Monday, August 16, 2004
The Icon of our Lord Not-Made-With-Hands
Kellia: Joshua 2:15-22 Epistle: 2 Corinthians 5:10-15 Gospel: St. Mark9:1-5
Joshua 2:15-24, especially vs. 18: "Behold, when we
come into the land, you shall bind this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down;
and you shall gather into your house your father and mother, your brothers, and all your father's
household." In a conspiracy, safety for the principals is a most important factor, and safety
surely was uppermost in the alliance between Rahab and the spies, safety for the well-being of the
woman and her family, as well as the preservation of those reconnoitering Jericho. The men were
not to be captured by the king of Jericho, if possible. In addition to all these concerns, there was
the general security of the army of Israel, soon to cross over the Jordan.
The portion of the Rahab narrative we are considering today is a reminder to all of us who call
ourselves Christians of the necessity for looking out after one another's well-being against all
enemies - both physical or spiritual. The scarlet cord dangling from a window of Rahab's house,
a home adjoined to the city walls of Jericho, was to be a warning to all the soldiers of Joshua's
army to give that home wide berth during the destruction of the city.
Let none assume, because he lives in "healthful seasons" and during "peaceful times" that he is
safe from enemies. This is not really a reminder to be on the watch for the criminal elements that
operate around us and of the dangers they pose, which are real enough. Mostly, the reading
cautions us concerning the truly sinister spiritual agents of the unseen "king who rules over this
world," the ruler of this present "Jericho" which for this life is our temporary place of residence.
God surely expects us to care for one another as Rahab cared for the spies. What knowledge we
have of "the terrain" of this world, we do well to pass on as life-saving truth for those we care
about, whether family members or those with whom we are joined in Christ.
Rahab directed the spies to "go into the hills" (vs. 16), a phrase which could equally well be
translated, "you must go to the mountain country." No doubt she had in mind the rugged
mountains that lie northwest of Jericho, an area of crevices and caves, an ideal spot for hiding
from the king's patrols. One tradition believes this to be the same desert region where the Lord
was tempted. What are the "mountains" of safety toward which we should direct our loved ones
and seek to hide ourselves? Are they not the Church's Holy Mysteries of Confession and
Communion? Is not worship the safe place for retreat while the enemy is on the look out for us,
to capture us and bring us into his death grip? Are not ascesis and the reading of Holy Scriptures
and the Fathers safe hiding places from the probing machinations of powers of darkness?
The spies told Rahab to use a scarlet cord as a marker to guarantee her safety and the safety of her
loved ones. That cord reminds us that tangible signs pointing to spiritual safety are important for
the Faithful when heeded: a cross on the wall, holy icons in a corner with our prayer books and
candles. Let us place a scarlet cord of prayer before God. When we are apart from the Church,
such physical signs in our homes are God's signals for us, telling us clearly Who is our Protector.
Locks on our doors, insurance policies, and security systems have a value, but cannot provide
absolute physical safety, much less spiritual shelter. "I will dwell in Thy tabernacle unto the
ages, I shall be sheltered in the shelter of Thy wings" (Ps. 60:4 LXX).
If anyone who calls himself a Christian fails to put out the scarlet cord or to heed the teachings of
the Church that tell us where true safety is to be found from our sworn enemies, then "his blood
shall be upon his head" (vs. 19).
O God, our help, our only hope and refuge, we flee to Thee for relief and comfort, trusting to
Thine infinite love and compassion to deliver us from all the assaults of the enemy.
Tuesday, August 17, 2004
Venerable Alypios the Iconographer of the Kiev Caves
Kellia: Joshua 3:14-4:7, 19-24 Epistle: 2 Corinthians 5:15-21 Gospel: St. Mark 1:16-22
Joshua 3:14-17; 4:1-7, 19-24, especially vss. 6, 7:
"....when your children ask in time to come, 'What do those stones mean to you?' Then you shall
tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord;
when it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off." In the Mystery of Holy
Baptism, we pray to the Lord "that there may be sent down into [this water] the grace of
redemption, the blessing of Jordan." The memorable crossing of the People of Israel through the
Jordan River into the Promised Land, as described in today's reading from the Book of Joshua,
forms part of the tapestry of historical images that illumine what the Church intends in praying
that God will send down "the blessing of Jordan" into the Baptismal water.
Foremost, we should understand that the entrance of Israel into the land was a solemn and holy
act, a movement of the entire consecrated People of God, a passage very similar in devotion to
the sacred processions of whole congregations today on Great and Holy Friday and on Pascha.
Observe that the priests were "bearing the ark of the covenant before the people" (vs. 14). In
addition, note that it was when their feet "were dipped in the brink of the water" that the flow of
the Jordan was held back by God, both above and below the route of the march across the
riverbed (vs. 16). The ark of the covenant, of course, served, like the holy icons, as a tangible,
visual reminder of the presence of the living God leading, sheltering, and blessing His People.
The crossing of the Jordan river into the Promised Land was a movement of the entire People of
God. The whole nation traversed the river that day. The miracle marked them as the People
designated by God to occupy the land and was linked to the multiple water baptisms that were
used in Judaism as preparatory rites for the admission of Gentile converts into Israel.
Likewise, a similar expression of union with the whole People of God in the pilgrimage toward
the Kingdom of God occurs in the unrepeatable Mystery of Holy Baptism, being highlighted by
the triple procession around the Font in today's Orthodox Christian rite. Note that passage
through the Jordan into the land of Canaan by the ancient People of God signaled even the
renaming of the land. Thereafter it would be called after the common, blood ancestor of all the
tribes - Israel. Also, let us not forget that the Lord Jesus, "the only sinless One," deliberately
united Himself with God's People, even with our sins, by His Baptism in the Jordan.
The reader should not miss the fact that the passage through the Jordan was very much like the
nation's earlier passage through the Red Sea, a point explicitly stated in today's reading (vs.
4:23). Whereas the earlier transit from "Pihahiroth in front of Baalzephon" across to the Sinai
peninsula (Ex. 14:9) had ended their slavery permanently, the Jordan crossing was fraught only
with the promise of inheritance. It must be emphasized that it was only promise, for all the
battles to take the land from the Canaanites lay ahead. Still, the People entered the Holy Land.
Both realities appear in the Baptismal Mystery, for it states that our Lord delivers the newly
Baptized "from the bondage of the enemy [and receives] him into [the] heavenly kingdom."
Finally, Israel's crossing, aided by God's miraculous stemming of the river's normal flow, served
as a testimony to "all the peoples of the earth [that they] may know that the hand of the Lord is
mighty" (Josh. 4:24). The Israelites were told to memorialize the event for future generations,
but the crossing also serves as an evangelical event for all those, like Rahab, whose hearts will
embrace the proclamation of the loving and gracious God Who provides for His People.
O our God, Thou hast revealed Thyself upon earth, and dwelt among men. As Thou didst hallow
the streams of Jordan, sending down upon them the Holy Spirit, save Thy People.
Wednesday, August 18, 2004
The Venerable John of Rila
Kellia: Joshua 5:1-4, 8-12 Epistle: 2 Corinthians 6:11-16 Gospel: St. Mark 1:23-28
1-4, 8-12, especially vss. 10, 12: "And the children of Israel
kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at evening to the westward of Jordan on the
opposite side of the Jordan in the plain...and they took the fruits of the land...." The imagery of
this passage from Joshua forms an icon of the life in Christ. In the flow of the narrative, the
initial entry into the promised land has already been attained by the People of God following their
passage through the waters of the Jordan from the East into Canaan (Josh. 3,4). Similarly, all
who are united to Christ have entered into the new life through the waters of Baptism. Unseen to
the eyes of the world, terror has been struck in the heart of Satan and his minions (Josh. 5:1).
Under the new Covenant, Holy Baptism has replaced circumcision as the rite of initiation into the
People of God (vss. 2-3). In the Lord, we are purified; the reproach of the Egypt of this world is
taken away (vss. 4,8,9). The Faithful now celebrate the eternal Pascha, partaking of the bread of
Angels, that the living bread, which if anyone eat, he will live forever (vss. 11,12).
Recall that when the Lord Jesus had come "into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two
possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce" (Mt. 8:28). One should note
especially the reaction of these demons who had been inhabiting the two unfortunate men to the
mere presence of Jesus: "they cried out, saying, 'What have we to do with Thee, Jesus, Thou Son
of God? art Thou come hither to torment us before the time?'" (Mt. 8:29). The Holy and
Almighty, even in flesh as a man, is a terror to the principalities and powers who rule over the
affairs of this world. When "the spirit of error, the spirit of guile, the spirit of idolatry and every
concupiscence; the spirit of deceit and of every uncleanness which operateth through the
prompting of the Devil" are exposed to Christ, they beg to be removed into swine (Mt. 8:31).
During Exorcism in Holy Baptism, let us not miss the destructive threat of God which can only
terrorize Satan and all his angels. The beginning of the new life in Christ is a dread moment for
the Devil, for his lair is exposed to the true Light of Him Who holds the power of all beings in
His hand. The kings of the peoples of Canaan knew indirectly in their hearts the fear which the
powers of darkness that ruled through them were experiencing directly (Josh. 5:1). Of course,
Baptism removes "the reproach of Egypt" (Josh. 5:9) from those who enter the life in Christ.
Having wandered in the desert of this present world, the new Christian rejoices in the lifting of
the weight of sin and of purification before God. The new life cuts away the impossibility of the
past with its obstructing, deadening separation. We do not idly say, "Christ is in our midst; He is
and shall be!" It expresses a profound truth: slavery is gone. Yes, there are terrible battles and
temptations ahead. There will be failures and repeated efforts necessary to gain the kingdom of
God fully. As the Lord warns us, it must be taken by violence (Mt. 11:12).
Everyone who knows the Orthodox Christian Faith at first-hand realizes that Pascha is the central
point of the liturgical year. The familiar Trisagion is set aside so that we may offer the special
hymn, "As many of you who have been Baptized into Christ, have put on Christ. Alleluia" (Gal.
3:27). And since every Lord's Day is a fresh Pascha, we now taste regularly the fruits of the land
into which we have entered as we receive "the communion of [the] Holy Spirit, unto the
fulfilment of the kingdom of heaven" in the Holy Gifts. The manna of this world, albeit provided
by God, now fails to satisfy in the way the true Bread does, that Bread which cometh down from
heaven and now gives the greater and better life in Christ (Josh. 5:12; Jn. 6:33).
In the gathering places bless ye God the Lord from the springs of Israel. O Son of God, Who
didst rise from the dead, save us who sing unto Thee. Alleluia.
Thursday, August 19, 2004
Martyr Andrew the General (Stratelates)
Kellia: Joshua 5:13-15 Epistle: 2 Corinthians 7:1-10 Gospel: St. Mark 1:29-35
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...."
Joshua presents the Faithful with a masterful icon of a true spiritual warrior, even as St.
Theophan the Recluse provides us with seasoned counsel should we long to reach Joshua's
perfection through spiritual struggle: "in order to succeed...you must constantly oppose all evil in
yourself and urge yourself towards the good. In other words, you must ceaselessly fight against
yourself and against everything that panders to your own wills, that incites and supports them. So
prepare yourself for this struggle and this warfare and know that the crown - attainment of your
desired aim - is given to none except to the valiant among warriors and wrestlers."
Today's reading portrays Joshua, the God-ordained leader of the people of Israel (Josh. 1:9), the
chieftain holding the sure loyalty of his troops (Josh. 1:16-18), standing alone surveying the
formidable, defensive battlements of the very first military objective in what augured to be a
tough, protracted campaign to take the Promised Land. Joshua had no siege towers, no engineer
battalions, no sappers trained to undermine walls, and no rams to batter down the bulwark facing
him. True, his spies had found one friendly supporter within the walls. Nonetheless, trusting
God, he approached fortressed Jericho, "lifted up his eyes and looked" (Josh 5:13). He did that
which every spiritual warrior must do: he faced the enemy of God before him.
Having taken the first necessary step of every spiritual warrior - an honest look at the foe, Joshua
reveals five other steps that also must be taken: 1) searching the field with the eyes of the heart,
2) testing one's inward vision to determine God presence, 3) worshiping God the source of all
victory, 4) seeking the Lord's will, and 5) submitting in reverence. Before every spiritual clash,
each of these actions must be undertaken if a spiritual warrior would hope for victory.
