Messages
Titus 3:10 The Council of Chalcedon
The Council of Chalcedon
by Fr. Daniel Thomas
When I was a boy we had a secret club. We only allowed members in all would agree upon and we all had to follow the rules of the club. We had secret forts and tree houses, secret handshakes and secret codes. This was popular at the time. We did everything by consensus and never did anything wrong or immoral. One day, a new boy who was older than us came to join. At first, he was great and went along with everyone. Later, he began to tell some of the boys that our rules were stupid or only for sissies. He led some of the boys off into things they should not do. So, the whole group of us confronted him about his not following our rules and told him he could not be a member any longer. We were still friendly, but he could not be a member of our club. He was too dangerous and would get us all into trouble.
Today, we remember the 4th Ecumenical Council, the Council of Chalcedon. During that time, there was great uncertainty about the nature of Christ, the Holy Spirit, and about Mary. Some of those who held views that were not in keeping with Tradition used violence to support their ways. Others just used political pressure and doctrinal arguments. Many who help heretical views were good and godly men who were merely mistaken. Some repented, others did not. Many continued to be loved even though it was recognized that they did not follow all of the truth. Today we want to look at this event and see what it teaches us.
Titus 3:10-11
10 Reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition,11 knowing that such a person is warped and sinning, being self-condemned.[1]
The idea of “divisive” in this passage means a person who gets hold of some truth of the Faith but makes that the main thing to the exclusion of other things or perverts the truth in some manner. Such a one causes division by teaching others these things and people follow after it.
For example, it is true that God wants to prosper us. However, there are those who make this the main issue and go so far as to teach that if you are not prospering financially you either have no faith or are sinning in some way. They disregard all other Biblical truth about hard work, planning, good counsel, and even the prosperity of the soul. They even misquote the Scripture about God prospering you as your soul prospers. It is as your soul prospers. God is more interested in your becoming more like Christ and others being touched by your life than with you becoming rich. But the error appeals to basic instincts and not the higher.
The truth is usually more complicated than error, which is why people will follow error. Or, the error appeals to some baser instinct. In any case, the one teaching the erroneous doctrine is a danger to the Church universal and to the Church local, as well as to individuals and their salvation.
St. Peter warned: 2 Peter 2:1-3
But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.2 And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed.3 By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.[2]
Notice, that the false prophets and teachers do this for personal gain. There is always some motive behind those like Peter warned us about. Some will even deny the Lord. This is what was happening in the Church and was the cause of the 4th Ecumenical Council. An Ecumenical Council was not, as today, a coming together of liberal churchmen to explain away the Faith. Rather, it was a gathering of the Bishops (the biblical word) of the Church Universal to study a complex and perplexing problem and to solve it with the help of the Holy Spirit, who is the Prime Mover and Lord of the Church.
2 Timothy 4:3-4
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.[3]
The Warning St. Paul gave shows that even then, as now, people will follow error because it appeals to the baser instincts and is, thus, more appealing to the appetites than the Truth. Many follow the ways of error and turn aside to all sorts of fables, myths, superstitions, and errors.
Proverbs 22:10
10 Throw out the mocker, and fighting, quarrels, and insults will disappear.[4]
These cause divisions. They mock the Truth and mock those who believe the Truth. Once they are dealt with, the strife ceases.
This is exactly what the Church did in 450 A. D.
Today is the day we celebrate the 4th Ecumenical Council, the Council of Chalcedon. All true Christians, whether Orthodox, Baptist, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic, etc, are all Chalcedonian Christians. In other words, what the Church accomplished at that time is binding upon us all and that is where we get out faith from.
Held in Chalcedon, near Constantinople, 451. Under Emperor Marcian. 630 Bishops were present.
One thing facing the Church was Nestorianism. It still had not been defeated. Nestorianism was a basic denial of Christ’s true nature. It denied Christ’s full divinity by implication. Nestorius denied that Mary was the Theotokos, or mother of God. But Nestorius thought it confused Christ’s humanity and his godhead. Christ was two different persons inhabiting the same body (this made christ like two people living next door to each other in a duplex or link houses that had a wall seperating them. The wall of partition or division was rent in two and is forever abolished, according to the Bible), basically. Mary, he argued, was only to be called “Mother of man” or, like many protestants today who do not remember this event, ‘the Mother of Christ’ since she is only the mother of Christ’s humanity, and not of his divinity (you can still hear this in many protestant churches today because, being divorced from the ancient church they do not have the background to understand the full implications of what they say). St. Cyril and the council answered with John 1 “the Word of god became flesh.” What Mary bore was not a man loosely united to God, but a single and undivided person, who is God and Man at once. (There never was a time when he ceased to be God, either. He was god from everlasting and will be to everlasting). The Greek name Theotokos given to Mary safeguards the unity of Christ’s person. To deny her this title is to separate the Incarnate Christ into two, breaking down the bridge between God and Man and erecting within Christ’s person a middle wall of partition (which scripture says was torn down). Therefore, it was not just merely for a title for Mary, rather the very message of salvation was at issue here. The same primacy of homoousios (Christ is the same essence with the father) has for the doctrine of the Trinity, the word Theotokos (bearer of god) has for the doctrine of the Incarnation and, thus, for salvation.
There was also the problem of monophytism. this was a heresy that taught christ only had one nature—the divine.
The Council was concerned, once again, with the nature of Jesus Christ. The teaching arose that Christ's human nature (less perfect) dissolved itself in His divine nature (more perfect): like a cube of sugar in a post of water. Thus, in reality, Christ had only one nature, the Divine. Hence, the term: Monophysites ("mono", one and "physis", "nature".) Monophysitism overemphasized the divine nature of Christ, at the expense of the human.
The Council condemned Monophysitism and proclaimed that Christ has two complete natures: the divine and the human, as defined by previous Councils. These two natures function without confusion, are not divided nor separate (against Nestorius), and at no time did they undergo any change (against Eutyches: Monophysites).
It was at Chalcedon that the True Faith was once and for all defined. It was here that the Truth won a great victory. It is true not everyone accepted this, for these heretics took over the lower Arabian Peninsula and moved to the east to places like India. It is interesting to note that the church started by St. Thomas in India is now Chalcedonian and will be in communion with us again.
It was also at Chalcedon that the Ecumenical Patriarchate was given birth.
What does all this tell us? St. Paul wrote for us to earnestly contend for the faith. In a day when it is increasingly unpopular to speak up for the truth, or to water it down, we need to stand firm. People will give all sorts of scientific, religious, or philosophical reasons for us to water down, or to not speak of our faith. If there were ever a time men and women of God needed to stand up and be counted, it is now, just as it was then.
Jesus said for us to be like a city on a hill. A city in those days before electricity would shine at night in the darkness and could be seen for miles. Driving across those Kansas prairies late at night, when you near a city, the lights can be seen for miles. This is the way we are to be. We are to be brilliant lights shining in the darkness. We are not to be hidden like we did our cities during WWII but openly shining, showing the way for those who would seek the truth and seek to find salvation in Christ.
