Wednesday, April 28, 2004
Christ is Risen!
The Nine Martyrs of Kyzikos
Kellia: Deuteronomy 1:5-18 Apostle: Acts 8:18-25 Gospel: St. John 6:35-39
Deuteronomy 1:5-18 RSV, especially vs. 8: "Behold, I have set the land before you; go in and take
possession of the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to
their descendants after them." For the Faithful in Christ, the admonitions of the Prophet Moses must ever be read through
the lens of that higher vision revealed by the Lord and His Holy Apostles. Hence, when the Lord Jesus was asked by the
Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come, His answer led away from a materially measurable kingdom with
boundaries on this earth, even from one that might encompass the entire planet. God has lifted the eyes of faith from the
sort of observations made by geographers and the border patrol. As the Lord reveals, "the kingdom of God is within you"
(Lk. 17:21). This is the land that must be purified for God and wrested from the enemy.
Possession of the land as promised to the Holy Forefathers, being misconstrued by ancient Israel, repeatedly has defeated
those who will only think in "measurable" categories, with the result that for those who cling to the Old Covenant alone,
"the word which they heard did not [and does not] profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it" (Heb.
4:2), nor does it result in the "rest" promised by God to those who did and who now possess the physical land.
Nevertheless, as the Apostle was wont to point out, "it remains that some must enter" (Heb. 4:6), and the Lord Jesus Christ
has amply pointed out the Way by which all men may possess the land.
As the present passage indicates, the process of possessing the Kingdom of God begins when one meets the living God.
For Moses and the people of ancient Israel this occurred at Horeb (Mt. Sinai). It was there that God, Whose rule extends
from His Heavenly Kingdom over all creation, revealed His Commandments to His People. There they entered into
covenant with Him Who ever reveals Himself, His all-Holy will and His unalterable Law. Let us who have united
ourselves to Christ in His Holy Church, the true Israel of God, also accept His rule in heart, soul, and body so that His
Kingdom may come "on earth as it is in heaven" (Mt. 6:10).
Ever following the Prophetic admonition, let us "turn and take [our] journey, and go to the hill country of the Amorites"
(Dt. 1:7), into the pagan, unconverted world that accepts iniquity and self-will as good and normal (Gen. 15:16). Moses'
counsel was to possess "all" the land, and its boundaries he described in detail: from the Negev desert in the south all the
way to the Euphrates river in the north, and from the sea east into the area that now constitutes the populous region of the
present-day Kingdom of Jordan.
For Christians, in pursuing the Kingdom within, the struggle for purity must cover every aspect of our life, something the
Holy Fathers of the ascetic life describe in detail. All must be possessed, cleansed, and brought under the rule of God with
no aspect of one's life avoided.
Let us take up the struggle for possession, praying that God may "make [us] a thousand times as many as [we] are, and
bless [us], as He has promised [us]!" (Dt. 1:11). To have any hope of success in the endeavor of "possessing the land" for
the Lord, we must learn from the Prophet Moses and submit ourselves to "wise, understanding, and experienced men" (vs.
13) in our parishes, dioceses, archdioceses all over the world. May our leaders who guide us in possessing the Kingdom
"judge righteously between a man and his brother or the alien" (vs. 16). Pray for them that they "shall not be partial in
judgment [but]....shall hear the small and the great alike...shall not be afraid of the face of man, for the judgment is God's"
(vs. 17).
Be mindful, O Lord, of Thy Holy Orthodox, Catholic and Apostolic Church; confirm and strengthen it, increase it and
keep it in peace, and preserve it unconquerable forever.