The text speaks of Joshua's sight in three phrases: "he lifted up his eyes," [he] "looked", and
"behold" - that is, he beheld (vs. 13). Sight is emphasized, but understand what is meant by
"lifting up" and "looking." The eyes which the Prophet of Israel "lifted up," were not his physical
eyes but his spiritual eyes. His physical eyes saw Jericho. With the eyes of the heart, Joshua
perceived the spiritual truths of the battle before him. St. Isaac the Syrian notes that when man's
knowledge is raised above worldly concerns, he begins to see inwardly "what is hidden from the
eyes....then faith...itself swallows up knowledge, converts it, and begets it anew....Then it can
soar in the realms of the bodiless....Then the inner senses awaken for spiritual doing." This
surely is "lifting up," looking with the heart, and beholding what bodily sight cannot see.
Joshua not only "saw" an armed man, but one "with his drawn sword in his hand" (vs. 13). He
approached to determine whether he was encountering a friend or a foe - one from God or one
from the Enemy - "Are you for us, or for our adversaries?" (vs. 13). The spiritual warrior
desperately needs the assurance of God's presence. Like all the Saints, Joshua received the
needed word from the Lord: "as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come" (vs. 14).
Appropriately, "Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and worshiped," something every true warrior
of the Lord does before his Lord in the face of the enemy.
Finally, see that the great warrior sought the will of God: "What does my Lord bid his servant?"
(vs. 14), and that he reverently submitted to God (vs. 15) - something all disciples do who hope
for victory - stand barefoot on the holy ground of God's will as Joshua did (vs. 15).
Almighty God, Who knowest that I can do nothing without Thy guidance and help; assist me I
pray Thee, and direct me to divine wisdom that whatever I do may be according to Thy will.
Friday, August 20, 2004
The Holy Prophet Samuel
Kellia: Joshua 6:1-7, 14-21 Epistle: 2 Corinthians 7:10-16 Gospel: St. Mark 2:18-22
Joshua 6:1-7, 14-21, especially vs. 17: "And the city and all
that is within it shall be devoted to the Lord for destruction; only Rahab the harlot and all who
are with her in her house shall live, because she hid the messengers that we sent." The total
obliteration of the Canaanite city of Jericho, called for by the Lord and carried out by the army of
Israel, brings to mind instances of the total devastation wreaked against certain cities during
World War II - the fire bombing of Dresden, several carpet or obliteration bombings aimed at
various German industrial centers, and above all, the atomic bombing of the Japanese cities of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Total war is not a new concept. Centuries before the destruction of
Jericho, the Lord had foretold the doom of "the city and all that is within it" when He explained
to Abram that "the iniquity of the Amorites [was] not yet full" (Gen. 15:16).
What the reader should understand about the destruction of Jericho is that it was the fulfillment
of a Divine curse against prolonged, unrepentant wickedness. The God of Love gave Jericho to
Israel as a pure gift (Josh. 6:2). The penalty meted out against the city and its people was
awesome, but God was teaching an invariable truth: stubborn opponents of God may become
"devoted" to Him, set aside for utter annihilation.
If one studies the Divine Law given through Moses, he discovers the irrevocable nature of a
Divine decision to destroy a wicked person or community: "...no devoted offering that a man may
devote to the LORD of all that he has, both man and beast, or the field of his possession, shall be
sold or redeemed; every devoted offering is most holy to the LORD. No person under the ban
[that is, devoted for total annihilation], who is doomed to destruction...shall be redeemed, but
shall surely be put to death" (Lev. 27:28-29). The phrase "under the ban" (Lev. 27:29) is the
same word found in the previous verse (in Hebrew, "herem," and in the Septuagint, "anathema"),
because once a person or thing is devoted to God, it is forever consecrated to Him and banned or
anathema for any human use thereafter. Note that "Rahab the harlot and all who [were] with her
in her house" (vs. 17) were excluded from Jericho's inhabitants - to become Israelites.
This aspect of total surrender of all claim over what is devoted to God should be considered
prayerfully by every Orthodox Christian. When one gives some thing of value to the Church, he
surrenders all claim over it - for instance, what is put in the tray, one's tithes and offerings, or
special gifts. There can be no thought of taking back, although a parish, through its officers, may
for good reason give back some item later in time, say when it is replaced or supplanted. Donors
who make large pledges have no more purchase on a parish's decisions than do its small donors.
What is given to the Lord is holy to Him, it is "herem" or "anathema" to God to apply demands
using sway through what once was given. All claim is surrendered.
In today's reading there is an explicit warning against the temptation to consider any of the things
in Jericho as spoils of war, available for the taking: "keep yourselves from the things devoted to
destruction, lest when you have devoted them you take any of the devoted things and make the
camp of Israel a thing for destruction, and bring trouble upon it" (Josh. 6:18). In this connection,
let us ponder on the Lord Jesus' giving Himself to destruction on the Cross. He was not
constrained by human agency to suffer the humiliation of Crucifixion. Rather, He determined in
the Mystery of salvation, "ordained before the ages for our glory" (1 Cor 2:7), to trample down
death by His death and to bestow life upon all destined by sin for the grave.
Glory to Thee, O Lord, Who didst freely give Thyself unto Death, and, having descended into
Hell by Thy Cross, hast made a way for all flesh through the Resurrection from the dead!
Saturday, August 21, 2004
The Holy Apostle Thaddeus of the Seventy
Kellia: Joshua 6:21-25 Epistle: 1 Corinthians 1:26-2:5 Gospel: St. Mark 3:13-21
Joshua 6:21-25, especially vss. 21, 22, 23, 24: "Then
[Israel] utterly destroyed all in the city, both men and women, young and old, oxen, sheep, and
asses, with the edge of the sword. And Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land,
'Go into the harlot's house, and bring out from it the woman, and all who belong to her, as you
swore to her.' And they burned the city with fire...." The English word, "holocaust" derives
from Greek, 'kaustos," meaning, "burnt," with the prefix, "holo-" meaning, "wholly." The word
in both languages refers to sacrifices offered totally, consumed either by fire or sword. By
extension holocaust also refers to all total annihilations, as in the Ukrainian Holocaust, when
fifteen million Ukrainian citizens were starved to death or murdered during the winter of 1933-1934 as part of a Soviet drive to collectivize farming in Ukraine.
As today's reading reports, the entire city of Jericho was devoted entirely to God through the
execution of its people and livestock and by the burning of all its buildings and furnishings. Only
precious metals were reserved for melting down and later use in the portable Tabernacle or in the
future permanent Temple, whenever such a shrine might be constructed. The exception, of
course, was the deliverance of Rahab and her household, who were brought out by the spies she
had earlier hidden from the officers of the king of Jericho and had helped to escape.
As the account in Joshua continues after today's reading, there is a report concerning a military
force sent against the city of Ai, a force that was resoundingly defeated (Josh. 7). The defeat at
Ai is a sharp contrast to the unimpeded conquest of Jericho. The plan was to take Ai and offer it
also as a holocaust. Following the Ai defeat, however, God revealed that the defeat was caused
by Achan, a man who held back a beautiful festal garment and some silver and gold from what
should have been part of the holocaust at Jericho. He had hidden these devoted things in his tent,
making the whole people of God into "a thing for destruction" (Josh. 7:12). He and his family
were stoned and their remains burned, becoming thereby a holocaust (Josh. 7:25,26). Later, Ai
was taken with no loss of life to Israel and made a holocaust to the Lord (Josh. 8:1-29). The
exception from the holocaust at Jericho would appear to be Rahab. However, it should be noted
that even Rahab was part of the "total sacrifice," or holocaust there, for by assisting the spies, she
completely severed all bonds with her former people and community and wholly sacrificed
herself and her family on behalf of Israel. Rahab, "the harlot of Jericho," died to the persona of
prostitute and citizen of Jericho. Thus she became worthy to be a lifelong dweller "in Israel to
this day" (Josh. 6:25) and an ancestor of our Lord Jesus. Observe: when Rahab and her family
were led out of Jericho they were "brought...and set...outside the camp of Israel" (vs. 23).
Following the campaign at Jericho, they all were then initiated and pledged as members of Israel
and taken "into the camp," at which point she could be married to Salmon and become the mother
of Boaz, the worthy ancestor of David and therefore of our Lord (Mt. 1:5). Let Rahab be an
example to everyone who is Baptized into Christ and has put on Christ: in "renouncing," or
"severing," all ties with "Satan, and all his angels, and all his works, and all his service, and all
his pride." By breathing and spitting upon the Devil, each Orthodox Christian is thereby
holocausted and becomes a complete sacrifice to the Lord, one worthy to be united to Him as a
"member and partaker of [His] death and resurrection." Like Rahab, each member of Christ is
cut off from his former life when initiated into the Church of the Living God.
O Lord Jesus Christ, our King and God, by Thy mercy may each of us preserve our baptismal
garment and the earnest of the Spirit undefiled unto Thy dread Day of Judgment.
Sunday, August 22, 2004
Tone 3 The Sunday after the Dormition of the Theotokos
Kellia: Joshua 7:1-9 Epistle: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 Gospel: St. Matthew 19:16-26
Joshua 7:1-9, especially vs. 1: "But the children of Israel committed a
great trespass, and purloined part of the accursed thing; and Achan the son of Carmi, the son of
Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing; and the Lord was very
angry with the children of Israel." In making the entire Amorite city of Jericho a holocaust,
Israel offered the life and property of that fortress community wholly to God. They saw the walls
fall with their own eyes. They knew that it did not fall by their efforts - not by battering rams, the
scaling of walls, nor undermining. Their sole effort had been to march obediently around the
City as commanded in a solemn procession of dedication to God. They ritually offered not only
the enemy fortress with its people and goods, and the outcome of any clash of arms, but
themselves as well. Beforehand, to the eyes of the world, and especially to those inside Jericho,
the ceremonial processions must have appeared as theater of the absurd. Nevertheless, Jericho
fell, and was "devoted, it and all things that [were] in it, to the Lord of Hosts" (Josh. 6:17).
When taking Jericho, God's People knew that it was devoted to the Lord and all things in it, yet
one man acted surreptitiously against the explicit orders of the day and appropriated part of the
things that had been devoted utterly to the Lord. It was a plain breach of trust against his fellow
Israelites and the Lord his God (Josh. 7:1). Beloved of the Lord, note what Joshua teaches us in
this passage: the cost of individual duplicity wounds the entire People of God. Israel was scarred
in what should have been a minor skirmish. The lives of thirty-six brave men fell needlessly and
the army of the nation turned their backs in flight before sworn foes. In this day and age, the
behavior of Achan within the military would be an occasion for court martial. What about such
apostasy in the Church today? How shall we understand the breach of trust when one violates his
Baptismal vows? Is such behavior merely a matter of individual choice? Does disregard for
what one pledges before God and the Church merely involve only the person who apostatizes?
Clearly not! The teaching of the Prophet is that duplicity wounds the entire Body of the Faithful.
By our sins we add to the wounds of Christ our God on the Cross! That is the mind of the
Church. That is the truth of the matter.
What this passage should do for Christians is to reveal the cost of our private sins on the large
canvas of God's perspective and out on the open processes of history which He governs. O Lord,
do Thou keep us from such duplicity that we wound not any of Thy Beloved! And when we do
fall, when we do sin, let this passage teach us to flee at once to our Pastors to confess our wrongs
before God, seek His forgiveness, and, to the extent we are able by confession, to stop the dread
Theo-logical outcomes of our wrong doings upon our brothers and sisters in the Lord.
May the Prophet Joshua help us learn the terrible social consequences of our private offences!
God also teaches us in this passage the correct, immediate response to disasters that befall the
People of God. "Joshua tore his garments; and Joshua fell on the earth on his face before the
Lord until evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they cast dust on their heads" (vs. 6). Bad
things happen to good people, as the saying has it. Still, notice what the leadership of the pious
community did. They worshiped God in grief and in sorrow, seeking from Him His direction and
consolation. Joshua poured out his concern that he had acted precipitously in crossing the Jordan
in the first place, that, perhaps, he had not heard God correctly (vs.7). He is not loathe to give
voice to his worst fears (vs. 9). Let us ever turn to God, grieve, and express our consternation.