You are the only Jesus most people will ever see. It is for you to light the way into the Kingdom for them.
All too often we shy away, hide away, or feel pressured to deny the truth. But this we must proclaim brightly, with our lives, with our voices. This is the faith of our fathers, this is the faith once handed down to the saints, and this is the faith that gives the world life. The early church also put away from themselves those who would not stand for the truth and taught a “different Gospel.” Let us also not be afraid to not make excuses and correct those who are in error (making sure it is not ourselves!) and put out those who will not repent for the sake of the salvation of the world.
The following is the statement of Faith ratified and clarified by the Council, once again. This is the statement of faith for all true Christians. Let us recited the statement of our faith together.
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.
And I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Only-begotten, Begotten of the Father before all worlds, Light of Light, Very God of Very God, Begotten, not made; of one essence with the Father, by whom all things were made.
Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was Incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and was made man;
And was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered and was buried;
And the third day He arose again, according to the Scriptures;
And ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of the Father;
And He shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead, Whose kingdom shall have no end.
And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life, Who proceeds from the Father, Who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified, Who spake by the Prophets.
And I believe in One Holy Catholic and ApostolicChurch.
I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins.
I look for the Resurrection of the dead, and the Life of the world to come.
Amen.
[1]The Holy Bible, New King James Version, (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc.) 1982.
[2]The Holy Bible, New King James Version, (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc.) 1982.
[3]The Holy Bible, New King James Version, (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc.) 1982.
[4]Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1996.
Loving as God Loves, by Fr. Daniel Thomas
Loving as God Loves
by Fr. Daniel Thomas
The EarlyChurch worked from a different paradigm than what is found in the modern WesternChurch. No where is this more evident than in the respective concepts of love. Love, for the modern West, is an attribute that God has that we must emulate. In the EarlyChurch model, love is the essence of the Divine in which we partake. The question of exactly what this love entails and how is it carried out concerns us here: how does one partake of this love, what does it mean for the life of the Christian, and how does one work out accomplishing this love?
When God first created humans, he created them to be in a relationship with himself. He also created humans to be in relation with other humans.[1] They existed in a communion of love with and for God and each other. It is this love that shows humans are created in the image of God; for God is love. This love was not directed toward the self, but towards God and other humans. This shows that humans have no being apart from a communion of love with God and with others. However, when Man fell into sin in the Garden, it was the destruction of that communion. Just as God has being within himself, that is the Trinity, humans have being when in communion with others. “Evil is non-being” according to St. Athanasius[2]. That “being” was destroyed in the Fall and what was left was the self-love of the individual and the resulting problems that arise from it. Indeed, most, if not all, of the problems facing humans today are the result of that self-love, that idea that a person may have being apart from others. This idea is often heard as “it doesn’t matter what I do as long as it doesn’t affect others” and such things. Humans are then open prey for the passions that must surely follow to fill the void left in their lives. This is individualism taken to its worst possible conclusion.
This self-love is, and is known to be, the first sin, the progeny of the devil and the mother of the passions that come after it. He to whom it is granted to be worthy of God through love does away with it, and together with it the whole host of wickedness, which has no other foundation or cause of existence than self-love.[3]
However, God did not leave his beloved humans to their self-imposed situation. The very One who created humans, the Word of God, has himself showed what true love is and became Incarnate, died, and rose again in order to restore that which was lost. “The renewal of creation has been wrought by the Self-same Word Who made it in the beginning.”[4]
Because of this, the Creator of nature himself-who has heard of anything so truly awesome!-has clothed himself with our nature, without change uniting it hypostatically to himself, in order to check what has been borne away, and gather it to himself, so that, gathered to himself, our nature may no longer have any difference from him in its inclination. In this way he clearly establishes the all glorious way of love, which is truly divine and deifying and leads to God. Indeed, love is said to be God himself which from the beginning the thorns of self-love have covered up…[5]
It was, therefore, not for himself that he came, but for humans. It was another’s welfare that he had in mind. This is the example that he himself gave in his coming, that we who live, should live for others, and that, we who love, should love others also. Therefore, this same Christ who came for others, gave the commandment that shows how love is to be accomplished. “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”[6] It is this capacity to love that alone, proves that man is created in the image of God.[7] It is this image which Christ came to restore with the corresponding renewal of loving the way that God loves. Christ shows us in the above passage what this love entails and the means by which this is accomplished in the teachings of the Early Fathers of the Church is the working out of this command.
Since God is love, to enter into this kind of love is to enter into the Divine. One must partake of Christ fully, in mind, actions, and sacrament to enter completely into this deification. This means that if a person is to be in Christ, he must act as Christ acted. “It is necessary, then, for those calling themselves after Christ, first of all, to become what the name implies, and then to adapt themselves to the title.”[8] A person must mentally give assent to being what God intends and must act in such a way also. For, to be perfect is not necessarily to be without any faults, but is to love as God loves. It means giving others the same considerations that one would want for himself. The command sums it up this way, “Do unto others has you would have them do unto you.”[9] Drawing toward God in love also draws humans closer together. Dorotheos of Gaza pictured a circle, with God at the center. Humans were on lines running from the perimeter through the center. Humans only come closer to each other as they progress closer to the center, which is God.[10] What a person does in relation to one affects the relation with the other. In other words, a person cannot claim to love God whom he has never seen, if he does not also love his neighbor whom he has seen.[11] The converse is true also.
