characteristics of Wisdom in
these verses should be applied to the character and Person of our Lord Jesus Christ. "No evil
thing shall resist [Him]" (vs. 3:15). Satan could not overcome Him. Sin never captivated Him.
Death could not hold Him. What greater "evil thing" can we imagine or name that ever came
near defeating Him? Jesus Christ trampled them all down.
"Length of existence and years of life are in [His] right hand" (vs. 3:16). Lazarus, the four days
dead, came forth to extended existence and more years of life (Jn. 11:39-44). As God the Father
"has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself" (Jn.5:26).
"In [His] left hand are wealth and glory" (Prov. 3:16). "Oh, the depth of the riches both of the
wisdom and knowledge of God!" (Rom 11:33). Why else do we say, "Glory to the Father and to
the Son and to the Holy Spirit"? Christ our God is glory and bestows it (see Rom. 8:18). "Out
of [His] mouth proceeds righteousness, and [He] carries law and mercy upon [His] tongue"
(Prov. 3:16). "Christ Jesus...became for us wisdom from God - and righteousness and
sanctification and redemption (1 Cor. 1:30).
"Counsel and safety are Mine: prudence is Mine, and strength is Mine" (Prov. 8:14). Other
counselors can provide no greater path to safety, prudence, and strength than Christ gives in
Himself. As God the Father advises, "This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!" (Mk. 9:7).
"I love those that love Me; and they that seek Me shall find Me" (Prov. 8:17). Notice that the
Lord Jesus not only commands us to hearken to Him and to seek Him diligently, but also He
promises that those who do so shall find Him: "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you
will find; knock, and it will be opened to you" (Mt. 7:7).
Think how the world chases after knowledge in this age of exploding information, and, all the
while, Wisdom is ours if we will heed Him! "Hearken to Me; for I will speak solemn truths;
and will produce right sayings from My lips" (Prov. 8:6). Yes, the Lord Jesus has taught us to
know Him as true Wisdom: "I Am the way, the truth, and the life" (Jn. 14:6).
Thou art Baptized. Thou art illumined. Thou hast received anointment with Holy Chrism. Thou
art washed: in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Friday, November 5, 2004
Jonah, Bishop of Novgorod
2nd Ves, Raphael of Brooklyn: Proverbs 10:31-11:2 Epistle: 1 Thessalonians 2:14-19
Gospel: St. Luke 11:23-26
Proverbs 10:31-11:2 LXX, especially vs. 7: "At the death of a just man his hope
does not perish: but the boast of the ungodly perishes." The arrival of Father Raphael
Hawaweeny in New York in 1895 alighted a smouldering hope in the hearts of Arab Christian
immigrants - that Orthodoxy might become a living presence in their families scattered and
isolated across the North American continent. Through twenty years of ministry, as Priest and
Bishop, Saint Raphael gave their hope tangible form in thirty organized parishes in Canada, the
United States, and Mexico. At the time of his repose in 1915, truly, both he and the Church
could rejoice in his fruitful labor as the "good shepherd of the lost sheep in America." While the
Faithful of that generation mourned his repose, yet they had no doubt that the hope of that just
servant and Saint of God would never perish. And it has not, for the understanding of that
righteous man has resulted in prosperity (see vs. 9).
St. Raphael's life encourages us to consider the undying nature of hope as it is known uniquely
among Christians. In a fallen world, the hopes of countless individuals, peoples, and nations
have smouldered, only to extinguish altogether and become dust and ashes, grist for
archaeologists. Given such a bleak landscape, it is remarkable to discover in this world a living
hope, alive and flourishing, unquenchable even in the face of death - an undying hope.
Because the hopes of so many have been dashed down and wrecked by the power of other men,
or the relentless forces of nature, the seductive snares of their own human imaginations, or the
unforeseen convergence of events, one might conclude with Macbeth that "life's but a walking
shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more."
However, alongside its dismal chronicles, history also records human hopes that have been
realized, valuable discoveries, and genuine, lasting achievements benefitting many. What men
have envisioned has not always disappointed them; yet all human hopes are finite, set within the
inescapable boundaries of change and mortality.
