Today's Dynamis! Reading

February 20, 2008

npier — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 11:37:57 -0500

St. Mark 13:24-31 (2/20) Gospel for Wednesday of the Week of the Prodigal Son

Christ’s Return: St. Mark 13:24-31, especially vs. 31: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.” In today’s Gospel, in very few words, the Lord Jesus describes prophetically the immense epic of the end of the age. His words, like a Japanese painting, speak in a few suggestive strokes that sketch the final scene. Open hearts and minds are allowed to see the end of all things. Some will perceive the vision in exaltation and joy, and others in terror and anguish (Rev. 1:7). Examine four elements of what the Lord describes.

First: the physical universe will be shut down (vss. 24,25). St. John the Theologian describes this final cosmic consummation by using the figure of a parchment scroll that is rolled up and closed. All that is visible to the physical eye will be removed from sight and sense (Rev. 6:14). The mind struggles to understand how this could be. But consider how it was when there was no world nor the immensity of the galactic universe beyond. Can we answer God’s question to Job? “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements? Surely you know! Or Who stretched the line upon it? To what were its foundations fastened? Or Who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” (Job 38:4-7).

Indeed, we were not present for creation. We can only imagine the beginning. Similarly, it is impossible to conceive of total, universal cataclysm. Most survivors of great earthquakes and floods experience terrible disorientation and horrified disbelief. The Venerable Bede grasps the bewilderment of facing the end of the world: “What wonder is it that human beings should be troubled at this judgment, the sight of which makes the very angelic powers tremble?” Beloved of the Lord, none of us will miss the closing of the scroll. All shall understand the events instantaneously. No one will ask, “What is happening?” Every knee shall bow (Phil. 2:10).

Second, the spiritual realm in which we are immersed even at this moment will also be shaken (vs. 25). What is this spiritual realm? In the Creed we say that God created the “visible and the invisible,” yet because of spiritual dullness, mostly we respond just to the stimuli of the physical world. Nevertheless, the spiritual realm also impinges upon us constantly, out of which devils, Saints, and Angels communicate. This realm also will be shaken. Instantly the souls of all persons will be visible to all other persons! Everyone will see what is within us, and we shall see the thoughts, ideas, and desires of all (Rom. 2:16). Are you at ease facing such self-disclosure?

Third, Christ will come in His glory (vs. 26). The partial foreshadowing of the Lord’s glory revealed on Mt. Tabor caused the three disciples to fall down on their faces in terror (Mt. 17:6). His second coming will not be a limited Theophany for a select few. All shall face the incomprehensible majesty of the Lord Jesus Christ our God. At present we speak of His glory. Then we shall see Him in unimaginable radiance, with no restraints to dim our vision. Think of it: we shall see Him Who died on the Cross for our salvation. We shall see Him Who stood in the waters of Jordan to cleanse our sins. We shall see the print of the nails in hands that flame with uncreated light. To speak like this is madness, yet such is the plain meaning of His words.

Finally, He tells us He will gather His own to Himself (vs. 27). At the same time, irreversibly and instantly there will be separation, as when “a shepherd divides His sheep from the goats” (Mt. 25:32). Alas, there will indeed be weeping and gnashing of teeth for some. For others, a gentle hand will brush away all tears and remove every sigh that lingers (Is. 25:8).

O Lord, teach me Thy statutes and regard not the charges against me, that I may be established with Thee in Paradise where the Choirs of the Saints shine like the stars of heaven.

march 20, 2008

npier — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 13:27:52 -0500

Genesis 5:1-24 (3/20) 1st Reading at Vespers, Thurs. of the 2nd Week of the Great Fast

Beyond Eden-IV ~ The Image Continued: Genesis 5:1-24, especially vss. 1, 2: “...in the day in which God made Adam; in the image of God He made him; male and female He made them, and blessed them; and He called his name Adam in the day in which He made them.” This Genesis passage is more than a list of descendants. Herein God unveils hope: life is not simply “poor, nasty, brutish and short” as Thomas Hobbes or the swaggering Lamech have asserted (vs. 4:23,24). The blessing of God’s image remains in each person, and the gift of life perseveres even in death. God continues seeking and restoring those who are well-pleasing in His sight.