As we have seen, however, the problem is that since the Fall, self-love has caused humans to be subject to all sorts of passions. “Whatever a man loves he will desire with all his might. What he desires he strives to lay hold of.”[12] What humans desire is self-love and from this comes tyranny towards others.[13] It is this that brings forth judging, greed, hatred, slander, adultery, and many other things such as these. However, the goal of Divine love is
love of mankind, brotherly and sisterly love, hospitality, compassion, mercy, humility, meekness, patience, freedom from anger, longsuffering, perseverance, kindness, forebearance, goodwill, peace, towards all. Out of these and through these the grace of love is fashioned, which leads one to God who deifies the human being that he himself fashioned.[14]
For this reason, Christians who would become perfect must give up these fruits of self-love in order to love as God loves. They must be ever mindful of their own condition. The Early Fathers used to say, “Oh Lord, he today, I tomorrow!”[15] to keep themselves from falling into the trap of judging others when seeing people caught in sins. After all, it was the tax collector who walked away justified when he asked for God’s mercy, recognizing his own sinfulness. The “righteous” Pharisee, who knew he was better than other men did not walk away justified from the presence of God.[16] His righteousness was a source of pride, which resulted in his being guilty of judging the Tax Collector, and all other humans as well. Judging others was specifically forbidden as all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory.[17] Abba Theodore said, “Do not judge the fornicator, for you yourself would then transgress the law just as much yourself. He who said, ‘do not fornicate’ also said, ‘do not judge.’”[18] This of course, does not mean that sin is to be overlooked. A good illustration of how this works out is found in the following:
Abba Ammonas came one day to eat in a place where there was a monk of evil repute. Now it happened that a woman came and entered the cell of the brother of evil reputation. The dwellers of that place, having learned this, were troubled and gathered together to chase the brother from his cell. Knowing that Bishop Ammonas was in the place, they asked him to join them. When the brother in question learned this, he hid the woman in a large cask. The crowd of monks came to the place. Now Abba Ammonas saw the position clearly, but for the sake of God he kept the secret; he entered, seated himself on the cask, and when they had searched everywhere without finding the woman, Abba Ammonas said, “What is this? May God forgive you for this accusation!” After praying he made everyone go out, then taking the brother by the hand he said, “Brother, be on your guard.” With these words, he withdrew.[19]
There are two things here, one is that the Ammonas was not about to allow others to continue in the sin of judging the monk. A person may have had severe things happen in his or her life that leads to sin in certain areas. For example, in the American West during the 1800’s women were usually not allowed to work and there was no place for a single woman or child. A woman finding herself without a husband or a means of support may have turned to prostitution in order to have enough to eat. Or, a man who beats his wife may have had a childhood of such horror that is unimaginable. This person may have struggled valiantly to overcome this in his life and has yet to be able to do so. We cannot say what goes on inside of a person. Judging such a person is a sign of a lack of humility and of self-love. Dorotheos of Gaza says,
Truly it happens that a man may do a certain thing (which seems to be wrong) out of simplicity, and there may be something about it that makes more amends to God than your whole life; how are you going to sit in judgment and constrict you own soul? And it should happen that he has fallen away, how do you know how much and how well he fought, how much blood he sweated before he did it? Perhaps so little fault can be found in him that God can look on his action as if it were just, for God looks on his labor and all the struggle he had before he did it, and has pity on him…And how do you know what tears he has shed about it before God? You may well know the sin, but you do not know about the repentance.[20]
The second thing is that Ammonas did not ignore the sin. Rather, he admonished the brother about his sinful ways and then, in this manner, restored him as well. Christ restored many who came to him by saying he forgave them and to “go and sin no more.” Christ came into the world to restore fallen humanity to its original state. The first Man Adam fell and the second Man Christ restores. Christ is about restoring humanity to the communion lost in the Fall, then a Christian, acting with the love of God seeks the same end. For this is what we must be about, the restoration of those who fall. We must seek to watch ourselves in the process, but not neglect to reach out and love others as God has loved us. For, Christ himself commands that we are to forgive those who sin and repent as often as they do so. God cannot do any less and we follow his lead.[21] We have received freely and so are to give freely.
As has been stated earlier, love is the embodiment of Christian perfection. According to First Clement, (a.k.a. The Letter of the Romans to the Corinthians) those who are found to be perfect in love are those who will find themselves in the Resurrection at the end of the age.[22] These are those who have put away the passions cause by self-love. There is no factiousness nor, any deceit within these persons. These have laid these aside and have covered the sins of others and have had their own sins covered as a result. They seek to please the Lord above all else. To be a Christian in this manner may seem a little extreme to a modern world that thinks the Sermon on the Mount was not actually meant to be obeyed, but for the Early Church, it was a matter of life and death, of non-being or restoration.
For the Early Christians, learning to love as God loves is being Christian.[23] It means to reject self-love and overcoming the passions that result from it. Further, it means learning to be humble, not judging others in their own struggles, rather, understanding one’s own falleness. Loving as God loves, ultimately means to draw near to God in selfless love that has the good of the other (both God and fellow humans) in mind. For, humans must be transformed by the renewing power of being in communion with the Creator become Incarnate. It is allowing his life to overflow in our own lives. This is finally the goal of all human life, to love as God loves and be loved in return.
Bibliography
Bondi, Roberta C. To Love as God Loves. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1987.
Dorotheos of Gaza. Discourses and Sayings. On Refusal to Judge Our Neighbor.
Evagrius Ponticus. The Praktikos and Chapters on Prayer. Kalamazoo: Cistercian Publications, 1972.
Lightfoot, J.B. and J.R. Harmer. The Apostolic Fathers. First Clement. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1989.
Louth, Andrew. Maximus the Confessor. On Love. London: Routledge, 1996.
St. Athanasius. On the Incarnation. Crestwood: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press,
1996.
St. Gregory of Nyssa. Ascetical Works. On Perfection.
[1] Genesis 1:27; 2:1-25.
[2] St. Athanasius. On the Incarnation. Crestwood: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1996. 30.
[3] Louth, Andrew. Maximus the Confessor. On Love. London: Routledge, 1996. 88.
[4] Athanasius, 26.
[5] Maximus, 91.
[6] Matthew 22:37-39.
[7] Maximus, 86.
[8] St. Gregory of Nyssa. Ascetical Works. On Perfection. 98.
[9] Luke 6:31
[10] Dorotheos of Gaza. Discourses and Sayings. On Refusal to Judge Our Neighbor. 138-139.
[11] 1 John 4:19-21.
[12] Evagrius Ponticus. The Praktikos and Chapters on Prayer. Kalamazoo: Cistercian Publications, 1972. 16.
[13] Maximus, 87.
[14] Ibid, 92.
[15] Bondi, Roberta C. To Love as God Loves. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1987. 22.
[16] Luke 18:9-14.
[17] Matthew 7:1-6 and Romans 3:23.
[18] Bondi, 52. Quoting from Apoth. , Theodore of Eleutheropolis 3, p. 80.
[19] Bondi, 54.
[20] Dorotheos, On Refusal to Judge Our Neighbor, 135.
[21] Matthew 18:21 ff.
[22] Lightfoot, J.B. and J.R. Harmer. The Apostolic Fathers. First Clement. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1989. 56.
[23] Bondi, 107.
Matthew 2 The One Who Takes Our Place (For the Nativity)
He Takes Our Place and Sorrows
by Fr. Daniel Thomas
Matthew 2:1-12
1 Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, 2 “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We have seen his star as it arose, and we have come to worship him.”
3 Herod was deeply disturbed by their question, as was all of Jerusalem. 4 He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law. “Where did the prophets say the Messiah would be born?” he asked them.
5 “In Bethlehem,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote:
6 ‘O Bethlehem of Judah,
you are not just a lowly village in Judah,
for a ruler will come from you
who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.’”
7 Then Herod sent a private message to the wise men, asking them to come see him. At this meeting he learned the exact time when they first saw the star. 8 Then he told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!”
9 After this interview the wise men went their way. Once again the star appeared to them, guiding them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! 11 They entered the house where the child and his mother, Mary, were, and they fell down before him and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 But when it was time to leave, they went home another way, because God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.[1]
Galatians 4:1-7
1 Think of it this way. If a father dies and leaves great wealth for his young children, those children are not much better off than slaves until they grow up, even though they actually own everything their father had. 2 They have to obey their guardians until they reach whatever age their father set.