We are arrested by the truth that among all the peoples of the ancient fertile crescent, where
civilizations first emerged, none looked to their gods with an eye of hope except the ancient
People of God. Like their neighbors, the Israelites knew dashed hopes and unrealized dreams,
but the God Who revealed Himself to them gave them a unique, solid ground for hope. As
slaves, they watched their masters drown in the Red Sea. They saw God's promise to their
forefathers realized as they became one nation in their own land. They learned to trust a God
Who promised and delivered "after seventy years [were] completed in Babylon" (Jer. 29:10).
The hope planted in their breasts by God caused Israel not only to "look to the Lord" and "wait
for the God of my salvation" (Micah 7:7), but also to affirm before God, "Thou art my hope from
my youth" (Ps. 70:4 LXX). The nation learned to sing in its darkest hours, "O Lord, Thou art the
hope of Israel, and deliverest us in time of troubles" (Jer. 14:8 LXX). By revelation, God brought
His people to realize that He was their "help and shield" (Ps. 33:20 KJV). It was in such an
environment that the vision of undying hope, hope even in the face of death, was born.
However, true to Himself is our Hope and Deliverer! Ineffably, He united Himself to us in
mortal, human flesh, embraced death common to us all, trampled down death by death, and gave
us an entirely new and finer, undying hope, "the riches of the glory of [the] mystery...which is
Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Col. 1:27). How much greater is Solomon's affirmation on the
lips of a Christian: "At the death of a just man his hope does not perish" (Prov. 10:7 LXX)!
O Christ, our Immortal King and our God, establish our souls where the Just repose; the mercies
of God, the kingdom of heaven and remission of our sins, as we do hope in Thee.
Saturday, November 6 , 2004
Raphael, Bishop of Brooklyn
3rd Vespers, Raphael of Brooklyn: Wisdom 4:7-15 Epistle: Hebrews 7:26-8:3
Gospel: St. John 10:9-16
Wisdom 4:7-15 RSV, especially vs. 15: "....God's grace and mercy are with
His elect, and He watches over His holy ones." Indeed, two of the primary energies by which
we know God and by which love is enkindled in us for our Father in Heaven are His grace and
mercy. Love for Christ our God and Savior is the most evident response of our souls whenever
considering His mercy in becoming the Way for us to salvation and eternal life. Likewise,
thanksgiving to God the Holy Spirit abounds in the hearts of every soul who struggles to advance
toward purity, sanctification, and theosis; for by the Spirit of God the Faithful discern that Divine
grace completes our paltry efforts to attain true godliness in this present life.
When we examine the lives of the Saints such as the faithful Bishop of Brooklyn, Saint Raphael,
we find grace and mercy at every juncture in their careers. The mercy of God spared Saint
Raphael and his parents even before his birth for, during a pogrom by militant Muslims against
the Christian population of Damascus, the family successfully fled to Beirut.
By the grace of God, the child of the Hawaweenys was named for one of the great Archangels,
Raphael. While a young boy doing well in schoolwork, he was threatened by the family's
financial distress with having his education cut short, but the mercy of God provided a benefactor
who obtained his entrance into the Patriarchal school. By his industry and God's grace he
graduated and applied to the Ecumenical Patriarch's school of Theology on the island of Halki;
but an examination by the school's doctors declared him, even as newly tonsured monk, to be too
thin and weak for the hardships of study. Again, the mercy of God raised up an intermediary who
obtained both the young monk's admission and the Patriarch himself was moved by the mercy of
God to provide for his daily needs, so that after the three years of study, he graduated, was
ordained, and shortly afterwards began serving in Moscow as the representative of the Patriarch
of Antioch to the Russian Orthodox Church in Russia.
After three years in Moscow, God's grace again mercifully led Saint Raphael to service as an
Instructor in Greek and Arabic at the Seminary in Kazan, from which, after two years, he
received a call to minister to the immigrant Arab Christians in the new world, bringing him to
New York in 1895. Not only did Saint Raphael serve his congregation in Brooklyn, but also he
traveled repeatedly across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, seeking the lost sheep of
Christ. The Holy Synod of Moscow approved the plan to ordain him as Bishop for the Syrian
Vicariate, which occurred in 1904. For the next eleven years, he served not only his own people
in Brooklyn, but also he founded other parish communities and assisted in the growth of the
North American Orthodox Church, becoming himself a vessel for the dissemination of God's
grace and mercy across the continent even as he exhausted his own health in doing so.