Unto Thee we commend our whole life and our hope, O Master Who lovest mankind. Make us
worthy of the inheritance of the Kingdom of Heaven and boldness toward Thee.
Monday, August 23, 2004
Hieromartyr Irenaios, Bishop of Lyons
Kellia: Joshua 7:10-26 Epistle: 2 Corinthians 8:7-15 Gospel: St. Mark 3:6-12
Removing Sin: 10-26, especially vs. 13: "Ye shall not be able to stand before your
enemies until ye shall have removed the cursed thing from among you." St. John Cassian
reminds us that "When we confess with our own mouths that the God and Lord of the Universe is
our Father, we claim that we have been called from our condition as slaves to adoption as
children." God's call is true and firm on the rock of eternity, uplifting heart and soul, as the
Mystery of Christ plainly states: "Thou...hast given unto Thy servants remission of sins, and has
bestowed upon us a life of regeneration." There is no lack of grace nor lack of bestowal on God's
side, as David is quick to say, "Thou hast not forsaken them that seek Thee, O Lord" (Ps. 9:10
LXX).
Sadly, lusts have corrupted our desire to seek God. In Cassian's words, it is a "lingering in this
present life" that prevents our release from slavery and the full realization of our adoption. Too
often we are dawdling children who, called by our loving Father, allow many things to separate
us by a great distance from Him instead of hurrying to His loving embrace. St. John urges us
against such neglect: "May we not allow anything of this kind, which would make us unworthy of
our profession and the dignity of an adoption of this kind, to deprive us as a disgrace to our
Father's inheritance and so make us incur the wrath of God's justice and severity."
We must take up the stones of the Promised Land to kill the Achan who dwells in our hearts, that
ungodly old man within us who would keep us slaves and dead in our sins, who would hold us
back, as those called but unresponsive, as blessed but lost in our own desires, as vulnerable, so
that we are "not...able to stand before [our] enemies" (Josh. 7:12). When, by God's grace, we
awaken to discern that we "have become an accursed thing" and that God is "not any
longer...with" us (vs. 12), it is a blessing. It is time to act - in Cassian's words, to "devote all our
energies to promoting not our own profit but our Father's glory, saying to God 'Hallowed be Thy
Name'." Let today's reading from Joshua jar the ears of our heart to hear our Fathers's call.
When we hear God's assembly call, let us rise and sanctify ourselves, determining in our hearts to
put an end to the lingering and disobedience within (vs. 13). Thus, we must set aside day and
time to examine, with the aid of the Holy Spirit, every portion of our souls where tribal loyalties
might arise in conflict with our membership in the royal priesthood of the holy nation of God's
own special people (1 Pet. 2:9). We are sealed with the Spirit's indwelling presence, so that we
may be certain that He will show us where, in our souls, that miscreant old man, "which is
corrupt according to the deceitful lusts" (Eph. 4:22), is lurking and hiding in shame.
When, in a careful examination of ourselves, we have the old Achan "pointed out" by the Holy
Spirit (vs. 18), let us heed the Prophet Joshua's voice as from God Himself: "Give glory this day
to the Lord God of Israel, and make confession: and tell...what thou has done, and hide it not"
(vs. 19). Let us never hesitate to say to our gracious Savior, "Indeed I have sinned against the
Lord God of Israel: thus and thus have I done" (vs. 20). Note how Achan detailed his surrender
to covetousness (vs. 21), and can we do less? Let us hasten to our Priest and Confessor and lay
bare our souls, for, unlike Achan, we have a Divine Savior Who understands the allure of
temptation (Heb. 4:15), and grants "mercy and...grace to help in time of need" (Heb. 4:16).
Our Joshua will lead us to the Valley of Trouble, and, stone by stone, kill everything associated
with the old Achan within ourselves (Josh. 7:24-26). Every sin has ties to other aspects of our
souls, and so, all must be put to death that we may live in Christ (Rom. 6:4-8). Keep us ever as
warriors invincible; and make us all victors, even unto the end, through Thy crown incorruptible.
For Thine it is to show mercy and to save us. Glory to Thee!
Tuesday, August 24, 2004
Hieromartyr Eutychos, Disciple of John the Theologian
Kellia: Joshua 8:1-13 Epistle: 2 Corinthians 8:16-9:5 Gospel: St. Mark 3:13-19
Joshua 8:1-12 LXX, especially vss 1, 2: "And the Lord said to Joshua, Fear not,
nor be timorous: take with thee all the men of war, and arise, go up to Ai: behold, I have given
into thy hands the king of Ai and his land....set now for thyself as an ambush for the city behind."
Abba Dorotheos teaches us that "the sufferings of combat purify [a man] little by little and bring
him back to the natural state." Here he is speaking of spiritual combat, of course. Yet, as
Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos notes, "besides man's effort, if the Holy Spirit does not
descend, the dead nous cannot be purified and brought to life." Right action, he adds, requires
"the working together of divine grace and the human will." In this connection, it is especially
instructive to compare the first three times when Joshua and Israel prepared for combat - 1)
before the taking of Jericho (Josh. 5:13-6:5), 2) before the failed assault against Ai (Josh. 7:2-5),
and 3) before the second assault on Ai as described in today's passage (Josh. 8:1-2).
The noticeable omission during preparations for the first assault at Ai was the absence of the
Holy Spirit, which precluded any working together of divine grace and the human will. How
could there be right action under such circumstances? In the first assault against Ai, it was the
spies who set the battle plan, not God (Josh. 7:3)! Even the Prophet Joshua failed on that
occasion, for he did not send out the spies to Ai after prayer and Divine guidance. Rather, he
accepted the plan of the spies without attention to the Lord's will and word. As the text says
plainly, "And Joshua sent men to Ai" (Josh 7:2). No directions from the Lord are mentioned, but
right action must include prayer, Divine guidance, and the direction of the Lord. Most important,
this truth applies to all circumstance in life which the Faithful confront.
Hence, let us examine closely the direction that came from the Lord to help His People cooperate
rightly in a new plan of action. In the first place, this time Joshua opened himself to God with
prayer, and God gave special attention to fear because of the earlier defeat. The Lord built
confidence with a promise. He again set the general conditions - for a holocaust offering. He
made a gracious gift, and He set the plan in the form of an ambush (Josh. 8:1-2).
Having been thoroughly chastened by the earlier defeat at Ai, Joshua faced the same city of
dangerous opponents with proven ability to defeat his troops, but this time the Prophet displayed
a renewed spiritual balance - he began with prayer. While the passage begins with the phrase,
"And the Lord said...." (vs. 1), we should note that among the instructions that followed was the
command, "arise" (vs. 1). Joshua was already in prayer, prostrate before God. Therefore, the
Prophet was open to hearing the word of the Lord. He was learning!
How good was God in this instance! He knew the fear and trepidation both of Joshua and of the
People generated by their earlier mistakes and bitter defeat. Thus, He began with assurance and
words to strengthen the Prophet's heart: "fear not, nor be timorous" (vs. 1).
The Lord then followed with a promise: " I have given into thy hands the king of Ai and his land"
(vs. 1). He treated the coming action as a fait accompli. God meets awakened trust.
Along with the general conditions for a holocaust - "thou shalt do to Ai as thou didst to Jericho"
(vs. 2) - the Lord added to the coming engagement the unexpected gift of cattle (vs. 2).
Most significant, and typical of all truly right action, it was God Who gave the basic plan, right
from the start (vs. 2): "set now for thyself as an ambush for the city behind" (vs. 2). Largely this
reading is devoted to the careful carrying out of God's plan, always a right action!
Direct us, O Lord, in all our doings and further us with Thy continual help; that in all our works
begun, continued and ended in Thee, we may glorify Thy holy Name.
Wednesday, August 25, 2004
Apostles Titos of the Seventy and Bartholomew
Kellia: Joshua 8:14-29 Epistle: 2 Corinthians 9:12-10:7 Gospel: St. Mark 3:20-27
Joshua 8:14-29, especially vs. 18: "And the Lord said to Joshua,
Stretch forth thy hand with the spear that is in thy hand toward the city, for I have delivered it
into thy hands, and the liers in wait shall rise up quickly out of their place." To return to a
problem, a place, and a circumstance where one has tasted bitter defeat, as Israel did at Ai, is not
usually a bright prospect. Nevertheless, returns may be transformed into a spiritual gain if one is
open to learning from failure. The truth is that return to a lost opportunity can yield spiritual
victory if humility is learned along the way. St. Nikolai of Zica observes that "The first exercise
for a recruit in Christ's army is practice in obedience and humility."
After their first foray against Ai, Israel was brought to a severe humiliation. The death of thirty-six good fighting men and the flight of an able military force before the enemy faced God's
People with the cost of acting arrogantly apart from the commanding leadership of God. In going
back to Ai, God gave Israel an opportunity to grow beyond humiliation into true humility. Every
disciple of the Lord needs to realize that growth in the virtue of humility means ridding oneself of
the negative spiritual opposite of pride. Thus does one acquire all God-pleasing virtues.
Humiliation and humility are not the same thing, although they are based on the same semantic
root - humus, earth. The defeat at Ai provides examples of the difference. The thirty six who fell
before the pagan defenders of Ai plainly constituted humiliation for Israel, a bringing down to the
earth, for God's People. Up to that time the People had been victorious. Recall Israel's joyous
psalmody which sings of her earlier victories, praising the Lord, for the "horse and rider...He
hurled into the sea" (Ex. 15:1) and thanking "Him that smote great kings" (Ps. 135:17). Just
before Ai, Israel had experienced the miraculous collapse of the walls of Jericho, the taking of
that fortress, and its offering as a holocaust. Then came defeat and humiliation.
Undoubtedly, one may trace back to pride as the sinful element, the passion, that led to the
People's defeat on the heels of the Jericho victory. The clue that pride was their undoing can be
seen in the thoughtlessness to approach an enemy without seeking the Lord's will. Even the soul
of Joshua the Prophet was puffed up by the tide of victories. He sent spies to Ai without ever
seeking the Lord's will and wisdom (Josh. 7:2), and, worse, he deployed a contingent of three
thousand on the opinion of his spies, who were mere men, after all. Humiliation followed
swiftly, "the heart of the people was alarmed and became as water" (Josh. 7:5).
That Joshua and Israel then humbled themselves is evident in their response to the defeat at Ai.
He and the elders of the People "fell on the earth...before the Lord until evening...and they cast
dust on their heads" (Josh. 7:6) Earth, in this instance, served as a sign that God's People had
owned in their hearts the sin of pride and had returned to the Lord in life-giving humility.
Today's reading shows the strength in humility, for having sought, received, and followed the
Lord's plan; and having made good their humility in obedience, they were able to execute a
tactical ruse and defeat their enemies (Josh. 8:14-25). Then, to encourage them in their growth in
humility, the Lord gave them "all things which the children of Israel took as spoil for themselves
according to the command of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Joshua" (vs. 8:27). Hear St.
John of the Ladder: "The beginning of the mortification of both the soul's desire and of the
bodily members is much hard work.....Only when [the disciple] sees himself doing his own will
does this blessed living corpse feel sorry and sick at heart...of using his own judgment."
O Thou Who resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble, enable us to humble ourselves
under Thy mighty hand, to be clothed with humility, casting all our care upon Thee.
Thursday, August 26, 2004
The Martyrs Adrian and Natalia of Nicomedia
Kellia: Joshua 8:30-35 Epistle: 2 Corinthians 10:7-18 Gospel: St. Mark 3:28-35
Joshua 8:29-35, especially vss. 32, 33: "And Joshua wrote upon the
stones a copy of the law, even the law of Moses, before the children of Israel. And all Israel, and
their elders and their judges, and their scribes, passed on one side and on the other before the
ark." The Old Testament reading for today describes a ceremonial highpoint among the events
recorded in the Book of Joshua: Israel had passed over into the Promised Land and set apart their
fighting forces with Circumcision, God's Covenant sign. They had celebrated their first Passover
on the West side of the Jordan and witnessed the collapse of the primary defensive city of Jericho
blocking the way into Canaan. Then, after an unexpected defeat at Ai, they overcame that city in
the first victory of a protracted campaign for the Holy Land.