3 And that’s the way it was with us before Christ came. We were slaves to the spiritual powers of this world. 4 But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. 5 God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. 6 And because you Gentiles have become his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, and now you can call God your dear Father. 7 Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, everything he has belongs to you.[2]
In Greek mythology, Prometheus sinned, wanting to reach God. He was condemned for this by Hephaestus and bound on Mt. Caucusus under a severe sentence. Every day a vulture would come and eat his liver causing him great pain. Each evening the vulture would leave and his liver would grow back. This was an endless cycle of suffering. One day, the virgin Io came to visit him and so did the god Hermes. Hermes spoke to him to comfort him saying, “O Prometheus, I understand your sufferings, but do not look for an easy solution for them. You will be nailed to the rocks until someone will not be a physical man, but god will have mercy on you and he will be the successor of your pain. He will assume all your burden, he will descend even into Hades, he will struggle, he will be victorious ad he will redeem you.”
In Galatians 4, the whole world suffers slavery to sin. Everyone and everything in all creation suffers because of the sin of humanity. All sin, and all are enslaved. Pain and suffering are the lot of humanity. Just think today, how people senselessly persecute others, burn their homes, do harm to their bodies. Just think of how viruses, once good for the earth, have been corrupted and now harm millions each year, because humanity fell from its original position over creation, and creation fell with it. Think of how many broken homes and unhappy marriages there are due to sin. Selfishness and pride rule in human hearts.
Humanity is in darkness. I saw a program on TV trying to explain Jesus being married. It shows that they either did not read the Bible, or did not understand it. Human minds are darkened and we appoint lawmakers and judges who cannot discern between right and wrong. Humanity is in a crisis.
However, St. Paul wrote, “in just the right time” God sent his Son Jesus. Those in darkness now have a great light to see by. God did not leave us in our retched state. He spoke to us by the prophet Isaiah (ch 9) 6 For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. And the government will rest on his shoulders. These will be his royal titles: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 His ever expanding, peaceful government will never end. He will rule forever with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David. The passionate commitment of the Lord Almighty will guarantee this! (NLT) Here is the one who is not a mere physical man, but is God. Here is the one who will take our pain and suffering. This prophecy was fulfilled in Bethlehem, in fulfillment of the prophecy of Micah, that the Hope of the World would be born in Bethlehem. Here is the one who the Wise Men worshipped. Here is the one of whom the Angels sang his glory. This is the one we proclaim on this day that he is born and hope is alive. Christ is our Saviour. Christ is our redeemer. Christ is Born! Glorify Him!
Faith of Our Fathers--The Church (Jude 3)
Faith of Our Fathers---the Church
by Fr. Daniel Thomas
This week, we continue our Discussion of the Faith once delivered to the Saints (Jude 3) There is a hymn called “Faith of Our Fathers.”
Author: Frederick W. Faber
Composer: Henri F. Hemy
Tune: St. Catherine (Hemy, arr Walton)
Scripture: Heb 11
1 Faith of our fathers! living still
In spite of dungeon, fire and sword,
O how our hearts beat high with joy
Whene’er we hear that glorious word!
Faith of our fathers, holy faith!
We will be true to thee till death!
In spite of dungeon, fire and sword,
O how our hearts beat high with joy
Whene’er we hear that glorious word!
Faith of our fathers, holy faith!
We will be true to thee till death!
2 Faith of our fathers! we will strive
To win all nations unto thee,
And thro’ the truth that comes from God,
Mankind shall then be truly free:
Faith of our fathers, holy faith!
We will be true to thee till death!
To win all nations unto thee,
And thro’ the truth that comes from God,
Mankind shall then be truly free:
Faith of our fathers, holy faith!
We will be true to thee till death!
3 Faith of our fathers! we will love
Both friend and foe in all our strife,
And preach thee, too, as love knows how,
By kindly words and virtuous life:
Faith of our fathers, holy faith!
We will be true to thee till death.
Both friend and foe in all our strife,
And preach thee, too, as love knows how,
By kindly words and virtuous life:
Faith of our fathers, holy faith!
We will be true to thee till death.
This Hymns speaks words that all Orthodox Christians can relate to. There is One Faith handed down to us from the beginning which we have preserved unchanged for 2000 years. This is the Faith that saves us. This is the Faith that saves the world.
The Church is One. We believe in One Church as we say in the Symbol of our faith each week. Sadly, today there is a ‘Churchless” Christianity that is popular. This teaching believes that all you need is Jesus to be saved. It is, of course, Christ who saves and forgives, for the is the Son of God who became Incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and was crucified for us on the Cross to bear all of our sins so that we, believing in him, should have forgiveness sins and life everlasting. But, to have Jesus and reject his Church is ludicrous. How can this be? What is the Church? Why is it important?
A bit of background might be helpful here. In the literal meaning of the word, the English is a translation of the Greek word ekklesia, from ekkaleo, meaning to gather. This is the same for the Old Testament word for the community of God in Hebrew kahal. Often, deep truths can only be shown by example or imagery because they are so complex as to defy easy explanation. In the New Testament Church has a deeper and more mystical meaning which can only be seen in the Biblical imagery to which the Church is likened. The New Testament Church is the new planting of God, the Garden of God, the vineyard of God, and the New Israel. The Lord Jesus, by his earthly life, his death on the cross and his Resurrection, introduced to humanity new grace-giving powers, a new life which is capable of great fruitfulness. These powers we have in the church abundantly, for as we shall see, the Church is Christ’s own body.
The Bible is rich in imagery of the Church. For example:
1. Grapevine and branches John 15:1-8
1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. 3 You have already been pruned for greater fruitfulness by the message I have given you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful apart from me.
5 “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. 6 Anyone who parts from me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. 7 But if you stay joined to me and my words remain in you, you may ask any request you like, and it will be granted! 8 My true disciples produce much fruit. This brings great glory to my Father. (NLT)
2. Shepherd and Flock John 10:1-16
1 “I assure you, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through the gate, must surely be a thief and a robber! 2 For a shepherd enters through the gate. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they recognize his voice. 5 They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t recognize his voice.”
6 Those who heard Jesus use this illustration didn’t understand what he meant, 7 so he explained it to them. “I assure you, I am the gate for the sheep,” he said. 8 “All others who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them. 9 Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. Wherever they go, they will find green pastures. 10 The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give life in all its fullness.
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will leave the sheep because they aren’t his and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. 13 The hired hand runs away because he is merely hired and has no real concern for the sheep.
14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, 15 just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice; and there will be one flock with one shepherd. (NLT)
3. Head and Body Ephesians 1:22-23
22 And God has put all things under the authority of Christ, and he gave him this authority for the benefit of the church. 23 And the church is his body; it is filled by Christ, who fills everything everywhere with his presence.
4. Building Under Construction Ephesians 2:19-22
19 So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. 20 We are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. 21 We who believe are carefully joined together, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. 22 Through him you Gentiles are also joined together as part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.
5. A house and a family 1 Timothy 3:15
15 so that if I can’t come for a while, you will know how people must conduct themselves in the household of God. This is the church of the living God, which is the pillar and support of the truth. Heb. 3:6 Whose house we are…
The Gospels also show the Church as a fishing net, a field that has been sown, and the vineyard of God.