In 1911, Archbishop Platon honored St. Raphael with the following words: "This day...is
beautified by the intelligence, wisdom, zeal, concern, piety, perseverance and the patience of our
brother Bishop Raphael....May his anniversary be immortal and eternal...Have you not worked in
the Lord's field so that your seeds have brought forth fruits and yielded ten-fold? Have you not
made Orthodoxy and piety to grow, and preached the faith and the Gospel of salvation?....Have
you not visited the United States, Canada, and Mexico, preaching, counseling, teaching, and
performing services?...Have you not suffered grief, persecution, hunger, nakedness, even arrest,
for Christ's sake? And in all this you stood firm." What a vessel of God's grace and mercy!
O thrice-blessed Raphael, having received grace from God. thou didst let thy light shine so
brightly...that all of those who had been in darkness gave glory to our Father in heaven.
Sunday, November 7, 2004 (Tone 8)
The Thirty-Three Martyrs of Militene
1st Vespers, Synaxis of Bodiless Powers: Joshua 5:13-15 Epistle: Ephesians 2:4-10
Gospel: St. Luke 8:26-39
Joshua 5:13-15, especially vs. 13: "When Joshua was by
Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man stood before him with his drawn
sword in his hand...." Listen to St. Nikolai of Zica's teaching: "that the angels are constantly
involved in this world is testified to, clearly and unmistakably, in Holy Scripture." The present
short reading from the Book of Joshua supports St. Nikolai's assertion, and, at the same time,
reveals how to respond to the constant presence and activity of the Bodiless Powers. In the
passage, God 1) reminds us to be alert to their presence and activity, 2) discloses what to expect
from their manifestations, and 3) indicates how to receive them rightly.
Let us begin with the situation of the servant of God, Joshua. He "was by Jericho" (vs. 13),
reconnoitering, praying, considering a plan of attack, wondering about the word from God which
he had earlier received: "every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you,
as I promised to Moses" (Josh. 1:3). He had obeyed that word of the Lord and had led the People
across the Jordan river into the Land. He had prepared God's People by circumcision and a
solemn celebration of Passover. Now the task of conquest confronted him in palpable form, in
the looming walls of the fortress city of Jericho. As he lifted up his eyes and looked at the
defenses, "behold, a man stood before him with his drawn sword in his hand" (vs. 13).
In this instance, the Archangel Michael, the "commander of the army of the Lord" (vs. 14), was
manifested to God's Prophet, who was the Divinely anointed Leader of the army of the Lord's
People on earth. Observe how Michael appeared, in a manner accessible to Joshua's heart and
mind: as a man, as a soldier, as a warrior ready for battle, that is, sword in hand (vs. 13). We
mortals, fashioned of the stuff of earth, can readily grasp the reality of another human when we
meet one, despite differences of race, ethnicity, appearance, and even gender. God knows this
perfectly well, and the supreme revelation of this truth was the Incarnation of God the Son in the
flesh. It is God's nature to speak in such a way that we can comprehend what He wishes us to
know. After all, "in these last days [He has] spoken to us by His Son" (Heb. 1:2). In this
manifestation, Archangel Michael came in a form quite specific to Joshua's immediate
circumstances. He was manifested as a soldier ready for combat, as one exactly like Joshua
himself. So obvious was this to Joshua that the Prophet immediately had to know, "Are you for
us, or for our adversaries?" (vs. 13). Joshua was absorbed in the military mission he had received
from the Lord, and God joined His chief earthly soldier with His chief heavenly soldier.
Learn from this! When we are engaged in a labor to which God has called us, are giving that
work undivided attention, and are considering its concrete elements in prayer and reflection,
seeking to apply the word of God, the Lord is faithful to send a messenger to encourage us.