In this present passage, Joshua describes the Covenant renewing ceremony he conducted on the
slopes of Mount Ebal in a large natural amphitheater formed between Mount Ebal and Mount
Gerizim. And, as we shall see, the ceremony served to foreshadow the Divine Liturgy. While
the Septuagint (LXX) version of the account places verse 8:29 (the note about the enemies of
Israel) as a preface to the account of the ceremony, the Masoretic based texts locate the comments
afterwards (Josh. 9:1). Either way, the point should not be missed: the Covenant renewing
ceremony took place, as does every Divine Liturgy, within a context of opposition to the reign of
God over the earth. The victorious People of God are in enemy held territory, living with the
constant of resistance to our Lord and the Gospel which we proclaim (1 Pet. 5:8-9).
To prepare for the ceremony, "Joshua built an altar to the Lord God of Israel....an altar of unhewn
stones, on which iron had not been lifted up" (Josh. 8:30-31). Altars, to be appropriate thrones
for God, need to be of select material of His creation, thus, "unhewn stones" (vs. 31).
The offerings which Joshua made were of two kinds: holocaust (those wholly consumed) and
peace (or communion) offerings (vs. 31). These two themes are clearly present in the Divine
Liturgy with its requirement that those who partake of the Holy Gifts have fully surrendered to
God without reservation, having spit on Satan and openly bowed down before the Holy Trinity.
Joshua prepared stones which clearly displayed God's stated covenant requirements for His
People - "the law, even the law of Moses, before the children of Israel" (vs.32). The grammar of
the Hebrew version implies that the Law was carved on stones other than those of the altar. In
each Divine Liturgy today, the People of God recite the Nicene Creed, the Baptismal symbol that
summarizes the New Covenant that has been secured for the Faithful by the shedding of the
precious Blood of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ. In addition, "the ark of the Covenant of the
Lord"(vs. 33), in which the Commandments of God were preserved on tables of stone from
Moses (see Deut 10:1-4), was publicly brought to the assembly by the Levites.
So that the People might renew their commitment to God's Covenant without evasion, they
"passed on one side and on the other before the ark" with the Commandments on the tables of
stone (vs. 33). In addition, "Joshua read accordingly all the words of this law, the blessings and
the curses, according to all things written in the law of Moses;" and. "there was not a word of all
that Moses charged Joshua which Joshua read not in the ears of all the assembly of the children
of Israel" (vss. 34,35). Of course, at each Divine Liturgy, portions of the Apostolic writings are
read to our congregations as are passages from the Holy Gospels, with all that Christ our God has
commanded of us in addition to the Older Covenant.
O Thou who has given us grace to make our common supplications unto Thee, fulfill now the
desires and petitions of Thy servants as may be most expedient for us.
Friday, August 27, 2004
Venerable-Confessor Hosios, Bishop of Cordoba
1st Vespers of Beheading of John: Selections from Isaiah Epistle: 2 Corinthians 11:5-21
Gospel: St. Mark 4:1-9
1-3, 9; 41:17-18; 45:8; 48:20-21; 54:1 LXX, especially vs. 3: "A
voice cries: In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway
for our God." We Christian people have every reason to "crown with songs of praise the
Forerunner, known to be greater than the Prophets, and become foremost of the Apostles; for his
head was cut off for the law of the Lord." Indeed, John was a martyr for God's law commanding
purity of life for all, a man who rebuked the immorality of a king and queen, a man whom they
sought to silence "by adding murder to adultery, and affecting a frown" (see Mk. 6:17-28).
More deeply, who is this John we call the Forerunner of Christ and the Baptizer of our Lord?
Christ Jesus Himself teaches us that "among those born of women, there has not risen one greater
than John the Baptist" (Mt. 11:11). The same Lord Jesus, through His Church, presents us with
this selection of verses from Isaiah and commands us to read them on the Eve of the Feast in
which we commemorate John's beheading. Focusing on these verses, what do they teach us
concerning John? Plainly, they declare that he is a priest - one who ministers to God's People (Is.
40:2 LXX). They describe him as a voice in the wilderness of this fallen, cruel, and sinful world
(vs.40:3). They say he is a messenger of "glad tidings to Zion," the Church of God (vs. 40:9),
and God's Prophet who looks at Christ Jesus and says, "Behold your God!" (vs. 40:9).
In pointing us toward the Lord Jesus, the Prophet John reveals the Anointed Man Who is God
and Who will cause "the poor and the needy [to] exult; for when they shall seek water, and there
shall be none, and their tongue is parched with thirst, I the Lord God, I the God of Israel will
hear, and will not forsake them" (vs. 41:17). Our Lord Himself confirmed John's revelation
when He said, "Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst" (Jn. 4:14).
Thus St. John uniquely prepares the human heart to see Christ Jesus as the One Who transforms
the landscape of men's lives by opening "rivers on the mountains, and fountains in the midst of
plains" and by turning deserts into "pools of water, and a thirsty land watercourses" (Is. 41:18).
He teaches us to look to Jesus to find the answer to all of our mad, frenzied efforts to make over
this world, to unite ourselves to Him Who truly quenches thirsting hearts.
Who among us does not know that what our world lacks and needs, the transformation for which
it is thirsting, is true righteousness and an outpouring of mercy?! Surely we have had enough of
immorality, self-serving, deceit, and perversity. What a service St. John performs for our
benighted race by pointing us toward the Lord Jesus Christ, for in the Lord Jesus the heaven
rejoices from above because He, and none other, rains righteousness on the world and causes the
earth to "bring forth and blossom with mercy, and bring forth righteousness likewise" (vs. 45:8).
We men have been slaves in the Babylons of this world so long that we accept bondage as normal
and natural. Not the Forerunner! He urges us to "Go forth of Babylon" and "flee from the
Chaldeans: utter aloud a voice of joy, and let this be made known, proclaim it to the end of the
earth; say you, The Lord has delivered His servant" (vs. 48:20). He shows us the One who can
lead us through the desert and "bring forth water...out of the rock: the rock shall be cloven, and
the water shall flow forth" (vs. 48:21). We have Savior and Deliverer, as St. John shows us.
Let each one of us examine himself. Let each one ask, Why do I not rejoice? Why am I barren
and do not bear? Listen to St. John: "break forth and cry, you who do not travail: for [in Christ
the Lord] more are the children of the desolate, than of her who has a husband" (vs. 54:1).
Since thou art a practical teacher of purity, and a saving guide to repentance, O Baptizer,
implore thou Christ, to deliver us from the humiliation of passions.
Saturday, August 28, 2004
The Venerable Moses of Ethiopia
2nd of Vespers - Beheading of John: From Malachi Epistle: 1 Corinthians 2:6-9
Gospel: St. Matthew 22:15-22
Malachi 3:1-3, 1-7, 12, 18; 4:1-8, especially vs. 1: "Behold, I send forth My
messenger, and he shall survey the way before Me; and the Lord, Whom ye seek, shall suddenly
come into His temple...." Defining with certainty the identity of the person or persons to whom
the various phrases refer in today's selection of prophetic verses from Malachi has at times
proven difficult. The first phrase of verse 3:1 cited at the beginning of this meditation strongly
points to the Forerunner John, while the third phrase of the verse quoted above usually has been
understood as speaking of the Lord Jesus. For instance, St. Cyril of Jerusalem, in identifying the
two comings into the world of Christ our Lord, cites the majority of verse 3:1 to make his point:
"Of the two comings the Prophet Malachi says, 'And suddenly there will come to the temple the
Lord Whom you seek'; that is one coming. Of the second coming he says, 'And the messenger of
the covenant whom you desire, yes, He is coming,' says the Lord of hosts."
English-speaking readers should be alert to the fact that the Greek word angelos appears twice
within the whole of verse 3:1: the first time, in the initial phrase, the one suggestive of John the
Forerunner - "I send forth My messenger," and second time, in the fifth phrase, which functions
as an aside in what comprises the second half of the verse - "even the Angel of the covenant."
The translator of the Septuagint version quoted above (Sir Lancelot Brenton) seems to have taken
the same line of thought as St. Cyril: that the first angelos refers to the Forerunner John, while the
second angelos refers to the Lord Jesus Christ in His Second Coming to judge the world. Such
readings are reinforced by the verses coming after 3:1 (vss. 2,3,5,6,7). Also, a caution: readers
should realize that even though the word angelos is translated both as angel and as messenger, yet
angels, if one remembers Gabriel, often function as God's messengers.
The important point that should be borne in mind is that a Divinely appointed messenger, such as
John, will very closely reflect the God for Whom he speaks and acts. The purity of the image of
God in a holy man such as John naturally resembles the God Whom he represents. Hence, if
there is confusion as to the identity of the persons referred to in Malachi's prophecy, one should
not be surprised. God and His Prophet should be similar, especially God-come-in-the-flesh.
Hence, Christ and His Prophet John especially are similar in word and actions.
Both John and the Lord Jesus came speaking words aflame with judgment against "the sons of
Levi" (vs. 3), the priestly Sadducees who represented the temple elite (compare Mt. 3:7 and Mt.
21:23). Similarly, both John and the Lord Jesus were frankly outspoken against sin and
wickedness (compare Lk. 3:3 and Lk. 13:1-5), condemning many sorts of evil doing, even of the
kinds found in Malachi's prophecy (Mal. 3:5). Likewise, both the Prophet John and our Incarnate
God and Lord, Jesus Christ, proclaimed compassion to the poor and outcasts of the first century
generation - as Malachi had foretold (Mal 3:18). John had no hesitation to baptize those who
confessed their sins and repented (Mk. 1:4) and the Lord Jesus consistently not only called
sinners to repentance, but even drew them into His service (Mk. 2:13-17).
Let us who are united to the Lord Jesus as "King and God" consider what the Prophet Malachi
shows us in this passage concerning the close resemblance between the Prophet John and his
God, our Lord Jesus Christ. Then, as Christ our God has taught us, let us act in keeping with the
Lord's teaching: "A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough
for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master" (Mt. 10:24, 25).
O Christ our God, forasmuch as without Thee we are not able to please Thee; mercifully grant
that Thy Holy Spirit may in all things wholly direct and rule our hearts, words, and deeds.
Sunday, August 29, 2004
Strict Fast (Tone 4) The Beheading of the Forerunner John
3rd of Vespers of Beheading: Wisdom Selections Epistle: Acts 13:25-33
Gospel: St. Mark 6:14-30
Wisdom 4:7, 16-17, 19-20; 5:1-7, especially vss. 5:1, 2: "Then shall
the righteous man stand in great boldness before the face of such as have afflicted him, and made
no account of his labors. When they see it, they shall be troubled with terrible fear, and shall be
amazed at the strangeness of his salvation, so far beyond all that they looked for." We affirm at
every Liturgy that our Lord Jesus Christ "shall come again with glory to judge the quick and the
dead." These words, like those of the verses from Wisdom quoted above, carry us "far beyond
all" that we look upon on a day to day basis. They remind us that there is another dimension in
which we live eternally, one unbounded by time and space, a dimension that cuts across every
moment, good deed, and sin in this present age. Foolish is the man who thinks only in terms of
what he looks on day to day and does not see eternity enfolding his path through this temporal
life. Such was Herod Antipas whom the Eternal Himself does indeed hold accountable for the
vile murder of the Forerunner. That poor benighted man could not see the eternal realm
surrounding him, for his own lust and pride, the sensuality he indulged and craftiness he pursued,
in the end proved his undoing and to be "deserts, where there lay no way" (vs. 5:7).
The ancients of the first century knew of Herod Antipas' and Herodias' crimes against the laws of
God and their violation of the holy Prophet John. Only a few years later, in the course of
subsequent events, the murderous Tetrarch did overreach himself, first in a disastrous war with
his former father-in-law, King Aretas in which his army was virtually annihilated, and, then, in
asking for the title of King from the Roman Emperor Caligula. However, this request aroused the
suspicion of the Emperor, and, after an Imperial investigation, Herod Antipas was summarily
removed from his court and banished far from familiar Palestine to the interior of Roman Gaul -
150 miles from the Mediterranean up the Rhone river to Lyon, and there he died in exile.