The Church of Christ received it existence with the coming to earth of the Son of God, as the Bible says: In the fullness of time (Gal. 4:4) and with his bringing salvation to the world. Jesus said, “I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Mt 16:18) and he has continued to do so to this very day, in spite of every effort, great and small, to destroy it. Denial and persecution only make the Church grow. Christ has made the Church his fishing net in which he will rake in a great catch that is more than the boat, or building can handle. He has given each of you, to be fishers of men and if you will dare to let down your nets, you will bring more people into the Church, the Kingdom of God, than you can possibly imagine. God blessed the Church, on the day of Pentecost (the feast of first fruits) with gifts of the Spirit. When this happened, on one day 3000 people were brought into the Church by the preaching of these ordinary people and the Lord added to the number every day. Next, over 5000 were brought in by these men who dared to trust the power of God and let down their nets into the waters of the sea of humanity. From this time the Church spread all around the world.
The Bible the “Body of Christ”, the Church, increases with all the increase of God (Col 2:19). Comparing the Church to a building, the Apostle Paul teaches that it is not completed, it rather continues: All the building fitly framed together groweth unto a holy temple in the Lord (Eph 2:21). This growth is not only in the sense of the visible Church on earth, but to an even greater degree, it is a spiritual growth, the perfection of the saints, filling up the heavenly-earthly world through sanctity.
The Church is the Body of Christ and he is its head. There is not another head. He is the High Priest of the Church and also its ruling Bishop. Since there is only one Christ, there is only one Body, the Church. There is no salvation for anyone apart from Christ and thus, apart from the Church. There are those who in ignorance will not know they need to be part of the Church, but there are those in great danger who reject the Church, and thus Christ. How can anyone be saved apart from Christ?
There is only one body of Christ, whether in heaven or on earth. One of the tragic things to have happened in the Church was the Enlightenment. While there were many advances we can all applaud, the basic underlying ideology was a rediscovery of pagan Greek philosophy. This led, during the Reformation (which is the Child of the Enlightenment) to the pagan idea that what is flesh and blood is evil and what is spirit is good. (However, the Bible insists that God made everything good and man very good.) In any case, the idea came about that there are two churches, one of those living on the earth and one of those departed dead who have gone to heaven. But the Bible and the Fathers are clear. There is one church and those departed this life are alive and aware of what happens here on this earth and in the lives of those here (See Heb 12: 1-2; Matt 27: 52-53; Rev. 6:9-11; Rev 19:10 and many more as examples). This is why we have icons around us that tell the eternal and ongoing story. The saints are alive and well and when we worship, we join with them in what goes on in heaven eternally. Here we join the eternal, which is outside of time and space and join with our brothers and sisters in Christ who are around the throne of God singing and praising our God. The ongoing life of Christ is the life we now live. And this has implications for us today.
To be saved, we must not only believe there is a God, but must come to him humbly, repenting of our sins and actually live out our lives in Him. How, you may ask, is this possible to live in Christ? We live in Christ in his Body. In this Body, the Church, we partake of his body and blood, for you are what you eat. We become like him. In this Body, we live out his ongoing life, liturgically throughout the year, participate in his deeds, participate in his sufferings, and participate in his glories. We also cooperate with Christ for the salvation of the world. He came to save the world and we, as part of his Body, are his hands and feet for accomplishing this. We live within Christ. Speaking of the Church as the Body of Christ St. Paul says, “in him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28).
But all of this is nothing without faith. Hebrews 11:6 “it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that there is a God and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.” He will in no way cast aside those who wish to draw near to him. This faith is productive faith. It is not a faith that is alone. This is a faith that produces fruit, which is our good works and deeds done out of love for Christ. Faith produces love for Christ and if we really love him, we will do the things he does. We will join him in his working in this world. We will join Christ in his working in the lives of those around us. We will not turn a blind eye to the poor. We will not ignore those apart from Christ. We will reject the Kevin Costner model of church (If you build it they will come idea). There is no country too far, no people too difficult, that we will not strive with all the faith we have in the power of God to reach them for Christ. There is no evil we will not confront and no battle we cannot win in the Name of our Lord.
Faith, real faith, is life transforming. It will transform us when we have it, and when we have it, it will transform the world. Let us all, in faith come to Christ who is the rewarder of those who seek him, and find the life everlasting and life more abundant than we have ever known.
Give Thanks by Fr, Daniel Thomas
Give Thanks
A sermon for Thanksgiving Day
by Fr. Daniel Thomas
Ephesians 2:4-10
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. (NKJV)
Luke 8:41-56
41 And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue. And he fell down at Jesus’ feet and begged Him to come to his house,42 for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age, and she was dying. But as He went, the multitudes thronged Him.43 Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any,44 came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped.45 And Jesus said, “Who touched Me?” When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, “Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’ ”46 But Jesus said, “Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me.”47 Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.48 And He said to her, “Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”49 While He was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house, saying to him, “Your daughter is dead. Do not trouble the Teacher.”50 But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, “Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well.”51 When He came into the house, He permitted no one to go in except Peter, James, and John, and the father and mother of the girl.52 Now all wept and mourned for her; but He said, “Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping.”53 And they ridiculed Him, knowing that she was dead.54 But He put them all outside, took her by the hand and called, saying, “Little girl, arise.”55 Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately. And He commanded that she be given something to eat.56 And her parents were astonished, but He charged them to tell no one what had happened. (NKJV)
Thanksgiving Day is just about here. Thanksgiving is a day we set aside to give thanks to God for all the wonderful things he has done for us. We humans are prone to very quickly forget the things God has done for us, and does for us on a daily basis. We set this day aside, out of all days, to be thankful to our Creator. God has some very good reasons for wanting us to be thankful and it is his due that we praise him for his continued goodness to us.
First, we each have good reasons to give thanks to God. In our Epistle reading we have reason to give thanks because God has given us Salvation as a free gift. Even if we feel God has done nothing else for us, just think of the magnitude of God’s graciousness by giving us eternal life and forgiving us of our sins. He sent his own Son to die for us on a cross so that we might live. This should cause amazed thanksgiving to God on our part.
We have much to be thankful for. In our Gospel lesson, Jesus healed a woman and raised a girl from the dead. I wonder how many of us God has carried through some illness, or miraculously healed of something? I wonder how many of us have forgotten about it. David wrote, “O give thanks unto the Lord for he is good” (Ps 118).
I wanted each of you to write down the things God did for you this week because we tend to forget what God does for us. This is typical of all humans and of you, as well. God warned the Israelites, that when they went into the Promised Land and had everything they ever longed for, not to forget God during this time. For, God knows all men’s hearts and he knows that people tend to forget his blessings when they prosper and ten to forget God. Also, during the Wandering in the Wilderness, God provided the Israelites everything they needed, including food. Yet these people complained that they were not being cared for! Such is the human heart that we forget quickly what God does for us. I want you to continue to write down what God does for you so next week as well, because of this. I want you to see what God does for you. I was praying to God for a stable table of a certain size that I could use as a preparation table here in Church. I went to garage sales and found nothing and had little money to spend, in any case. When I got home, someone just gave me a table of the right size that was stable. I was overcome with thanks to God for this little thing he did for me and the church.