The opening verses direct us back to the uniqueness of our common race, to our being fashioned “in the image of God.” God does not withdraw His blessing from mankind, despite our expulsion from Paradise, in spite of sin and its consequent distortion of the likeness of God within us, and notwithstanding the wildest depravities of which we sinners are capable. Above all, let those who are united to Christ and have received the life of the new Adam, cry out in joy: “Christ is born, raising the image that fell at the beginning.”

One of the wonderful morning prayers to the Holy Trinity reveals the truth of God’s continuing love for us “while we were still sinners” (Rom. 5:8): “because of the abundance of Thy goodness and long suffering, Thou was not wroth with us, slothful and sinful as we are; neither hast Thou destroyed us in our transgressions, but in Thy compassion raised us up as we lay in despair, that at dawn we might sing the glories of Thy Majesty.” What shall we make of God’s image that He placed within us, revealed fully in Christ Jesus, and illumined by the Holy Spirit?

The repetitive litany of fathers and firstborns in this chapter, as it flows from Adam to Enoch, directs us to hope. Note: in maturity each Patriarch fathers a firstborn. After the child’s birth, the father lives on for many years and sires other sons and daughters. God's gift of life asserts itself against death that mankind sadly introduced. The human race is not consigned to develop solely from Cain’s lineage of murderous, secular men and women, an element in man that is devoid of all relationship with God. The Lord appoints another seed in the stead “of Abel, whom Cain slew” (Gen. 4:25). The world is not given over to Satan and his human slaves.

The lineage of Seth reveals that our gracious Creator always is the “fountain of life” (Ps. 35:10). Yes, we are exiled from Paradise, but God remains active among us to give salvation and life to those who worship and seek Him. As Elder Joseph the Hesychast says, “...blessed is he who has traded well during this exile and reached the haven of salvation.”

In the seventh generation from Adam, the new lineage through Seth reaches a pinnacle in Enoch, a man “who was well-pleasing to God” (Gen. 5:22,24). Undoubtedly, like Seth, he “hoped to call on the Name of the Lord God” (Gen. 4:26), for he did not taste the bitterness of death. Instead, “God translated him” directly to heaven (Gen. 5:24). Enoch, like the Prophet Elijah, was lifted up to the very presence of God without directly undergoing death. The fact is reiterated in the Epistle to the Hebrews: “By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, and was not found because God had taken him; for before he was taken away he had this testimony, that he pleased God” (Heb. 11:5). By Thy mercy may we struggle to please Thee!

Enoch foreshadows the hope completed for us in the Resurrection and Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ. Despite death, let us look forward in hope and live in such a manner that we too may be pleasing to God and worthy always to “be with the Lord” (1 Thess. 4:17).

O All-compassionate Word, Who didst translate Enoch from the earth, by his prayers save us who glorify Thee in faith that we too may be found well-pleasing in Thy sight.

April 20, 2008

npier — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 13:51:47 -0400

St. John 12:1-18 (4/20) Gospel for Palm Sunday: The Entrance of the Lord into Jerusalem

Near But Not On: St. John 12:1-18, especially vs. 16: “His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him.” Being an Orthodox Christian implies embracing and living correct theology, defending the true revelation, confirming the Gospel (Gal. 1:8), and treasuring Holy Tradition. Being a member of the Church does not mean we always hit the mark in these efforts. Nevertheless, by calling ourselves Orthodox, we imply that we intend both to uphold the truth of the whole Faith and to struggle to live and express it rightly.

To carry out these purposes is not primarily a matter of having answers in neat, correct phrases. Rather, being truly Orthodox means inner listening: an attentive heart, a spirit that seeks illumination and wisdom derived from God, a humility concerning one’s personal insight, and a trust in and a resolve to hold firmly to what the Church always has taught. Today’s reading is an account of four persons or groups who were almost right concerning the mission, Person and teaching of Christ - but not quite. Like us, they were fallible humans who came near the truth, but missed the whole through serious errors. Their miscalculations are preserved by the Evangelists to help us strive on toward a more complete holding of the Truth.

First, there was Judas Iscariot. Let us not too readily malign him for asking, “Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” (vs. 5). The Lord Himself forcefully commends concern for the needy of this world (Mt. 25:35-40). Judas had learned some things along the way. His words reflect a degree of righteous concern.

On the other hand, the text reveals that wicked motives lay behind Judas’ “speaking up.” There was a deeper, twisted desire lurking beneath his expressed care for the poor (vs. 6). Note Jesus’ reaction: lest others among the disciples, those of purer motives and with deeper concern for the poor, should be led astray by Judas, the Lord defended Mary’s action (vss. 7,8). Events would soon prove that she acted very appropriately, for she had “...chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her” (Lk. 10:42), sitting at His feet, listening to Him (Lk. 10:39).