Notice that the Archangel came to Joshua when he was laboring to carry out God's great plan of
salvation. God is most likely to send His angelic beings, in a form visible to our bodily eyes or at
least to the eyes of our heart, exactly when we are engaged in His saving work in this world.
In the interaction between the Archangel and Joshua, observe how we ought to respond when
angelic messengers speak: "Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and worshiped, and said to him,
'What does my lord bid his servant?'" (vs. 14). Reverence was required. He was standing on
Holy Land which the Lord was about to give to Israel, so it was required that he honor the holy
ground as Moses did before at the burning bush (Ex. 3:5). Let each of us always respect what is
holy.
O Lord our Help, Who knowest we can do nothing without Thee, assist us through the guidance
of Thy holy angels that we may accomplish those tasks to which Thou hast called us.
Monday, November 8, 2004
Synaxis of the Archangels and the Bodiless Powers of Heaven
2nd Vesp, Synaxis of Bodiless Powers: Judges 6:2, 7, 11-24 Epistle: Hebrews 2:2-10
Gospel: St. Luke 10:16-21
Judges 6:2, 7, 11-24 RSV, especially vss. 22, 23: "Then
Gideon perceived that he was the angel of the Lord; and Gideon said, 'Alas, O Lord GOD! For
now I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face.' But the Lord said to him, 'Peace be to you;
do not fear, you shall not die.'" In both of the original languages of the Bible, the word
translated in our English versions as "angel" is simply the common Hebrew or Greek word for
"courier" or "messenger." In the present passage, while the angel who appeared to Gideon is
specifically identified to the reader as "a messenger of the Lord" (vss. 11,12), yet to Gideon,
threshing wheat down inside a wine press, the friendly greeting, "The Lord is with you...."(vs.
12), did not communicate that his visitor was one of the bodiless Powers. In fact, since the
greeting was coupled with the address, "you mighty man of valor," it led Gideon to express his
discomfort that "the hand of Midian"(vs. 2) was heavy upon him in a personal way, greatly
complicating his harvesting efforts. He could not thresh out in the open, but had to hide inside
the walls of a wine press - so as not to be seen by marauding Midianites. Thus, we have, his
poignant retort: "Pray, sir, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this befallen us?" (vs. 13).
Gideon had to thresh in hiding. His neighbors had to hide in caves to avoid pillaging, all of
which made it difficult for him to see how the Lord could be "with him;" yet, an angel of the
Lord had in fact come with a message for him. The present complications of life caused by the
Midianite raiders made Gideon acutely aware of the absence of the Lord in this life. Consider
how this applies to us. Much of the time, getting our attention and focusing it must be the chief
struggle of the bodiless Powers. As God's messengers to man, they have a difficult task.
First and foremost, they are sent as messengers to deliver the word of God to each of us. In
Gideon's case, from his first declaration - that "the Lord is with you"(vs. 12) - the angel was
laying a foundation for Gideon's acceptance of the message. Consider the messages our guardian
angel must bring to each of us: warnings to avoid dangers, calls to worship and prayer, counsel in
sorting among the available options and pointing us toward those decisions that represent God's
highest and best for our lives. However, we are so dull spiritually that the angels have a
multitude of barriers to cross in order simply to deliver God's word to our hearts.
Always, the angels face the need to assure us that we are genuinely hearing a bidding or a
message from God. Gideon is told to "go... and deliver Israel from...Midian" (vs. 14), but like so
many who hear the word of the Lord, he can do little else than question its relevance, not trusting
his own capacity to carry out the message. Moses asked, "Who am I?' (Ex. 3:11). Isaiah could
only see his sins (Is. 6:5), and the Forerunner John rightly perceived that he, not the Lord Jesus,
was the one who needed Baptism (Mt. 3:14). Thus, angels, as God's messengers, also have to
bring us God's encouragement that He will enable us to carry out what He asks of us (Jdgs. 6:16).
Think how the Lord Jesus tells us that not even a hair of our head shall perish (Lk. 21:18).
Finally, when an angel has quieted our minds and hearts, we have received the message he brings
from God, and we have accepted that message, then all the agitation and fear in us wells up.