Perhaps in exile, Herod and Herodias came to believe that they had wearied themselves "in the
way of wickedness and destruction" (vs. 5:7), though probably not; yet their pious
contemporaries saw the hand of God behind the bitter reversal that befell them. Whatever the
case, those who confess Christ as Lord and the Baptizer as a Saint, know that in the dimension of
eternity, a far worse exile likely befell Herod and Herodias for their sins. If we try to think of
persons on whose lips the lament of this reading fits, Herod and Herodias surely qualify.
Let Herod's flagrant sins be a call to repentance for all, who, by the grace of God, know that
every man walks through and commits sins not simply in this realm of time and space, but within
the dimension eternity. While St. John's life was "prevented with death" at Herod's hand (vs.
4:7), yet he is and ever shall be alive with the Lord of eternity. In this connection, St. John
Chrysostom notes that "in our own day and through all future time, throughout all the world,
John continues to refute Herod, both through himself and through others."
Yes, sins have consequences that reverberate through the long span of history, but, more
seriously, they open out onto the field of eternity. The reality of the eternal dimension in relation
to sin, as well in relation to righteousness, thrusts urgency into every human life. For God shall
rend the wicked, "and cast them down headlong, that they shall be speechless, and He shall shake
them from the foundation; and they shall be utterly laid waste and be in sorrow, and their
memorial shall perish." Likewise, the righteous man, no matter what happens in this world, is
"numbered among the children of God, and his lot among the Saints." Christ God, save us!
O John, preacher of repentance, thou didst sanctify the earth when thy head was cut off And
since thou has favor with the Lord, beseech Him ceaselessly for the salvation of our souls.
Monday, August 30, 2004
Alexander Nevsky, Prince of Novgorod
1st of Vespers of Indiction: Isaiah 61:1-9 Epistle: 2 Corinthians 12:10-19
Gospel: St. Mark 4:10-23
Isaiah 61:1-9, especially vs. 1: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
because He has anointed Me; He has sent Me to preach glad tidings to the poor, to heal the
broken in heart, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind; to declare
the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of recompense; to comfort all that mourn...." The
first of September is an official New Year in the Church, a fact of our history explained by St.
Nikolai of Zica as follows: "the First Ecumenical Council decreed that the Church's year should
begin on September First. The month...was, for the Jews, the beginning of the civil year (see
Exodus 12:2)....It was at the time of this feast that the Lord Jesus went into the synagogue in
Nazareth, opened the Book of the Prophet Isaiah and read the words" [of this very lesson]. Also
the month of September is noteworthy in Christian history because during this month Constantine
the Great achieved a great victory over his rival, Maxentius, an avowed enemy of the Christian
faith. St. Nikolai adds that Constantine's victory was followed by "the granting of freedom of
confession of the Christian faith through the whole Roman Empire. For a long time, the civil
year in the Christian world was reckoned in the same way as the Church's year...."
Appropriately enough, the Lord Himself greets us on this day, with the reminder that the coming
year "acceptable" in His eyes. Furthermore, Christ Jesus is the Lord of this coming year. In all
the days and months ahead, recognized or not, His great evangelical work will be the number
one, leading, and predominant fact of life for everyone. Are you impoverished spiritually? Take
heart! Heed the Lord's message of good news for you, declared in these verses. Briefly stated:
His Kingdom of heaven is yours (Mt. 5:3).
What broke your heart last year? a death? the loss of a friendship? income reverses? crippling
illness? your moral failure or someone's close to you? lost meaning to life? Oh, beloved of the
Lord, let Christ Jesus heal you. Come and ask Him to touch that wound (Is. 61:1).
Remember: the Lord Jesus is in the liberation business (vs. 1), whether your bondage is drugs and
alcohol, fears, obsession with food, a craving for success or sex, or a mad drive to look good,
whatever. Surrender it all to Him. Come to confession. Let Him release you from those chains.
It begins with the words, "I have sinned, O Lord; forgive me, O God." Hear His Priest declare,
"Now having no further care for the sins which thou hast declared, depart in peace."
Are you groping around in the dark, wondering what it is all about? By Baptism, you are united
to the One God Who is Light (vs. 1). He opens the inner eyes of those who cry, "Illumine our
hearts, O Master Who loveth mankind, with the pure light of Thy Divine knowledge."
The year that is past, is past. It is over. The year ahead is intended, in the heart and mind of God,
to be a propitious season for you - propitious, advantageous, beneficial, auspicious, a time full of
promise from the One Who keeps His promises (vs. 2). Maybe the problem last year was that
you were looking for advantages and benefits in the wrong place. Christ our God yearns to
recompense you for all that you have lost because of your sins and the sins of others (vs. 2).
"Fulfill now, O Lord, the desires and petitions of Thy servants as may be most expedient for us,
granting us in this world, the knowledge of Thy truth, and in the age to come, life everlasting."
Put off the cumbersome, soiled and ill-fitting spiritual garment of heaviness, and put on "the
garment of glory" from your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ (vs. 3). He will help you "build the
old waste places...and renew the desert cities" (vs. 4). New Year's greetings from the Lord!
O God of all, Creator and Master of the ages, bless the crown of this year, saving all who
worship Thee, and who cry unto Thee in fear: Grant to all, O Redeemer, an acceptable year.
Tuesday, August 31, 2004
Placing of the Belt of the Theotokos in Halkoprateia
2nd Vesp, Indiction: Leviticus 26:3-12, 14-17, 19-24 Epistle: 2 Corinthians 12:20-13:2
Gospel: St. Mark 4:24-34
Leviticus 26:3-12, 14-17, 19-24, especially vs. 23: "And if by this
discipline you are not turned to Me, but walk contrary to Me, then I also will walk contrary to
you, and I Myself will smite you sevenfold for your sins." The Biblical idiom of "walking," of
course, expresses one's manner of living. To say that "Enoch walked with God" (Gen. 5:24),
brings Enoch's manner of life to mind: he observed God's commandments and did them (Lev.
26:3). And God walked with him, and was his God, and he is forever one of God's people (vs.
12). He did not "spurn" but clung to God's statutes (vs. 15), keeping covenant with God. His
pride was in the power of God, never in his own strength (vs.19). Enoch, therefore, received a
sevenfold blessing from God: "he was not, for God took him" (Gen. 5:24). Along with Elijah the
Prophet, death had no dominion over Enoch, for he walked "worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing
Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God" (Col. 1:10).
Judas Iscariot, having the astounding blessing to walk many miles through Galilee, Samaria, and
Judea in the company of the Lord Jesus Christ, never walked with Him in his heart. He chose
instead to walk "in the counsel of the ungodly [and he] stood in the way of sinners [and] sat in the
seat of the pestilent. And his will [was] rather [against] the law of the Lord" (Ps. 1:1,2 LXX).
And so his life ended "like the chaff which the wind doth hurl away from the face of the earth,
[and] for this reason [he] shall...not stand up in judgment...." (Ps. 1:4,5 LXX).
This contrast of images between the blessed who "walk in [God's] statutes and observe [His]
commandments and do them" (Lev. 26:3) and the contrary souls who "will not hearken to [the
Lord], and will not do all [His] commandments" (Lev. 26:14) is a line that cuts through the midst
of this reading. The options presented are a gift from the Church to help in scanning the months
of the new year that lie before us as members of Christ. The appeal of Apostle Paul cries out:
"we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the
dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life" (Rom. 6:4).
God first gave these two sets of opposing images - of blessing versus "sudden terror,
consumption, and fever" (Lev. 26:16) to a people of the soil, to a farming community. Hence,
His images speak to what is essential for husbandry: increase of seed sown and the yield from
vines and fruit trees (vs. 4) and peace from the attacks of wild animals and foreign invaders (vs.
6), and, of course, the opposite for those who abhorred His ordinances and broke covenant with
Him (vs. 15). While the material culture of contemporary society affords only a few people with
this sort of direct contact with the land - threshing, vintage and sowing - still in this age of terror
around the world, who does not appreciate immediately what it means to "eat your bread to the
full, and dwell in your land securely" (vs. 5)?
The spiritual problem is the same for farmer and technician: to walk with the Lord such that the
"evil beasts" in our hearts are removed - the revelry and drunkenness, lewdness, lust, strife and
envy. Instead, Beloved of the Lord, let there be a fruitful, righteous walk before Him (Rom.
13:13). Let us heed the Apostle: "walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh"
(Gal 5:16). "As you have...received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him" (Col. 2:6). When the
dark enemies approach your heart and mind, chase them from you with "the sword of the Spirit,
which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being
watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication...." (Eph 6:17,18).
O Lord Who lovest mankind, as Thou dost feed us with Thy holy Mysteries, so also make straight
our path before Thee, establish us in Thy fear, and make firm our steps in Thy ways.
Sunday, August 1, 2004
Dormition Fast (Tone 8) Procession of the Cross
Kellia: 1 Maccabees 4:26-40 Epistle: 1 Corinthians 3:9-17 Gospel: St. Matthew 14:22-54
1 Maccabees 4:26-40, especially vss. 36, 37, 38:
"'Behold, our enemies are crushed; let us go up to cleanse the sanctuary and dedicate it.' So all
the army assembled and they went up to Mount Zion. And they saw the sanctuary desolate, the
altar profaned, and the gates burned." The present reading begins with yet another battle and
another victory by a small Maccabean force pitted against the larger Seleucid army. Not able to
rest with a defeat (1 Mac. 4:1-25), the Seleucid Viceroy Lysias came himself with a larger army.
His approach was not from the west as in the previous clashes. Rather, the Seleucids circled
along the coast and advanced from the south, encamping just north of Hebron at Beth-zur. This
particular passage provides a classic example of Jewish prayer as offered by Judas Maccabeus
before the battle (1 Mac. 4:30-33). Its features are worthy of note, for the contours of this type of
prayer appear in our Orthodox Eucharistic prayers. The prayer begins by declaring God's
blessedness (vs. 30), and continues with an historic review of God's actions in the victories of
earlier battles, ones in which tiny forces overcame greatly superior enemies: David's defeat of
Goliath (1 Sam. 17) and the defeat of a Philistine garrison by Jonathan and his armor bearer (1
Sam. 14:1-17). The prayer concludes with petitions that God once again will assist those who
love Him so that "all that know Thy Name [might] praise Thee with hymns" (1 Mac. 4:33).
All records of the battle agree that the small Maccabean brigade prevailed against Lysias and his
large Seleucid army (cf. 1 Mac. 4:34-35 and also 2 Mac. 6:11-15). The victory allowed the Jews
to regain control of the Temple (1 Mac. 4:36-40) and reestablish worship there. However, the
victory was bittersweet, for it signaled the opening of a period of military, social, and religious
struggle for the ancient People of God from 163 BC to 70 AD, during which Mosaic worship and
political freedom seemed within their grasp, but then withered under Rome. Power politics is no
solution for the People of God as the Gospel proclaims (Mt. 4:8; Jn. 19:11). The Seleucid
empire itself repeatedly was under pressure by the Parthians in the east and by the rising influence
of Rome in the west. Hence, respite for the Jews was more the result of political distraction by
the mighty than enduring temporal strength. Furthermore, there were divisions among the Jews.
Out of the whirl of events in the region, and within Judea itself, a dynasty of Hasmonean rulers
temporarily rose to serve simultaneously as High Priests and as kings. This solution also failed
from famines, coups d'état, and palace intrigues, until, at last, an Idumean and a non-Jew seized
the throne, Herod the Great. In the bitter end, as foretold by the Lord Jesus (Mt. 24:1-2), and
following a Jewish attempt at liberation from Rome, the Temple itself was permanently
destroyed, ending all semblance of a Jewish state until 1948 AD.
Nonetheless, the Maccabeans, flush with a sweet victory - a triumph that the Church recognizes
as an act of God - "went up to Mount Zion" (1 Mac. 4:37). There they beheld a bitter sight, "the
sanctuary desolate, the altar profaned, and the gates burned" (vs. 38). Many times in history,
God's People have had to rebuild their sacred places of worship and, worse even, to forfeit them;
but the first view of a desecrated holy place always hits with shock and mourning. "They fell
face down on the ground and sounded the signal on the trumpets and cried out to Heaven" (vs.
40). There on Mount Zion, the Maccabeans tasted the bittersweet of victories in this world: there
was clean up, rebuilding, and, to God's glory, the reestablishment of "praise and beauty...before
Him, and holiness and majesty...in His sanctuary" (Ps. 95:6 LXX).