Next we learn about “the Jews” who “...knew that He was there; and...came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus...” (vs. 9). The spectacular attracts those looking for entertainment. One often hears of people flocking to religious gatherings just to see the miraculous: “Let’s go and see!” There’s a certain titillating factor that draws the hungry to the Faith. The Lord warns against shallowness in His parable of the Sower. The Gospel can fall on men of stony ground without much depth. Some people come to the Faith, but “...have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they stumble” (Mk. 4:17). Be cautious!

Consider the crowd who greeted the Lord as He rode into Jerusalem. This mass of people were close to the truth, but they also missed the whole. Many greeted the Lord, and soon were in the mob crying, “Crucify Him!” (Jn. 19:15). Indeed, the crowds turned against Him, because many who cheered His arrival were motivated by mere curiosity (Jn. 12:18). The Lord Jesus is intriguing, but, in the end, fascination with the dramatic is no foundation for eternal salvation. Turn to Him because He alone can fill you with true love, humility, and self-sacrifice!

Finally, the Evangelist reports that the future Apostles “did not understand these things at first” (vs. 16). It would take the direct experience of Jesus’ death and Resurrection, and their illumination by the Holy Spirit to bring them to full understanding and commitment. Save us also, O Lord!

Blessed is He that cometh in the Name of the Lord. Confess to the Lord; for He is good.

May 20, 2008

npier — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 16:02:31 -0400

St. John 7:1-13 (5/20) CHRIST IS RISEN! Gospel, Tuesday of the Week of the Paralytic

Opposition to Christ I ~ Truth or Fraud: St. John 7:1-13, especially vs. 12: “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.” In Chapter Six of St. John’s Gospel, one finds hints of growing resistance to the Lord Jesus: many who had been drawn to Him “went back and walked with Him no more” (Jn. 6:66). Chapter Seven opens on the chilling note that “the Jews sought to kill Him” (vs. 7:1). The details of this emerging hatred are windows by which we may examine what leads people to oppose the Lord, His Church, and our Holy Faith. The present passage reveals three of the common reasons for opposition: 1) refusal to accept Jesus as God, 2) moral hostility to Him, and 3) the belief that He and His Church are frauds.

First, notice that even the Lord’s relatives did not believe He was a Prophet, much less God Incarnate. “For even His brothers did not believe in Him” (vs. 5). Similar doubt is reported by St. Matthew on the occasion when the Lord Jesus preached in his home synagogue at Nazareth. In responding to such doubt, our Lord made His famous statement, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and in his own house” (Mt. 13:57). Familiarity can indeed influence some people to dismiss truths that otherwise might evoke faith in them.

St. John portrays these “brothers” - relatives of Jesus’ extended family - as chiding and taunting Him and His works. Their argument followed a simple logic: obviously you want to influence the world. So, why remain in the ‘backwaters’ of Galilee. Go up to the Capital. See how you do there (cf. vss. 3,4). They were having trouble accepting “Cousin” Jesus even as a Prophet, much less One sent from God. Of course, their doubt preceded His Crucifixion and Resurrection. Afterward at least two of them, James and Jude, would become leaders of the Church after Christ Jesus arose from the dead (Acts 15:13ff., Gal. 1:18,19, 1 Cor. 15:7; Jude 1).

Resistance to accepting Jesus as God Incarnate, as the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, has a long-standing history. Early Gnostic heretics claimed that Simon of Cyrene was actually the person crucified while Christ returned to Heaven (believing God never could become a creature in material form). Since then there have been many famous efforts to deny Christ’s Divinity: Arius, Mohammed, the Unitarians, the secular humanists of this century, and others.

A second type of opposition may be identified readily when the Lord says, “The world... hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil” (Jn. 7:7). The resistance to which the Lord Jesus refers is moral opposition to His demands for ethical purity. Both by His teaching and His life, Christ serves as a thorn in sinful flesh, condemning those who oppose God’s life-giving ethical demands. Moral opposition may be either spoken or unspoken and it may take one of two forms: some individuals know they are doing wrong, enjoy the way they live, and therefore resist changing. Others have intellectually rejected the reality of sin and embraced an “adjustable,” relative morality as more suitable to their lives, believing that it is all right to do as one wishes as long as others are not hurt, the laws of the land are not broken, or no social gaffe is committed.