Notice that the Lord Himself spoke to Gideon (Jdg. 6:23), but only after the man had perceived
that he was dealing with an angel from the Lord and was not deluded by some demon or phantasy
of his own making (vs. 22). God speaks peace and dispels our fear, enabling us to act. Thus He
prepares us to worship Him and to offer ourselves in His service (vs. 24).
Through the intercession of Thy holy angels and the power of Thy Spirit, lift us to Thy presence,
O Lord, that we may be still, honor Thee as God, and serve Thee with quiet hearts.
Tuesday, November 9, 2004
Nektarios of Pentapolis, The Wonderworker
3rd Vesp, Synaxis of Bodiless Powers: Isaiah 14:7-20 Epistle: 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13
Gospel: St. Luke 11:34-41
Isaiah 14:7-20 LXX, especially vss. 13, 14: "But
you said in your heart, I will go up to heaven, I will set my throne above the stars of heaven, I
will sit on a lofty mount, on the lofty mountains toward the north: I will go up above the clouds;
I will be like the Most High." As the Church celebrates the Feast of the Archangels and all the
Heavenly Powers, she directs our praises principally to the leader of all the angels "and our great
champion, the... prince of hosts....Michael the great archangel." We learn that Michael stands
resplendent before the Godhead as foremost of the incorporeals, fiery in appearance, wondrous in
beauty, raising his voice to God with all the hosts of heaven in thrice-holy praise, submitting to
every command of God, protecting us under the shadow of his wings, and fulfilling God's will to
deliver us from oppression, sorrow, sickness, and sin. Especially is this prince of the ranks of the
divine powers honored because his grace, when it casts its shadow, drives the power of Satan
away, "for falling Lucifer [can] not bear to stand before [his] light."
The fall of Satan and his minions from the Heavens occurred before the creation of the material
world, long before the history of mankind. The event is referred to in this third reading for the
Vespers of the Feast of the Archangels, the present lesson from Isaiah. The passage is one part of
a satirical poem or song that describes prophetically the fall and destruction of the Babylonian
dynasty conceived of as an ideal monarch to whom the song is addressed (Is. 14:4-21). Yet, note
that Isaiah connects the historical fall of the Babylonian monarchy with the extra-temporal fall of
Lucifer "down to hell, even to the foundations of the earth" (vs. 15).
Many of the Holy Fathers noted Isaiah's use of history as a window into trans-history. For
example, Theodoret of Cyrus observes that if one recalls that conceit was characteristic of the
Babylonian monarchs, "it really applies to him who truly fell from the heavens, who had usurped
the Name of God and deceived the greater part of mankind." By extension, this entire passage
may be lifted up from history to become a meditation on the fall of Lucifer at the hand of the
Archangel Michael. Thereby, it becomes another means for recognizing that "greater is He," and
His heavenly powers, "that is in you, than he that is in the world" with his demons (1 Jn. 4:4).
In Christ and by the protection of His holy Archangels, none of Satan's dark powers may "come
up" from Hell "to cut us down" (vs. 8) like so many trees of Lebanon. The holy martyrs provide
us with vivid, clear, historic examples of this truth, for they triumphed even in the face of shame,
torture and death. Cut down in the eyes of the world, they shine like the stars in heaven.
Our victorious risen Lord, standing astride the gates of Hades, manifestly exhibits that He and
His hosts have reduced Lucifer and his rule, arrogance, and mirth to Sheol where death "shall
spread corruption, and the worm shall be [their] covering" (vs. 11). Along with all the other
tyrants of history, the dark powers have no greater might than death remaining to them, and our
Savior has trampled down death by death. "O death where is thy sting?" (1 Cor. 15:55).
At present, we see Satan making every frantic effort "to trouble the earth" and having much
success at making "kings to shake" and rendering "the whole world desolate," destroying "its
cities" (Is. 14:16,17). But he "shall be cast forth on the mountains, as a loathed carcase, with
many dead who have been pierced with swords, going down to the grave" (vs. 19), and the Lord
has promised that the devil shall be "cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and
the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever" (Rev. 20:10).