O gracious God, increase Thy mercy upon us, that with Thee as our Ruler and Guide, we may so
pass through things temporal, that we lose not finally the things eternal.
Monday, August 2, 2004
Dormition Fast The Venerable Photeini
Kellia: 1 Maccabees 4:41-61 Epistle: 1 Corinthians 15:12-19 Gospel: St. Matthew 21:18-22
1 Maccabees 4:41-61, especially vs. 53:
"They rose and offered sacrifice, as the Law directs, on the new altar of burnt offering which
they had built." The Maccabees had an apprehension to cleanse the temple at Jerusalem before
offering prayers and sacrifices there to God. Likewise, before Orthodox Priests celebrate the
Divine Liturgy, being reconciled with all and, so far as he is able, guarding his heart from evil
thoughts, he vests in his outer, black exorasson, or garment for prayer, comes before the Holy
Doors and offers The Kairon or The Entrance Prayers, asking the Spirit of Truth to come and
abide within his heart and soul, cleanse him from every stain of sin that he might venture to enter
the bridal chamber and worship the one Godhead in three Persons, the Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit. And we, Beloved of God, also need to cleanse our hearts before thinking to offer
prayers and worship to God or before receiving the most Holy Mysteries of our Lord and Savior.
Interior cleansing of the self by a servant of God, that he may be a worthy temple of God, ought
to be a regular, daily effort of life, what Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos describes as "dispelling
the clouds of evil from the air of the heart, so that we may see the sun of righteousness,
Christ...so that the principles of His majesty may shine to some extent in the nous," the deep
center of the heart. Such effort should only be undertaken minding the word of St. Symeon the
New Theologian: "the heart cannot be purified without the working of the Holy Spirit, just as the
smith uses his tools, but fire as well....." Today's reading can help us review the steps we need to
take together with the Holy Spirit in order to prepare our hearts for prayer.
Judas Maccabeus "detailed men to fight against those in the citadel until he had cleansed the
sanctuary" (vs. 41). Even though the Seleucid army had withdrawn from Judah in defeat, there
still was a garrison of the pagans inside a fort or citadel within Jerusalem itself. Though these
troops had not the numbers to confront the entire Maccabean army directly, nonetheless they
were capable of forays against the temple and a threat to the cleansing and worship. Hence, a
detail was assigned either to rid the city of this unit or at least to contain them.
Likewise, we must maintain constant watchfulness against the forays of Satan and our own flesh,
for these are at work to distract us from Christ and too often bring new impurity and sin to our
hearts and minds. Fasting, self-control, sleeping on the ground, standing vigils and other bodily
ascetic practices are good for keeping the self from committing sin. Part of our personal energy
ought to be detailed to warding off such manifest attempts against us.
Since the former altar had been profaned, the "blameless" priests "tore down the altar, and....took
unhewn stones, as the Law directs, and built a new altar" (vss. 45-47). We likewise must tear
down the profaned elements in our self and make our heart a new altar composed of pure stones
of truth, stillness, and the virtues of faith, hope, and love. This must be done in a manner which
He Who gave the Law will direct, guide, and assist us in accomplishing.
When the Maccabees completed cleansing, they "rose and offered sacrifice, as the Law directs,
on the new altar...which they had built" (vs. 53). This was on "the twenty-fifth day of the ninth
month, which is the month of Chislev" (vss. 52,59) - now the Feast of Hanukkah for Jews. In
Christ, however, we "are the temple of God" in which His Spirit dwells inasmuch as we cleanse
our hearts to be worthy altars. Let us ask God to illumine the candlestand of our heart, make our
prayers as pure incense and receive the unworthy bread of our life as a holy offering.
O good Lord, cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of Thy Holy Spirit that we may
perfectly love Thee and worthily magnify Thy Holy Name.
Tuesday, August 3, 2004
Dormition Fast Venerable Isaac, Dalmatos, and Faustus
Kellia: Ruth 1:1-4 Epistle: 1 Corinthians 15:29-38 Gospel: St. Matthew 21:23-27
Ruth 1:1-14, especially vs. 14: "Then they lifted up their voices and
wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her." Statistics collected
during the last half century face us with some rather painful facts about the vulnerability and
struggles of families in contemporary society, yet they also reinforce the importance of healthy,
intimate marital and parenting relationships that form men and women into strong, God-fearing
persons. The saga of the Book of Ruth has much to say about healthy family relationships as the
primary matrix for fostering God-pleasing and Life-giving virtues.
The opening passage of the Book of Ruth directs attention to various ways in which the virtue of
trust aids a person in picking up life when events shatter daily routines and working assumptions.
The reading affirms that it is possible to go on living with love, hope, and purpose while there is
life and breath. Privation, loss of a spouse, death of children, family breakup, and aging summon
us to trust. Can we trust that relocating will supply the essentials of life? Can we trust in our
own capacity to carry out the myriad tasks required for keeping a family together? Can we trust
that we will find meaning in life when all that we have worked for is torn away by catastrophe?
Can we trust others enough to set them free to work out their lives apart from us? Can we trust in
an old age alone without the comfort and support of loving relationships?
The threat of famine is a constant in simple agrarian societies. Drought, other cruel weather, or
social chaos can bring whole regions and peoples quickly to starvation. Even the last 'scientific'
century saw this sort of privation come to peoples and countries on every continent. Migration
and relocation was forced on families already weak and debilitated by hunger.
Why famine came to Judah in the time of Elimelech is not told, but the man trusted emigration to
save his family (vs. 3). Thus he left kin and heritage from the Lord and went into a foreign
country. Archaeological studies reveal that the Moabite language was similar to Hebrew, yet the
people worshiped a false deity, Chemosh, and not the true God. Still, it was trust that enabled
Elimelech to venture into circumstances where he and his family would be aliens.
The untimely death of Elimelech left his widow with two sons to manage the family's farming
operation. Naomi, with trust in what was left to her, in her own skills and in the abilities of her
two sons, was able to make a go of their life in Moab even without Elimelech. She found the
trust required for survival, and the family thrived: the sons "took Moabite wives" (vs. 4).
However, the shocks of life were not over for Naomi, for "both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that
the woman was bereft of her two sons and her husband" (vs. 5). Naomi had been able to trust in
her own strength and ability to manage a family farm so long as she had sufficient hands and
arms to handle all the work required. However, three widows could not face all the tasks by
themselves, for the demands of farming, even in a rudimentary economy, were too much. Reports
from Bethlehem gave her the hope to return to Judah (vss. 6,7).
Notice that Naomi had trust in herself as well as in her young daughters-in-law to set them free to
leave her and stay among their own people. She encouraged them: "Go, return each of you to her
mother's house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with
me" (vs. 8). They wept together at facing the hard choices that had come upon them (vs. 14).
Orpah followed the natural course of trust in family and culture and turned back; "but Ruth clung
to her" (vs. 14), trusting in the godly manner of life she had found in Naomi. O Lord our God
Who rulest over our souls and bodies, in Whose hand is our breath and all our ways, grant us so
to trust Thee in this life that we lose not Thy heavenly Kingdom.
Wednesday, August 4, 2004
Dormition Fast The Seven Sleepers of Ephesos
1st of Vespers Transfiguration: Exodus 24:12-18 Epistle: 1 Corinthians 16:4-12
Gospel: St. Matthew 21:28-32
Exodus 24:12-18, especially vs. 16: " The glory of the Lord settled on
Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days; and on the seventh day He called to Moses out of
the midst of the cloud." St. John the Theologian declares that "no one has seen God at any time"
(1 Jn. 4:12), yet, in another place, St. John reports the words of Christ our God to Philip: "he who
has seen Me has seen the Father" (Jn. 14:9). When we consider whether it is possible to see God,
let us hold both of these statements in mind, for while they appear contradictory, still, taken
together, they express a wider truth concerning human vision and God.
On the one hand, the sight of God in glory for all of fallen, sinful humanity is a terrifying vision,
an unbearable sight. As we say at the Vespers of Transfiguration, it is a "sight...that may not be
looked upon." On the other hand, let us never miss the significance of the Apostolic assertion
concerning Him Who was from before time and forever but became Incarnate: "we have seen
with our eyes...we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life
[Who] was manifested and...seen" (1 Jn. 1:1,2).
At least one purpose of the Incarnation of Christ our God was to disclose to mankind the vision
of God in the most complete manner apprehensible to human sight, that in seeing we might be
saved. The three Disciples with Christ on the mountain when He "shone forth in glory" indeed
saw something of His Divinity. They fell down before His radiance. That sight of God was
limited to what they could bear; for seeing Jesus transfigured by His Divinity, they fell "down on
their faces kneeling...overcome with astonishment." The present reading from Exodus helps
further to clarify our understanding of what it means to behold the glory of God.
First, like Moses (Ex. 24:12), Peter, James, and John, went "up on the mountain" at the Lord's
behest (Mt. 17:1). "Moses rose with his servant Joshua and...went up into the mountain of God"
(vs. 13), because God specifically said to him, "Come up to Me" (Ex. 24:12). We are not told
how Moses heard God. It was another instance of a man hearing God even when He was not
present "in the flesh" (Jn. 1:14). Therefore, let us understand that the Prophet heard with the ears
of his heart - with spiritual hearing (1 Sam. 9:15). Now in the case of Jesus' Disciples, we know
that they heard the Lord with their physical ears; yet, in their hearts, they also had heard enough
so that they did not wish to leave Him (Jn. 6:68). Hence, they followed Him readily.
When Moses "went up into the mountain of God" (vs. 15), he left the community of Israel
behind. Thus, he was separated from the company of other men except for Joshua. Likewise,
when the Disciples went up with the Lord, notice that it was "by themselves" (Mt. 17:1). The
sight of God is not revealed to the common throng. In addition, to shield His meeting with
Moses, the man, the Lord "covered the mountain" with a cloud (Ex. 12:15). Thus, the Prophet
did not continue up the mountain toward God, but waited for the Lord upon the slopes a full six
days, until God should call him higher into the cloud at the peak (vs. 16).
See the parallel: when the three Disciples were on top of Mount Tabor with the Lord, "a bright
cloud overshadowed them" (Mt. 17:5). And when Moses met God in the cloud, "the glory of the
Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people" below (Ex.
24:17). What then must the sight of God have been like for Moses within the cloud? St. Luke's
report is suggestive: that those with Peter "were heavy with sleep" at seeing Jesus transfigured
(Lk. 9:32), beholding His glory only "as far as they could bear it."
Let us go up to the mount of the Lord and to the house of our God, ascending by the Spirit to
behold His glory as of an only Son of the Father, in praise of the Life-giving Trinity.
Thursday, August 5, 2004
Dormition Fast Martyr Euginios of Antioch
2nd of Transfiguration: Exodus 33:11-23; 34:4-6, 8 Epistle: 2 Corinthians 1:1-7
Gospel: St. Matthew 21:43-46
Exodus 33:11-23; 34:4-6, 8 LXX, especially vss. 19, 20: "And God
said, I will pass by before thee with My glory, and I will call by My Name, the Lord, before thee;
and I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and will have pity on whom I will have pity.
And God said, Thou shalt not be able to see My face: for no man shall see My face, and live."
On Mount Sinai, through His servant Moses, the Lord God gave His ancient People Covenant
laws, including both moral commandments and detailed forms of worship. God chose to deliver
these covenant prescriptions through "Moses face to face, as if one should speak to his friend"
(vs. 11). The Lord, ever free to "have mercy on whom [He] will have mercy, and...pity on whom
[He] will have pity" (vs. 19), "found grace" (vs. 17) for Moses before Himself. Thus, He
permitted the Seer to behold His "back parts," but His face did not appear to him (vs. 23). God
the Lord did manifest Himself to some extent to this man of God who found grace in His eyes.
While the Holy Fathers agree that no fallen, mortal man may see the face or essence of God,
which is beyond every form of perception in this present life, yet Moses was granted a great
privilege, to have God manifest Himself to him in some manner. Saint Gregory of Nyssa points
out that "Scripture does not indicate that this [beholding of God] causes the death of those who
look, for how would the face of life ever be the cause of death to those who approach it. On the
contrary, the Divine is by its nature life-giving." What then? As Saint Gregory explains, "Yet it
is the characteristic of the divine nature to transcend all characteristics. Therefore he who thinks
God is something to be known does not have life, because he has turned from true being to what
he considers by sense perception to have being." Still, God manifested Himself to Moses.