Second, it is God’s will that we give him thanks. “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thes 5.18). This is God’s will for us to do this. We all go through bouts of depression and anxiety. I realize that some depression may be caused by a chemical problem in the brain. But it is not clear which comes first, the attitude or the chemical problem. But I do know that all of us can talk ourselves into depression or anxiety. This is why sports teams try to keep themselves pumped up with positive attitudes as a negative attitude is defeating. The same is true for the rest of us. When we forget to give thanks to God for even the little things, we can begin to think our lives are of poor quality, that we are not cared for as we should be, and begin to feel things are worse than they actually are. “Give thanks to God in all things.” Further, “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph. 5:20).
There is an old hymn which says:
When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed
When you are discouraged thinking all is lost
Count your many blessings, name them one by one
And you will be surprised at what God has done.
Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly
And you will be singing as the days go by.
(Anonymous)
Third, when we give thanks to God, we participate in worship and adoration of God with all the heavenly beings, angels and human, who give thanks to God.
Revelation 7:11-12
11 And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, 12 Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.
We were created to worship God and to be thankful to him. We cannot be fulfilled unless we strive to be what we were created to be. A razor has only fulfilled itself as it is used to shave a person. In a like manner, a human being is only fulfilled when it does what it was created to do: worship and give thanks to God. Have you ever felt unfulfilled and empty? Perhaps, it is because you have not properly given thanks to God on a regular basis for what he has done for you? How often do you just stop and give God thanks for something that has just happened?
Remember the story about Jesus healing the ten lepers? Nine of them were Israelites, the people of God, and the very ones who should have known how to act toward God. Only one was a foreigner. When Jesus healed them all, only the foreigner turned back and thanked him. We can be like those Israelites who think it is our due to be given things by God. We can begin to take him for granted like a Soda machine in which we deposit a coin, push a button, and out pops our selection. God is a personal being who is more loving and gracious to us than we can imagine or even deserve. Let us remember to give thanks to him for all of his goodness to us, endeavoring to not forget a thing, but put his blessings in our remembrance.
Miry Clay (Mat. 8:28ff)
Miry Clay
by Fr. Daniel Thomas
In southern Mississippi during the 1960’s and 1970’s there were a great many unpaved roads. These unpaved roads were made of sandy reddish clay. In dry weather, this very fine sandy stuff would coat everything when a car passed by and often cars could not get up hills without a good running start. In wet weather, a car might become mired. I remember when my mother drove her car up this long hill one Sunday afternoon after it had rained. She became mired in the fine sandy clay mud. The more of the accelerator she pressed the more mired she became. Finally, she had to get out and walk to get help.
Matthew tells us sin is like that. It coats everything in our lives and souls and the more we indulge in it the more we are unable to get out. There is only one way out, and that Way is Christ.
Matthew 8:28 When He had come to the other side, to the country of the Gergesenes (some manuscripts read Gaderenes), there met Him two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way.[1]
These poor men had become demon possessed. We don’t exactly know what all this entails, but we do know some things and there are some interesting observations from this passage. For one thing, the deeper one goes into sin the more likely this is to occur. No one can say how much is enough, but we know that giving way to the lower instincts or passions is the sure path. Passions such as greed, covetousness, anger, lust, pride, and the like are destroyers of the soul. People become controlled by their passions which are, in reality, instigated at the urgings of the devils. You can still hear echoes of the Fall in this. In this passage, there is an implied indication that the sin that gripped these poor wretches was covetousness. It seems Matthew indicates this by showing the demons attacking in an area that caused financial loss or ruin, for they are always destroyers, and by the reaction of the other people in the story over financial loss. Let us be clear, demons are always destructive, they are never friendly. Look at the violence of these two. They could not be restrained in any meaningful way, destroyed people who passed by, destroyed livelihood, and even cut themselves. It is an interesting psychological observation that they took to cutting themselves in Mark 5. This is very reminiscent of Mohammed, who was very covetous, violent, heard voices, and wandered caves and tombs. In any case, people who are violent and resort to cutting themselves have some deep problems.
The true nature of evil is shown in this passage for devils are always violent. It is only by restraints placed upon them by God and by human society that keeps these from all out destruction. If restraints were removed, I shudder to think of the carnage. What else can be behind the destruction of people’s pensions by CEO’s, the threat of nuclear annihilation from the Chinese towards America in the last couple of weeks, the suicide bombers that have attacked New York and London. The Enemy of our souls hates us because he hates God, for we were created in God’s image and likeness.
Matthew 8:29 And suddenly they cried out, saying, “What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?”
“What have we to do with you, Son of God?” This shows they not only knew who he was, but were also unwilling to surrender what they were doing and what they loved in order to be set free. Such people do not want God. Often, we are perplexed that people can’t see they would be better following Christ than how they currently live. But, as the bible says, such love the darkness more than the light. They do not want to give up what feeds their passions in order to have what would free their souls.
And notice that in this passage, these demons go so far as to accuse God. They accuse God of coming there to torment them. Many of us have heard others accuse God, or accuse us, when we come to help them. The slander and blame of God is a tactic to keep from having to listen to what God says and do what he says. It is also the tactic employed by those trying to lead others down the wrong path. It is the voice of a demon. In Job, the Devil is the accuser of the righteous Job. In the Garden of Eden, Satan, (this name means accuser) accused God. “He won’t do it” or “God only wants to keep something from you” or “God only wants to keep you from having fun” or “If God loves you why does he allow this to happen to you” and on and on.
Some people try and make excuses for such people: “They aren’t all bad,” they say. But, St. James, writing about the tongue makes the observation that salty water and sweet water cannot be in the same spring. St. Paul says that there is no harmony between Christ and Belial (demon). Do you remember the story of Elisha and the bad water? He threw salt in it and it miraculously became pure. He said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘I have purified these waters; there shall not be from there death or unfruitfulness any longer.’” (2 Kings 2:21) When the Lord comes into a life, he purifies it and makes it clean.
We can think of some sociopathic individuals who become involved in a local church. Because the people in the church refuse to think of the possibility such people can come to church, they or the church fall victim to the assaults of these demon controlled people. They can, and do, destroy the lives of leaders, laypeople, and destroy churches in their love of violence. They cannot be reasoned with because it is the conflict that they thrive on. We must wake up and realize that there is evil in the world and there are evil people.
It is interesting to note, in keeping with the deceiving and destroying nature of demons that these men lived in the tombs. It was a popular myth in those days, and I still hear this out of the mouths of Christians today, that the souls of the departed stay here on earth and become demons, or Ghosts.
First, to paraphrase St. John Chrysostom, a human body cannot be changed into a donkey’s body, how then can a human spirit be changed into something so different as a demon or a Ghost? We were created in the image and likeness of God, not the devil. The Soul, not the body is in the image of God, according to St. Basil the Great. The soul is the core of our identity. The soul is what each of us is as a human being. Our bodies belong to us, but material possessions do not belong to us (and this is important for our text). The body is a wondrous and awesome vehicle which has been created to house that which is in the image of God. For St. Basil, we are created in the image and likeness of God. The image of God in the soul is the free choice and rationality we have. The likeness is the Christ-like virtues we get from God when we cooperate with Christ and the Holy Spirit with our freedom. Only we, of all God’s creatures have been honored by God by giving us the ability to fashion the divine image within ourselves.