Michael, the prince of the hosts on high, O Christ, doth untiringly offer songs to Thy glory that
we might form a brilliant assembly with him and all the angels to hymn Thy praises.
Wednesday, November 10, 2004
The Great Martyr Orestes of Cappadocia
Kellia: Judges 17:1-13 Epistle: 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12 Gospel: St. Luke 11:42-46
Judges 17:1-13, especially vs. 6: "In those days there was no king in
Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes." The Book of Judges provides an historic
bridge between the Book of Joshua and the four Books of the Kings (so called in the LXX, but 1st
and 2nd Samuel and 1st and 2nd Kings in most English Bibles). God's great Prophet Moses gave
the nation of Israel firm leadership during the Exodus from Egypt and during the years in the
wilderness. Moses' divinely appointed successor, the Prophet Joshua, led the People of God into
the Promised Land. The Judges were leaders raised up by God to deliver His People in the Land
from repeated cycles of apostasy, defeat, and oppression by adversaries.
Rather than profit spiritually from the painful cycles of plundering and deliverance, generation
after generation became snared in the worship of false gods and "did not drop any of their
practices or their stubborn ways" (Jdg. 2:19). Naturally, society sank steadily into anomie, the
chaos of every man doing "what was right in his own eyes" (Jdg. 17:6). The last portion of
Judges delves deeply into the national anarchy that ended only when God raised up the Prophet
Samuel to anoint the first kings for God's People and usher in government by monarchy.
When a people submit themselves to God and His Law, only then do they become "one nation
under God" and escape the bitterness of anarchy and lawlessness. The social alternative to
anomie emerges only when each person does what is right in God's eyes, having taken refuge
under God; for the Lord alone removes delusion and fills men with the true faith, hope, and love
that exist only in Him. The present reading lays bare the real causes of social chaos through
concrete examples of individualism run rampant in family life, in religion, and in life purpose. It
is worthy of prayerful reading so that God may show us His path to social and personal blessings.
The family of the Ephraimite, Micah, was in disarray. Lacking a sense of God's design for
money, Micah unilaterally appropriated the family savings, not discussing his decision with his
mother. He only confessed his seizure of the silver out of fear when his mother cursed the
unknown person she presumed had stolen the family reserves (vs. 2). Where was Micah's respect
for the Commandment of God to "honor thy father and thy mother" (Ex. 20:12)? What
confusion and ignorance led his mother to bless Micah in idolatry rather than teach him the godly
way to "consecrate [wealth] to the Lord" (Jdg. 17:3). Clearly this was not a family that knew the
necessity of teaching the Commandments of God to children, "talking of them....that your days
and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land...." (Deut. 11:19, 21).
Thus, Micah assembled a private shrine with "a graven image," an offense to the Lord, not
knowing, respecting, nor having reference to the Divine Commandments (Ex. 20:4,5). Rather, he
mimicked the worship which the Lord had given His People through Moses but mingled it with
practices from the worship of idols. In further ignorance, he "installed one of his sons, who
became his priest"(vs. 5), vesting him in an ephod, a garment reserved for the priests, and
providing him with teraphim, objects used in divination, a practice forbidden in the Divine Law
(Deut. 18:10). Lacking instruction in the Holy Traditions of the Faith, he invented his own.
Then there came "a Levite of Bethlehem in Judah" (Jdg. 17:9) whom Micah invited to serve in
his "eclectic" shrine. Looking for a place to sojourn, the Levite accepted Micah's offer to fulfill a
priestly role - a position not sanctioned for Levites. Thus a completely apostate center for
worship was created. Brethren, let us "stand firm and hold to the traditions which [we] were
taught" (2 Thess. 2:15) by the Lord and His Apostles, not descending into chaos and anomie.
O Lord, Who blessest those who bless Thee, preserve the fulness of Thy Church.