What did God allow Moses to behold? Or rather, what did Moses see when God put him "in a
hole of the rock" (vs. 22) and covered him over with His hand, until He passed by? What are we
to make of the phrase "back parts"(vs. 23), and what sort of a Divine manifestation can be
referred to in such words? St. Augustine reframes the matter by directing attention to the deep
truth inherent in the words: "As regards this life, Moses is told, 'Nobody has seen the face of God
and lived.' You see, in this life we are not meant to live in order to see that Face; we are meant
to die to the world in order to live forever in God. Then we won't sin, not only by deed but not
even by desire, when we see that Face which beats and surpasses all desires."
Let us then direct our attention to the real problem we face in having God manifest Himself to us
- our sin. Thus, St. Augustine appeals to us, "Because it is so lovely [the face of God], my
brothers and sisters, so beautiful, that once you have seen it, nothing else can give you pleasure.
It will give insatiable satisfaction of which we will never tire. We will always be hungry and
always have our fill." But the filling is in the age and life to come. In this present life, where sin
is rife in us and everywhere around us, where it distorts the perception of the heart and blinds the
eyes of the soul, and blockades the manifestation of God, let us be about ridding ourselves of sin
as an urgent priority of our lives. Let us truly strive against our numerous infirmities and to seek
ever to please the Lord we serve "in every deed and word" and show that our true desire is to be
"a child and heir of [His] heavenly kingdom."
St. Augustine suggests that Moses was allowed to see prefigured the Person of our Lord Jesus
Christ. "Thus the back parts are taken to be His flesh, in which he was born of the Virgin and
rose again...." Is He not the Lord before Whom we wish to purify and conform our lives so that
when this life is ended, we may behold Him face to face, as our Savior and friend?
Show us, O Lord, Thy mercy, and Thy salvation do Thou give unto us. (Ps. 84:7 LXX)
Friday, August 6, 2004
Fish, Wine, and Oil Transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ
3rd of Transfiguration: 1 Kings 19:3-9, 11-13, 15-16 Epistle: 2 Peter 1:10-19
Gospel: St. Matthew 17:1-9
3-9, 11-13, 15-16 LXX (1 Kings MT), especially vs. 13:
"And it came to pass when Elijah heard that, he wrapt his face in his mantle, and went forth and
stood in the cave; and behold a voice came to him and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?"
Both the experience of the Disciples on Mount Tabor and Elijah's encounter with God on Mt.
Horeb functioned as moments of consciousness-raising. This truth becomes especially obvious
as one reflects on the question which God posed twice to the Prophet, "What doest thou here?"
(vss. 9,13). Witness first that Elijah made virtually the identical answer to the question both
times he was probed by God (vss. 10,14). Second, the answer the Prophet gave God better
answers the question, 'What led you to come here?' The Divine question addressed to Elijah, in
effect leads to the related question: 'Now that you are here, what are you going to do here?'
Who can doubt that God perfectly well knew what brought Elijah to Mt. Horeb? The Prophet's
motivation for going so many days' journey into the Sinai wilderness to Mt Horeb plainly was
fear for his life (vs. 3). Besides, as verses 10 and 14 show, even Elijah understood that he was
driven by mortal dread occasioned by the threats of Queen Jezebel (1 Kngs. 19:2). Considering
these facts, we can realize that God had a far greater motive in asking His question than merely to
confront Elijah with his fright. The Lord had little interest in having Elijah further confess his
fear. Much more, God was concerned to awaken the Prophet to worthy prophetic goals, to
forthright action addressed to the disastrous spiritual condition in Israel. God was calling Elijah
back to the work for which he was well-suited as a man of God.
What of us as People of God? The Lord certainly is using this passage to probe us in whatever
state we find ourselves, to call us into action according to His holy will. The Lord's question is
addressed to each of us: "What doest thou here?" Each one must answer for himself or herself.
Let us also be honest: God well knows how we came to this present place and circumstance in
our lives. He has even richly provided help for us to reach this meeting with Him today. And so,
in the desert of modern society, what are the tasks He is setting before us?
God's goal is very clear from the Gospel text. Speaking to the Disciples concerning the
transfigured Jesus, Whose normal face was now shining "like the sun" and His clothes "white as
the light" (Mt. 17:2), God makes two points. 1) This Jesus, Whom you have known merely as a
man, is now transfigured so that you may perceive that He is God the Son; and, therefore, 2) hear
Him! The Transfigured One, as God, has absolute claim on the life of each one of us.
Hence, God is speaking to awaken us, to raise our consciousness, to set us on the path He
desires - toward His best for us. We will reach that goal as we pay attention to Him Whom
Moses and Elijah, when they conversed with Christ, "made manifest that He was the Lord of the
quick and the dead, and that He was the God Who spake of old in the Law and the Prophets." In
both instances, on Mount Tabor and on Mount Horeb, God puts fear to rest in His beloved; He
by-passes human frailty and dread which clings to this life and calls His People to greater ends.
Both Elijah and the Lord Jesus' Disciples had to get off the mountain where God had confronted
them, and go back into the turmoil of the world to labor, so that men might see some shadow and
trace of the Kingdom to come in this present life. The Disciples had yet to learn the cost of
discipleship through the Lord's Passion and Resurrection. Elijah would encourage Jehu to take
the throne of Israel to purge the moral corruption eating at the heart of Israel's national life.
O God, grant us grace to ask what Thou wouldest have us to do, that Thy Spirit may save us from
all false choices, and that in Thy straight path we may not stumble.
Saturday, August 7, 2004
Dormition Fast Martyrs Dometios and Sozon
Kellia: Ruth 3:1-18 Epistle: Romans 15:30-33 Gospel: St. Matthew 17:24-18:4
Ruth 3:1-18 RSV, especially vs. 5: "And she replied, 'All that
you say I will do.'" In today's passage from Ruth, let us recognize a type of the Mystery by which
each Christian is united to Christ: before a Catechumen is exorcised, he presents himself with his
sponsor to the Priest, indicating that he desires to "flee unto [His] Holy Name, and...take refuge
under the shelter of [His] wings." On the Lord's behalf, "the Priest breathes thrice in the face of
the Catechumen, makes the sign of the Cross thrice on his brow and breast, and says, "In the
Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen." Then the Priest lays his hand
upon the candidate's head, acknowledging his choice to unite himself to "the flock of [His]
inheritance," and to "bow down also before Him" submitting to Him as "King and God." Thus,
submission is made to Christ as Bridegroom, opening the path to "the Bridal chamber."
As Ruth labored as a beggar in the fields of Boaz, she learned the stature and character of this
"near kinsman" (vs. 12) - that he was kind and of great mercy, that she had found favor in his
sight, and that he was an honorable man. Much in the same manner, the Christian inquirer finds
the same to be true of Christ our God - and much, much more. This discovery prepares one to
submit to the prompting of the Holy Spirit Who directs all the Faithful to Christ (Jn. 15:26),
Who, "with His winnowing fan...in His hand...will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and
gather His wheat into the barn..." (Mt. 3:17).
In the place of the Holy Spirit, in this type, Ruth is instructed by Naomi, her mother-in-law, who
tells her how she should proceed to espouse herself to the godly Boaz: "My daughter, should I
not seek a home for you, that it may be well with you?" (Ru. 3:1) Literally, the phrase is "shall I
not seek rest for thee" (KJV has it so). St. Augustine says the same for all the Faithful: "Thou
hast made us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in Thee."
The Moabite woman "came softly, and uncovered [Boaz'] feet, and lay down" (Ru. 3:7). She
modestly placed herself in submission to him, expressing her readiness to be united to him as his
wife. Each of the Lord's own likewise places himself beneath Christ's feet. Note: God the
Father has seated Christ at His right hand, as He declared through the Prophet, "till I make Thine
enemies Thy footstool" (Mt. 22:44). As Ruth sealed her decision to be no longer a Moabite
enemy of God's People, but to prostrate herself at feet of a son of Israel, so each Catechumen
"renounces Satan" and places himself under Christ, bowing down before Him.
Notice that when Boaz discovered Ruth's presence at Midnight and identified who she was, she
freely admitted her purpose and begged him to "spread your covering over your maidservant, for
you are next of kin," that is, you are the nearest of kin and can redeem the right of the childless
kinsman who perished in Moab (Ru. 3:9). As we have already noted, at the beginning of the
Baptismal Mystery, the Lord likewise declares to His new disciple, through His Priest, that he
"hath been found worthy to take refuge under the shelter of [His] wings," as a true member of the
Jerusalem that is above (Mt. 23:37).
In the fashion of our Lord Jesus Christ, Boaz spoke kindly to Ruth, blessing her and calling her
"Daughter" (Ru. 3:10), as the Lord speaks kindly to the soul of each disciple. Further, the man
promised marriage, but declared that he must fulfill the Law completely and determine whether a
nearer kinsman would not exercise his right (vs. 13). Likewise, the Lord came "under the law, to
redeem them that were under the law" (Gal. 4:4,5).
I behold Thy bridal chamber, richly adorned, O my Savior; but I have no wedding garment to
worthily enter. Make radiant the garment of my soul and save me.
Sunday, August 8, 2004
Dormition Fast (Tone 1) The Sunday after the Transfiguration
Kellia: Ruth 4:1-22 Epistle: 1 Corinthians 4:9-16 Gospel: St. Matthew 17:14-23
Ruth 4:1-22, especially vs. 6: "Then the next of kin said, 'I cannot
redeem it for myself, lest I impair my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption yourself, for I
cannot redeem it.'" It helps to focus on duty while reading this passage. Under the Mosaic Law,
it was a duty to redeem a family's heritage in land when the property was threatened with sale
outside the clan (Lev. 25:23-28). God commanded redemption as part of the larger principle
involving the entire Promised Land: "the land shall not be sold permanently, for the land is
Mine...and in all the land of your possession you shall grant redemption" (Lev. 25:23,24).
The man Elimelech had died while living away from Bethlehem in Moab. The normal
expectation - that his sons would keep claim to the family property in Bethlehem - was voided by
their untimely deaths (Ru. 1:5). How could the family allotment be retained in Elimelech's
extended family in perpetuity as the Law required (Lev. 25:25-28)? Naomi, as a poor widow,
was without the means to protect the land of her deceased husband. She was forced to sell, and
the rights of Elimelech's family to the property were endangered. Whether Naomi was forced to
sell in order to survive, being destitute, or whether Elimelech had already sold the land before he
left for Moab and Naomi was now pressing the obligation on the family to buy it back, is not
clear. No matter, for as Boaz states clearly: "the parcel of land which belonged to our kinsman
Elimelech" must be redeemed as the Law stipulates (Ru. 4:3,4). He understood the duty.
Boaz went to the gate of the city, where public business was transacted, and approached the
nearest of kin to Elimelech. He put the matter to the nearest relative: "If you will redeem it,
redeem it; but if you will not, tell me, that I may know, for there is no one besides you to redeem
it, and I come after you" (vs. 4). The relative closest to Elimelech was willing to buy until Boaz
stated the additional obligation: "you are also buying Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of the dead,
in order to restore the name of the dead to his inheritance" (vs. 5). She would come along with
the purchase. Duty aside, the next of kin demurred, "I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I impair
my own inheritance" (vs. 6). His demur passed the right of redemption to Boaz, the next in line.
"Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, 'You are witnesses this day that I have bought
from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and to
Mahlon. Also Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, I have bought to be my wife, to
perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance'" (vss. 9,10). The matter was now public
record. The witnesses sealed Boaz' action with a blessing (vss. 11,12) that reads much like the
blessing in the Orthodox marriage service: "Bless them, O Lord our God, as Thou didst bless
Abraham and Sarah. Bless them, O Lord our God as Thou didst bless Isaac and Rebecca...."
The ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle, observed that "we become what we are as persons by
the decisions that we ourselves make." Ruth chose to leave her native land and to adopt the
People of God as her people (Ru. 1:16). Naomi chose to send Ruth to Boaz discreetly with a
proposal of marriage (Ru. 3:1-4), and Ruth chose to obey (Ru. 3:5). Boaz chose to "do the part of
the next of kin" if possible (Ru. 3:13). The nearest kinsman to Elimelech chose to side-step the
duty of redemption when it entailed marriage to Ruth (Ru. 4:6), and thus, in the mystery and
providence of God, Ruth and Boaz became the great grandparents of the holy king and Prophet,
David. They are immortalized for trust, loyalty, industry, kindness, submission, and fulfillment
of duty, and, thus, became the ancestors-in-the-flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Let us all celebrate the memory of the revered forefathers, extolling their lives by which they
were made great and ask of Christ our God that we may walk in their holy footsteps.
Monday, August 9, 2004
Dormition Fast Venerable Herman of Alaska, Wonderworker
Kellia: Joel 1:1-14 Epistle: 2 Corinthians 2:4-15 Gospel: St. Matthew 23:13-22
Joel 1:1-14, especially vss. 12, 13:
"The vine withers, the fig tree languishes. Pomegranate, palm, and apple, all the trees of the
field are withered; and gladness fails from the sons of men. Gird on sackcloth and lament, O
priests, wail, O ministers of the altar. Go in, pass the night in sackcloth...." During the last
century, terrible days, unimaginable in horror and degradation, fell on peoples across the globe.
Sometimes these dark disasters were caused by the unforgiving upheavals of nature, but at other
times by the brute decisions of men, including the savagery of war and revolution. The images
that haunted the news photos and correspondents' reports still stagger the mind. How can we
speak of life's blessings, the artistry of men and women, and the promise of science, and then be
plunged into sudden death, plague, and gloom? The Prophets of Scripture, being filled with the
Spirit of God and alert to the word of the Lord, call us to heed God's judgment in life's
calamities, to lament and mourn and fast when "gladness fails from the sons of men" (vs. 12).
They also prompt us to look for God's restoration of His People and for the New Jerusalem.
The small collection of prophecies from the Prophet Joel reveals both aspects of the Lord's
activity in the fabric of history, "the blood and fire and columns of smoke" (Joel 2:30) as well as
"the sweet wine and the hills" flowing with milk (Joel 3:18). In the opening passage, Joel 1:1-14,
the Prophet describes a natural disaster that swept down upon Judah, withering life and
consuming everything before it, "the swarming locust" (Joel 1:4). Devouring the standing grain
crops in the fields and stripping the vineyards and fruit trees bare, this insect horde removed all
food from man and beast. The event was so striking that Joel urges us: "tell your children of it,
and let your children tell their children and their children another generation" (vs. 3). He could
remember nothing like it in his lifetime nor in all of history (vs. 2).
The Prophet teaches us to wake up (vs. 5) and perceive "the word of the Lord" (vs. 1), to allow
all the events of life to rouse us, much as the locust plague awakened him (vs. 1). We learn to be
true historians from Joel, and not to reduce, in our minds, the events of life to mere "news
stories," nor to see what happens only with the eyes of the flesh. Indeed, "hear what the Spirit
says" (Rev. 2:7)! "Hear this, you aged men, give ear, all inhabitants of the land!" (vs. 2).
Attentiveness with the heart to what the Lord is saying opens our inner eyes to the deeper levels
of personal existence, as well as the meaning of all history for nations and peoples. We can be so
deadened by routine and drinking in the good things of life, that we have no interior blessing and
are merely dead souls walking about in dying bodies: "Awake, you drunkards!" (vs. 5).
The conditions of life often change overnight and catch us unaware. Locusts devastate a whole
region. HIV infects half the population of an entire nation. An annual physical exposes
metastatic cancer raging throughout the body. Friday afternoon comes, bringing an unexpected
pink slip and a final pay check. A note on the kitchen table announces, "I have left you and gone
away. I will not be back. Hug the kids for me." Oh, indeed, the sweet wine can be "cut off from
your mouth" (vs. 5) when you least expect it and you may not be prepared to face the aftermath.
Observe the admonitions of the Prophet. Let his experience be a wake-up call. Do not be taken
off guard by sore and unexpected calamities. Rather, let us "lament" (vs. 8), and "mourn" (vs. 9)
and "wail" (vs. 11), "gird on sackcloth" (vs. 13), sanctifying the Church's holy seasons of fasting
and Her regular week day fasts, and, then, let us "cry to the Lord" (vs.14). Grant, O Lord Jesus
Christ, that we may complete the remaining time of our life in peace and repentance, ending this
present life with a good defense before Thy dread Judgment Seat.
Tuesday, August 10, 2004
Dormition Fast Martyr and Archdeacon Laurence of Rome
Kellia: Joel 1:14-2:11 Epistle: 2 Corinthians 2:14-3:3 Gospel: St. Matthew 23:23-28
Joel 1:14-2:11, especially vs. 2:11: "The
Lord utters His voice before His army, for His host is exceedingly great; He that executes His
word is powerful. For the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; who can endure it?" In
Joel 1:1-14, the Prophet describes a plague of locusts that pierced his heart and enabled him to
receive "the word of the Lord" (Joel 1:1). In turn, what he heard from the Lord impelled him to
cry out to his fellow countrymen: "Hear this.... give ear, all inhabitants of the land!" (Joel 1:2).
However, as his prophecy developed, it became clear that the message was more than merely a
plea to "hear, awake, and be confounded" (Joel 1:2,5,11). Because the "word" which Joel
received was from God, then the action called for in the prophecy was required by the Lord
Himself. The people were to "wail, lament, and gird on sackcloth" (Joel 1:5,8,13) - in short, to
"sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly. Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to
the house of the Lord your God; and cry to the Lord" (Joel 1:14). Divine judgment was revealed
to the Prophet through a natural disaster, and it was accompanied by a Divine command.
The present reading continues the earlier passage read before, being joined by verse 1:14 - the
actual Divine command to gather for a time of fasting and prayer before the Lord in His temple.
The pattern of Joel's presentation moves from the experience of Divine judgment to an
expectation of a response. The pattern is classically Biblical. It is God's way of communicating.
When the two lessons are read together as one prophecy, we are able to note three truths that
emerge: 1) the Prophet writes, but it is the Lord Who speaks. 2) The catastrophes of this present
life are windows for glimpsing the final and ultimate judgment of God. 3) Those who are blessed
to hear God's judgment also know that the Lord demands a response.
One should not read today's passage or the previous lesson outside of the context set by the very
first verse of the Prophecy of Joel - that it was "the word of the Lord that came to Joel." While
one may say, "Joel teaches" or "the Prophet calls upon us to cry," let us recognize that absolute
precision requires one to say, "the Lord teaches" or "God calls upon us to cry." Of course, both
forms of speech actually are appropriate, for the Prophet is not a "mindless sound-system" or
some "soulless pen" in the Divine hand. Rather, Joel must be heeded as a Spirit-filled and holy
man of prayer, what the Holy Fathers of the Church call a "true theologian."
It is purity of heart and spirit in the Prophet Joel that enables him to be a clarion voice of God, to
be one through whom the Spirit of God speaks with so little distortion. It should not surprise us
that he is able to move readily from a regional, natural disaster to a declaration of "the day of the
Lord" (vs. 1:15) - to declare that final, ultimate Divine judgment is very near. As one reads the
present passage over carefully, it becomes harder and harder to separate the two realities,
temporal and eternal. Is Joel calling God's people to sanctify a fast to seek amelioration from the
immediate consequences of a disaster in which a swarm of locusts stripped the countryside, or is
he calling the people to "tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming, is near - a day of darkness
and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness" (vss. 2:1,2)? Events become transparent to those
who are cleansed and pure before the Lord.
Therefore, we too must heed the Prophet, for he calls directly from God to our ears, as well as to
the ears of the people of his own generation. "The Lord utters His voice," therefore let us "pass
the night in sackcloth, O ministers of...God....and cry to the Lord" (Joel 1:13,14).
If I think upon the multitude of my evil deeds, I tremble for the terrible Day of Judgment. But
trusting the compassion of Thy mercy, I shout to Thee, Have mercy upon me, O God.
Wednesday, August 11, 2004
Dormition Fast Martyr & Archdeacon Euplos of Catania
Kellia: Joel 2:28-3:8 Epistle: 2 Corinthians 3:4-11 Gospel: St. Matthew 23:29-39
Joel 2:28-3:8, especially vs. 3:1, 2: "For then, in those
days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all the
nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat, and I will enter into judgment with
them there, on account of My people and My heritage Israel...." In this passage from Joel, the
Prophet continues to declare God's twofold message of judgment and restoration which one also
finds in the previous reading: "But the Lord was jealous of His land, and spared His people. And
the Lord answered and said to His people, 'Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and
ye shall be satisfied with them...'" (Joel 2:18,19). In the present passage, God's message now
takes on an international scope involving "all flesh" (Joel 2:28), "the heavens and...the earth" (vs.
2:30), and "all the nations" (vs. 3:2). In presenting God's larger vision of judgment and
restoration, the prophecy leaves behind a single disaster and specific promises that better days
will follow, and introduces the "great and terrible day of the Lord" (vs. 2:31) when God will
"restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem" (vs. 3:1) for His People and His heritage (vs. 3:2).
First of all, a time is coming "afterward," says the Lord, when "I will pour out My Spirit on all
flesh" (vs. 2:28). The ethnocentrism that marred the spiritual life of the ancient People of God
vanishes in this portion of Joel's prophecy in favor of that universal message we know from the
Lord Jesus' command to disciple all nations (Mt. 28:19), and we see why the Apostle Peter chose
to quote this very passage in the first proclamation of the Christian message on the day of
Pentecost (Acts 2:17). No longer may the gift of the Spirit be limited ethnically, but, as the Acts
shows, it is for Gentile Romans (Acts 10:44,45), hated Samaritans (Acts 8:14-17) - everyone
across the face of the entire world, "everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord" (Joel 2:32).
In this latter time, not only will the gift of the Holy Spirit be extended to all people, but also God
will "show portents in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke" (vs.
2:30). Remember that from the time "the Bridegroom of the Church calleth the Magi" by a "star
which they had seen in the East [and] went before them, till it came and stood over where the
young Child was" (Mt. 2:9), there have been occasions when such signs in the heaven and on
earth have been manifested. "There was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour" as "the
sun was darkened" during the Crucifixion (Lk. 23:44,45), and an apparition of the sign of the
Cross over Jerusalem in 351AD, began at nine o'clock in the morning, "brighter than the sun and
more beautiful than the loveliest rainbow." It was seen by believers and unbelievers alike. And
the Lord promises that His return will be like lightning filling all the heavens (Lk. 17:24).
Most significantly, the Lord revealed to Joel both the universal salvation which is now available
in and through the Church for all peoples, and the universal judgment which God will accomplish
when He gathers "the nations and bring[s] them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat, and...enter[s]
into judgment with them there, on account of My people..." (Joel. 3:2).
For all who have assaulted God's People, the notorious persecutors such as Antiochus Epiphanes,
Herod, Nero, Diocletian, Hitler, Stalin and all deluded men who believed they could wipe out the
presence of God, to them the Lord declares: "If you are paying Me back, I will turn your deeds
back upon your own heads swiftly and speedily" (vs. 3:4). Conversely, through all time, the Lord
Jesus, by His Holy Spirit, is rousing and restoring His own beloved who have been held in
bondage "to leave the places to which" they were sold and return to Life (vs. 3:7). The whole
creation, O Christ, hath been transfigured by fear beholding Thee suspended on the Cross, and
the sun was darkened when Thou didst endure all for us. Glory to Thee.
Thursday, August 12, 2004
Dormition Fast Martyrs Photios & Anikytos of Nicomedia
Kellia: Joel 3:9-21 Epistle: 2 Corinthians 4:1-6 Gospel: St. Matthew 24:13-28
Joel 3:9-21 RSV, especially vs.
12: "Let the nations bestir themselves, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat; for there I will
sit to judge all the nations round about." In Joel 2:28-3:8, the focus of the Prophet's Divine
message shifted from a local devastation and recovery experienced by the people of Judah to
worldwide judgment - a great gathering of all peoples in "the valley of Jehoshaphat" before the
Lord (Joel 3:2). Jehoshaphat mea