Second, there is no waiting around on the earth to go to heaven or hell or to be changed into something. St. Paul says in 2 Cor. 5 that when we are absent from the body we are at home with the Lord. Wisdom 3:1 tells us “the souls of the righteous are in the hand of the Lord.” St. Stephen said to the Lord, “Lord, receive my spirit” (Acts 7:59) and St. Paul said to depart is to be with Christ (Phil. 1:23).
Even souls of sinners are led away immediately. The Lord said to the rich man, “This day is your soul required of you” (Lk. 12:20). Also, the Rich Man who ignored Lazarus went straight away to his destiny (Luke 16:19ff). So, it is evident from the Bible and the Fathers that this is a false belief.
Matthew 8:30-32
30 Now a good way off from them there was a herd of many swine feeding.31 So the demons begged Him, saying, “If You cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of swine.”32 And He said to them, “Go.” So when they had come out, they went into the herd of swine. And suddenly the whole herd of swine ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and perished in the water.
The region of the Gadarenes, which in some versions has Geresenes, was a region controlled by the city of Gadara, which was about 6 miles from the shore of the lake. There was a small village in the area named Geresa, modern Khersa, which was controlled by the larger city. This was an area that was mostly non-Jewish in population. Part of their economy was in the raising of animals, including pigs. Pigs would never be raised in a Jewish area. Pigs were valuable, pigs equaled money. Jesus comes and meets these two unfortunate men and the demons asked for permission to go into the pigs because they knew he was going to cast them out. He gave his permission and when they went out of the men they went right into the pigs. Again, the demons were destroying something and in this case the livelihood of the men keeping the pigs and ultimately the economy of the town. Matthew, being a Jew points out that they went into the pigs because pigs were considered unclean by the Jews. This illustrates that not only were these demons unclean, but the sins of the men that resulted in their possession made them unclean. But Jesus made these men clean and whole again.
The reaction of the people is typical of those who are not interested in Christ. The herdsmen fled Jesus in fear of the loss of their income and perhaps worried about what their employers would say. We can think today of someone who has been involved making a living doing something unsavory or illegal, such as pornography, selling illegal drugs, or corporate CEO’s stealing money and how they would react to the loss of income, even for something good. They were not concerned about the men and how Jesus helped them. The language in the passage shows they were only worried about the loss of income. The townspeople reacted in a similar manner. They showed fear, but not of the sort we would think. They showed fear for the loss of their livelihood and not for the men or the message of Christ. Perhaps this was a cultural phenomenon as the demoniacs, the herdsmen, and the townspeople all exhibited a state of covetousness. In some countries, certain races of people are well known for their covetousness and cannot be trusted; it is part of their culture that money and possessions are their greatest desire in life. In any case, they wanted Jesus gone. Remember the demons? Well, the townspeople said exactly the same thing to Jesus as the demons. The Greek verb translated as entreat used by the townsfolk is the same one used by the demons in verse 31. Matthew is showing us there is something demonic about their request and their not wanting Jesus around.
Jesus, being humble, did not violate their will, but did as they asked and left. But God will never leave himself without a witness and we find he left these two delivered men there specifically to carry out a witness to Him and His message.
It is interesting to note how often even so-called Christians will not want to hear the message of Christ, must less be a witness to it. They will make a great issue of it not being "Orthodox" (this in spite of all the united witness of the Church against them) or they will say they must not impose their ideas on someone else (a very liberal, anti-Christian modern idea). Yet, God will always leave himself a witness in spite of them. He will get the glory and these lose their reward.
God simply wants people who have a good enough relationship with Him that they appreciate what he has done for them and will tell others about it.
Mark 5:18-19
18 And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him.19 However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.”
So, what does this mean for us?
First, we must care for our souls. We were given a great gift by God to be able to fashion the divine likeness in our souls. How do we do that? We accomplish this by cooperating with God. We obey God’s commandments for we know they are commandments of love. We are to love God. We cannot stay focused on ourselves for that is the way of evil. Christ said that if we love him we will obey him. It is good for our souls.
We have faith in God. Only with faith is it possible to please Him.
We participate in the Mysteries. Regarding Confession, tt is fashionable today to not go to confession among some people. But confession is necessary. There is no set amount. But people should come from time to time. Confession of sins is a mighty cleanser. Evil loves the darkness but when exposed to light it must flee. All too often, people will have sins they have never been able to overcome and have never told anyone about. When they come to confession, it vanishes and never returns. Of course, you want to avoid the trap of coming to confession too frequently, as that too is not good. But the acknowledgement of sin in the Mystery of Confession is the beginning, and often the end, of overcoming the problem.
We try to keep our lives in balance. St. Theophan the Recluse said it is not healthy to always be praying or to always be “spiritual”. Nor is it always healthy to work all the time. He said we need balance. We need to have a hobby, we need time with friends and loved ones. My wife and I have a friend we worry about because she is so super spiritual she does not live in the real world. We have another friend who will not work or help her mother around the house because it interferes with her work for God. Their lives are out of balance. We all have friends who do not have time to go to church and worship God. We all have a deep need to worship and if we don’t something will fill the void and it will not be God.
We need to pray, and not just the prayers of the Church. St. Theophan said we should pray our own prayers to God and if we run out of things to say we should pray the prayers of the Church. Only in this way will we get to know God, by spending time with him. The more we know him the more we will be like him.
We must always watch ourselves and examine our hearts daily to see if evil has taken root. It is too easy to follow ungodly thoughts as the devil whispers them to us. Once we take the bait and follow that line of thinking, no matter how subtle, we have let sin take root. How do we know the difference? The U. S. Secret Service trains it’s agents to spot counterfeit currency by having them study the real thing. Then, when they see the false they immediately know it. In your spiritual life, you must spend time with the real thing, with God. You must spend time in prayer, Bible study, and listening to his voice quietly so you know what is godly and Christ-like. When you, then, are confronted by the false you will know it.
If we cooperate with the Holy Spirit in building up the likeness of Christ in our souls, it will keep us from becoming mired in evil and keep our souls free from the dirt of sin. If we call upon the name of the Lord we will be saved. All who call upon the Lord in time of need will never be disappointed (Rom. 10:10-11). We will find we will be like David when he wrote:
Psalm 40:2-3
2 He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay;
And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.