Thursday, November 11, 2004
Martin the Merciful, Bishop of Tours
1st Vesp, Jn Chrysostom: Prov 3:13-16; 8:6-10 Epistle: 1 Thessalonians 5:1-8
Gospel: St. Luke 11:47-12:1
STRONG> Proverbs 3:13-16; 8:6-10. It is entirely right and pleasing to read
the present selection from Proverbs in the tradition of the Holy Fathers who knew Wisdom
intimately in the Person of our Lord, God, and Savior, Jesus Christ:
Proverbs 3:13. Blessed is the man who has found Christ Jesus, and the mortal who knows His
Way. 14. For it is better to traffic for Him, than for treasures of gold and silver. 15. And He is
more valuable than precious stones: no evil thing shall resist Christ our God: He is well-known
to all that approach Him, and no precious thing is equal to the Lord Jesus in value. 16. For length
of existence and years of life are in His right hand; and in His left hand are wealth and glory: out
of His mouth proceeds righteousness, and He carries law and mercy upon His tongue. [Listen as
He speaks] 8:6 "Hearken to Me; for I will speak solemn truths; and will produce right sayings
from My lips. 7. For My throat shall meditate truth; and false lips are an abomination before Me.
8. All the words of My mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing in them wrong or perverse. 9.
They are all evident to those that understand, and right to those that find [My] knowledge." 10.
For Christ Jesus our God is better than precious stones; and no valuable substance is of equal
worth with Him.
In the Gospels, the Lord Jesus Himself points out that there is a field where an incalculable
fortune lies buried, awaiting discovery and appropriation (Mt. 13:44). Blessed is the man who
has found that treasure buried in the field of his heart and has "trafficked" all he has to acquire a
place even at the feet of the Lord of all. That man is blessed because he recognized Truth when
he met Him, and any mortal man who finds Him understands the insignificance of "treasures of
gold and silver....and precious stones" compared to the Eternal Himself.
Do you remember that the tempter left Jesus our Lord when he discovered that he could neither
resist nor overcome Him (Lk. 4:13)? But there were fishermen who knew Him and the
unequaled value of His call to follow Him - since He is Life and the source of life Who bestows
"length of existence," having "years of life...in His right hand."(3:16).
Only righteousness, law, and mercy proceed from His mouth. If there is doubt in your heart,
search His words not in your mind but in your heart, and you will hear "solemn truths" and "right
sayings." There is no aspect of the Law of God that Christ does not uphold, for He affirms that
all the Law and the Prophets may be placed in true perspective under two simple commandments
(Mt. 22:37,38): "love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy
mind,"and the second, "love thy neighbor as thyself" (Mt. 22:39). For He came to fulfill the Law
and the Prophets (Mt. 5:17).
The humble and meek, the repentant and poor in spirit shall ever find a place at His feet, for their
tears are accepted and their cries are heard by Jesus our Lord (Lk 7:38; 23:42). Only the
hypocritical and the self-righteous do not need Christ Jesus the Savior (Mt. 23:12). Many have
been surprised to discover that "no man ever spoke like this man" (Jn. 7:46), but, Beloved, "in
Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of
His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence" (Eph. 1:7,8).
O all-compassionate Jesus! Receive now our small supplication as Thou didst receive the
widow's two mites; keep us from all enemies and rescue us who cry unto Thee. Alleluia!
Friday, November 12, 2004
John the Merciful, Patriarch of Alexandria
2nd Vesp, Jn Chrysostom: Wisdom Selections 1 Epistle: 1 Thessalonians 5:9-13, 24-28
Gospel: St. Luke 12:2-12
Wisdom 6:12-16; 7:30; 8:2-4,7-9, 21; 9:1-4, 10, 11, 13 LXX,
especially vs. 8:21: "Nevertheless, when I perceived that I could not otherwise obtain her, except
God gave her me; and that was a point of wisdom also to know Whose gift she was; I prayed unto
the Lord, and besought Him...." St. John Chrysostom was born in the ancient Roman city of
Antioch in Syria. His young mother, widowed from her early twenties, devoted herself entirely to
him, refusing further prospects of marriage.
Following elementary schooling, the young John received the traditional training in the classics
of the pagan Greek poets, writers, and orators. He continued in advanced studies under the
tutelage of a famous and distinguished professor of rhetoric, Libanios, a convinced pagan who
was a friend and an admirer of the apostate Emperor Julian. The young John seemed destined to
pursue a career in government service, like his father before him, but when he completed his
studies with Libanios, a marked change occurred in his interests. He became absorbed in the
study of the Holy Scriptures and came under the influence of Meletios the confessor, a Bishop
serving the majority of the Christians in Antioch. It was from this godly man that the young John
sought Holy Baptism.