Finally, the reading discloses a third form of opposition to Christ: “He deceives the people” (vs. 12). A few see Christian Faith as a total fraud. Others view it as a socially useful myth that creates a degree of necessary ethical restraint. Such opponents view the Church as a moral educator, a social club, or a cultural opiate. If pressed, some of these may admit that greater claims concerning the Lord Jesus are “useful” myths to manage the unthinking and uncritical. To the contrary, we affirm that, since “grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (Jn. 1:17), we are to repent of all intellectual, moral, and spiritual opposition, and seek Him in purity.

Remove from us all delusion and fill us with that faith, hope, and love which are in Thee.

June 20, 2008

npier — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 10:27:27 -0400

St. Matthew 5:33-41 (6/20) The Gospel for Friday of the Week of the Holy Spirit

The Sermon on the Mount IV ~ The Living Way: St. Matthew 5:33-41, especially vs. 39: “...whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.” In this portion of the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord Jesus first addresses truth-telling (vss. 33-37), and then teaches how to respond to the demands of others (vss. 38-41). He begins each topic with the familiar formula, “You have heard...but I tell you....” What He discloses is a new way to exist, a blessed life marked by relationships that are “...not of this world” (Jn. 8:23). He seeks by His words to open the “eyes of our hearts,” in the same manner as the Prophet Elisha once prayed: “...Open, I pray thee, O Lord, their eyes, and let them see” (4 Kdms. 6:20).

First, the Lord’s teaching concerning the swearing of oaths: He does not deny that oaths have a legitimate place. Hence, in legal disputes and with governments, men may not always desire to tell the truth, therefore, the power of the state is applied to obtain trustworthy testimony. In giving the Law to Moses, God Himself commands this type of coercive pressure: “...ye shall not lie, neither shall one bear false witness as an informer against his neighbor”(Lev. 19:11). “And if thou wilt vow a vow to the Lord thy God, thou shalt not delay to pay it...” (Deut. 23:21). These are the commands of God to which the Lord refers when He says, “...You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord” (Mt. 5:33).

What the Lord rejects is a scheming legalistic devising. The scribes and Pharisees of the first century deemed that as long as one swore by something other than God, he was not bound absolutely by his oath. Commonly, they swore “fidelity” by other things, assuming they were then free from having to tell the whole truth (vss. 34-36). Think of sales talks: when a salesman says, “It’s the honest-to-God truth,” one often suspects his motives. Abuse of vowing misses what the Lord desires to impart: we are always to tell the truth, and were this command honored, the need for oaths would be eliminated. As Disciples, we are to speak “...the truth in love...,” to “grow up in all things into Him Who is the head – Christ...” (Eph. 4:15).

Next, the Lord Jesus teaches us concerning the undue demands on us by others. He refers to the law of “eye for eye, tooth for tooth” - called “retributive justice” (see Ex. 21:24). Notice that He strictly limits retaliation, making it solely a function of government and the courts. For the Faithful there are no grounds for taking the law into one’s own hands. Rather, Christ our God reveals the perfect approach of the Kingdom of Heaven: non-resistance of evil, which is turning the other cheek, surrendering one’s goods, going the extra mile (Mt. 5:39-41).

Is such a radical approach possible? Yes! It is the Lord Jesus’ intention for us, which is why the Lord Himself is the Living Way (Jn.18:22-23), calling us, by example, to follow Him (1 Pet. 2:23). Of course, His way is contrary to our hardened, coarse human nature, which He wishes to soften. As St. Nikolai of Zica says, “To men not initiated into the mystery of Christ’s suffering, the connection between suffering and life, between pain and glory, is, to this day, not clear. They would always want, in some way, to separate life and glory from suffering and pain, blessing the one and making it their own, but cursing and rejecting the other.”

We are drawn to Christ’s way, but our fallen flesh asks, “How can I walk this way?” St. Nikolai of Zica says of the Apostles: “They achieved this...when the Spirit of God descended as tongues of fire into their hearts, setting them on fire with love for Christ.” We are at the starting line, for Christ has broken the power of death and given us His Spirit. Let us act from His love!

O Holy and Life-giving Spirit, fill us with streams and passages of grace as Thou doth water all creation with refreshing life, that we may be purified for the Kingdom of Heaven.