3 And He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God;
Many will see and fear,
And will trust in the Lord.[2]
The Light Shines in Darkness (by Fr. Daniel)
The Light Shines in the Darkness
by Fr. Daniel Thomas
2 Corinthians 4:6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Today, we celebrate the memory of St. Chariton. St. Chariton was born in Iconium in the 200’s A.D. As he grew up, his godliness and piety were so well known that he was arrested and brought before the officials. He fearlessly confessed Christ even though cruely tortured. He was finally set free and moved to the desert and sought to draw ever closer to God. One day he was captured by bandits and they carried him to a cave. He was bound hand and foot. However, before they could do him much harm they drank some poisoned wine and perished. St. Chariton moved into the cave and used it as a place to draw closer to God in prayer. He took all the booty the bandits had left behind and gave part of it to the poor and the rest he used to build churches all over the area. His godliness became so apparent to all that people soon began to arrive at his cave, wanting to join him in his quest for godliness. He lead these people for a while but the yearning to be close to God drew him away farther into the wilderness. He moved to
In our passage today,
In context,
First, God commanded light to shine in our lives. Anyone who lives in this world has his understanding darkened. No matter how smart we may be in mathematics, science, literature, finances, our minds are still darkened to the way of life. John 1:1-4 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.[1]
Christ is life and that life is our light. John 1:5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
Those who are separated from God, for any reason cannot see God, cannot comprehend that he is because the devil has their minds and hearts veiled. He veils their hearts with sin and with so many things that look good and healthy and desirable. He appears as an angel of light, not usually as a horrible monster. And it is here that he deceives us.
People run from the light who live in darkness. When the creatures of the night are about prowling in our kitchens, such as cockroaches, when the light is turned on they scatter for cover. It is the same here. Even we, who are Christians, have areas in our lives that are in darkness. We do not want them revealed. These are unconverted, unsurrendered areas of our lives that keep us from approaching godliness in the fullness Christ intends.
However, it is possible for us to come to the light, even as the saints have done. God dwells in light unapproachable, yet in Christ, we receive this light and behold the life changing face of God.
Psalm 34:5 They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed.
When we look into the face of Jesus Christ, who accepts us as we are, and bring to him all of our demons, all of our darkness, all of our old ways of doing things, he shines light on our darkness and the darkness is consumed and we are transformed a bit more into his glory. For his light is all consuming and our God is a consuming fire (Heb. 12:29). God makes darkness light (Is 42:16) and he enlightens our darkness (2 Sam 22:29). With the brightness of his coming into our life, anything against Christ is destroyed. My friends, you cannot come into the presence of God and walk away unchanged. When Isaiah (Is 6) was brought into the presence of God, sinful though he was, he came away changed into the mighty saint of God we know him as. When the disciples saw Jesus transfigured on the mountain with the light of the glory of the God shining from the Holy Spirit through him blinding their eyes, they were transformed. When the Apostle Paul met Jesus on the Damascus Road, the light of God shown around him and he was changed. When Christ was born and the angel appeared to the shepherds, the light of the glory of the Lord shown upon them and the world was changed (Luke 2:9)
So, what do we do? Luke 5:1-11 So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret,2 and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets.3 Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.4 When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”5 But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.”6 And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.7 So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken;10 and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.”11 So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.
In our Gospel passage for the day, the disciples began to see something special about Jesus and they left forsook everything to follow him. In our lives, we must forsake everything that hinders us in order to follow Christ. We must forsake all our old ways, all of our old teachings, all of our old friends (if necessary), and anything that hinders us. Matthew 5:29-30 “If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. “And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.
Now, he was not telling us to literally cut out our eye or lop off our hand. He tells us that whatever is in our life that is holding us back, that causes us to sin, these things we must rid ourselves of so we can become free and become like he is. Sin is bondage and we can never be free unless we remove it from our lives.
Today, there are so many false teachings that go against the revealed truth of God found in the Orthodox Church that men and women, who wish to be transformed into the image of Christ are frustrated in their attempts and despair of ever attaining Christ-likeness. We must be ever vigilant, even against some “Christian teachings”. St. Basil the Great said, “For the darkness of impiety plots to come upon the very hearts whereon the “light of the knowledge” of Christ has shone.”
Second, we must pray. When we pray, we actually ascend up to God. We come into his very presence when we offer up prayer. We need that time of prayer that renews creation, that renews us who were created in the image of God. Archimandrite Sophrony wrote, “Prayer is infinite creation, for superior to any form of art or science. Through prayer we enter into communion with Him that was before all worlds. Or, to put it another way, the life of the Self-existing God flows into us through the channel of prayer.” And, “Prayer assuredly revives in us the divine breath which God breathed into Adam’s nostrils and by virtue of which Adam ‘became a living soul.’” Prayer is the key that unlocks all mystery. It is the key to the human nature, so complex we have trouble understanding ourselves, at times, and yet so capable of things so divine one is forced to see the image of the Holy One. Prayer is the restorer of the breech, the restorer of the streets in which to dwell. Prayer, in other words is that which, when we approach God and enter his life altering presence, builds us up, repairs us, and changes us in ways we cannot begin to fathom.
As we learn to pray, we should start with the prayers of the Church and a rule of prayer. Our minds are of the fallen world and so we need training in prayer and correction in our thinking. After we add this, then we add our spontaneous prayers. For example, in the Orthodox Study Bible, as well as in several Orthodox prayer books, there is a rule of prayer and at a certain point, after the prayers of the Church, there is a place for our own additional prayers. These come only after shaping our minds in the mind of the Church. Some notes of caution, however. Many have sought to say the Jesus Prayer as the monastics do, or even to become monastic before they were ready. These have either ended up with serious problems, or, have become fanatics. We should only progress as we are ready to progress, and not run ahead. Stay the course, work through each season of your personal spiritual life, and grow in Christ and grow in his love. When you love as you should, then you are ready to move on. Also, prayer is not a weapon with which to seek revenge upon someone who has wronged you. We are to pray for our enemies and for those who have dealt with us wrongly. We are to pray for our own sins and forgiveness, not asking God to smite our enemies. A good prayer life can become a means of pride as well. So we must guard against wrong prayer as well as pride in our spiritual accomplishments.
Third, frequent Bible study is vital. The Fathers of the Church were commentators on what they studied in the Bible. They memorized much of it. Many like to quote the Fathers of the Church without realizing that Scripture was foremost in their lives. The great saints, such as Saint Anthony the Great, even though he could not read, memorized all the Scripture he heard in Church from a very early age. It was these memorized verses that formed him and shaped his life even when he went alone into the desert to a life of asceticism. What comes out of the mouth is what the heart is full of. Mother Raphaela says that this is the reason that Jesus lived his life consciously the way he did, and even died on the Cross quoting Scripture, because his heart was so full of it as he gave his life to its study from his youth.
The word of God, holy Scripture is a light for your life. St. Irenaeus said, “ A sound mind...that is devoted to piety and love of truth will eagerly meditate upon those things that God has placed within the power of mankind and has subjected to our knowledge...Such a mind will advance in the knowledge of those things...by daily study.” St. Cyprian said, “ More strength will be given you, and the knowledge of the heart will be increased more and more, as you examine more fully the Scriptures...”
Let me ask you something, are people drawn to Jesus by looking at your life? Are they drawn to Jesus by the light of God they see in your face? Why not? Do people seek a deeper relationship with God because of you? What sort of light do you shine? That of the darkness of this world, or of Christ who is the light of the world?