This remarkable change that occurred during the young adult life of St. John is exemplified in the
present reading from the Book of Wisdom. The selected verses begin with a series of detached
statements concerning the relationship between wisdom (vss. 6:12-16) and those who are drawn
to her only to "find her sitting at [their] doors" (vs.6:14). The next group of verses begins with
an "I" statement (vss. 8:2-21) and gives voice to all seekers, like John, who are drawn to Holy
Wisdom: "I loved her, and sought her out from my youth, I desired to make her my spouse" (vs.
8:2). The reading concludes with the prayer of all true lovers of wisdom. The principal point in
the first group of verses is that the initiative in any relationship between wisdom and "them that
desire her," lies with wisdom. "She is easily seen of them that love her, and found of such as seek
her," because "she precedeth them that desire her" (vss. 6:12,13). The active outreach of God to
mankind, so well known to the Faithful, makes it possible to apply the name "Wisdom" either to
Christ or to the Holy Spirit. As the Apostle Paul says so plainly concerning the Lord: "while we
were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:8). That the initiative in the Divine-human
relationship lies with the Holy Spirit is also plain, for the "Spirit works all these things,
distributing to each one individually as He wills" (1 Cor 12:11). Therefore, "whoso watcheth for
[wisdom] shall quickly be without care" (Wis. 6:15).
There follows, in the next group of verses, a ready glimpse into the mind of the Saints who have
sought Divine wisdom. The seeker says of wisdom, "I was a lover of her beauty" (vs. 8:2), and
out of his infatuation, he tells us all about wisdom: "She is conversant with God" (vs. 8:3),
knowing His mysteries and loving His works, and her devotees learn God's virtues of
"temperance and prudence, justice and fortitude" (vs. 8:7). Now we see why the young St. John
was so earnest to be baptized, "and besought [the Lord], and with [his] whole heart" (vs. 8:21).
Can you not hear the young St. John crying to the Lord, "give me wisdom, that sitteth by Thy
throne; and reject me not from among Thy children" (vs. 9:4)? Without doubt the Saint's prayer
was heard and richly answered, as his life discloses. From those early days, the wisdom from on
high truly led St. John "soberly in [his] doings, and [did] preserve [him] in her power" (vs. 9:11),
making him one who knew "the counsel of God" and "the will of the Lord" (vs. 9:13).
O Giver of life, Thou Fount of all wisdom, give unto us, thine unworthy servants, the grace that
Thou hast shed upon the Apostles, the Martyrs and all the Saints in their struggles.
Saturday, November 13, 2004
John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople
3rd Vesp, Jn Chrysostom: Wisdom Selections 2 Epistle: Hebrews 7:26-8:3
Gospel: St. John 10:9-16
Wisdom 4:10-12; 6:21; 7:15-17, 22, 26, 29; 2:1,
10-17, 19-22 LXX, especially vss. 20, 21: "Let us condemn him with a shameful death: for by his
own saying he shall be respected. Such things they did imagine, and were deceived: for their
own wickedness hath blinded them." While Saint John Chrysostom served as Archbishop of
Constantinople, the eastern capital of the Roman Empire, he preformed many outstanding works.
His achievements are well summarized by St. Nikolai of Zica: "He governed the Church for six
years as Patriarch with unequaled zeal and wisdom, sending missionaries to the pagan Celts and
Scythians and purging the Church of simony, deposing many bishops who were given to this
vice. He extended the Church's charitable works, wrote a rite for the Holy Liturgy, put heretics
to shame, denounced the Empress Eudoxia, interpreted the Scriptures with his golden mind and
tongue and left to the Church many precious books of sermons."
St. John fell victim to a type of jealousy and political intrigue that remains to this day a dark blot
in the history of the Church. The present reading, selected for our meditation at the Vespers of
the Feast of St. John, captures the spirit of the Saint's life and his contribution to Orthodox
Christianity.