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March 7, 2018September 24, 2018

50. Remember Your Story, Our Story

pexels-photo-320265 Closed Book

You have a story, the story of your life. Whenever you tell your story, you choose certain important experiences and string them together from past to present. The story you tell reveals how you have grown up through the years to become the person you are now and may point to who you aspire to be. Your story is intertwined with the story of other people who have been a part of your life. Indeed, all of us in the whole world are intertwined.

Think of all the connected stories throughout the world – of people, families, and nations – as a long, thick rope of interweaving vines that stretches through time. At the heart of this rope is the glowing Golden Vine. Through this vine flows Life Itself (or rather, Life Himself), shining as pure Light. The Golden Vine is the Great Story at the center of all human history. It is the Story of God working within the world to create us and, when we had fallen into death, to heal us and bring us into the fullness of our potential.

When you are joined with Christ and received into His Holy Church, your life becomes interconnected with this Golden Vine. You share in the Great Story of God destroying death and bestowing Life on the world. This Story reveals your true identity, how you must live today, and how to proceed with your life into the future.

The Great Story begins in the beginning, unfolds through the Old Testament, is fulfilled in the New Testament, and seamlessly continues through the history of the Holy Orthodox Church until today. In past lessons, you have already been taught the Great Story. Now, under the guidance of your Priest, increase your knowledge. Read through the Old Testament, the Holy Gospel According to St. Mark, the shortest of the Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, and resources on the history of the Orthodox Church from the time of the Apostles onward.

Within the Orthodox Church, the Old Testament has been preserved, the New Testament written, and the whole canon (collection) of Scripture compiled. Both the text of Holy Scripture and the correct interpretation of Scripture have been inseparably held together in the Church. Holy Tradition includes both what the Scripture says and what it means. Through continued instruction, discover what the Holy Scripture, the writings of the Fathers, the prayers, the hymns, the icons, and the whole life of the Church reveal about the Story of salvation and your participation in it.

Do not forget, whether because of laziness or deception, the Truth about Who God Is, who you are, who you may become, and how to practically live faithfully as one who bears the Name of Christ. Remember the Story and your place in it. Keep the Story in your mind, heart, and action so that you remain on the Way of salvation.

Read: Deuteronomy 6.1-25; 8.1-20; Isaiah 17.10-11; Jeremiah 18.15; Joshua 4.19-24; Judges 2.10-13; Psalm 78.11-20; 2 Peter 1.1-21; 3.1-17; Revelation 2.2-5; 3.1-3

February 10, 2018

49. Fasting with Prayer

bowl of food fasting

You are soul and body in unity. Either your body contributes to the sickness of your soul or it contributes to the healing of your soul, depending on your choices. Train your soul to do what is right and good with the body. Reject any unnatural bodily desires and temptations that lead toward sin.

Be careful not to rationally justify sin because you think giving into a temptation feels natural. Certainly, unnatural desires may seem quite natural in our state of passion and delusion. We judge what is right and good not by our own perception or collective options, but by what our most loving Creator and Physician has shown us.

Master the body so that your soul does not become a slave to an irrational, impulsive master, the sinful passions that seek pleasure for the body. Otherwise, the soul will be yanked around by inclinations and urges like a dog on a chain.

Fasting brings the body into submission to the soul. When you fast, you use your will to choose what you will eat and when you will eat. A cow looks down all day eating grass by instinct, but the human being should deliberately control what the body eats.

If you can control what food you put into your mouth, you can control what words come from your mouth. If you can choose to disregard the passion of gluttony when you eat, you can disregard lustful thoughts and feelings that enter your mind. Learn to deliberately and mindfully do in soul and body what is right and good.

Fasting and prayer should be regarded as sisters. Fasting does not just involve self-effort. Instead, the ascetical (training) practice of fasting prepares the soul to receive the healing, transforming Grace of God. When you fast correctly, you gain spiritual clarity to see yourself as you are and see the world as it is. The ascetic effort helps you to cultivate your humility and to deepen your repentance. Through the therapeutic practice of fasting with prayer, God works in you to tame and heal the sinful passions, transforming them into positive forces, the life-nurturing virtues.

Take fasting seriously. Follow the guidance of the Church. We do not each invent our own way of fasting, but fast together as a community according to the Way. We do not fast legalistically, but in harmony with the spirit of the fast. The fast is not law, but therapy given to us for our sake. Do not disregard the rule, but do not make the rule the focus of your attention. Make God the focus of your attention. Pray with your heart to God with repentance and dependence.

A Physicians cannot prescribe all patients identical medicines and treatment plans even if they all suffer from the same illness. Each human being is individually different. What works for one person may not be effective for another. Keep the fast with guidance from your Priest, a spiritual physician, who may advise you to keep the fast with strictness or advise leniency, depending upon your spiritual condition.

As a rule, physically sick people and women who are pregnant or nursing do not fast. Sickness and pregnancy humbles the body for prayer in place of dietary restrictions. Besides a need for nutritious food to strengthen the body, pregnant or nursing mothers do not fast for the sake of the child. Besides, caring for a new baby is certainly a humbling experience.

Do not advertise to others that you fast, nor judge others for failing to fast. If someone prepares you a meal that does not conform to the rules of the fast, accept the expression of kindness and hospitality. Do not mention the fast to avoid embarrassing or discouraging your host. Eat the food with joy and thanksgiving to God. Then, after the meal, continue practicing the fast.

We set aside certain times for fasting and repentance, but we also set aside other times for feasting and celebration. The feasts remind us of what God has accomplished for us and desires to accomplish within each of us. Keep a proper balance of fasting and feasting. Even when mourning for your sins, be joyful and remember God’s love for you! Be mindful of your unworthiness and remember that God’s love for you is greater than your unworthiness.

Fasting is joined with prayer to strengthen prayer and the effect of prayer. It is better to disregard the dietary guidelines, but to pray than to keep a strict diet without prayer. When you fast, make a greater effort to multiply the frequency of your prayers, increase the time spent in prayer, and to pray from the heart with greater undistracted attention.

Read: Genesis 2.15-17; 3.6-7; Exodus 34.28; Isaiah 58.1-14; Joel 2.12-13; Matthew 4.1-11; 6.16-18; 17.14-21; Luke 5.33-35; 18.9-14; 2.22-38; Acts 10.1-48; 13.2-4; 14.23; Romans 14.17; 1 Corinthians 7.3-5; Revelation 19:6-9

February 7, 2018March 17, 2018

48. The Three Aspects of Your Cure

pexels-photo-771149 bicycle

When you fall ill, your physician may prescribe a comprehensive treatment plan for recovery that includes three basic components:

A healthful daily lifestyle: Avoid foods that contribute to poor health. Drink plenty of fluids to remain hydrated. Eat more nutritious vegetables and increase protein consumption. Lose fat and build muscle. Walk or bike more and drive your car less. Make sure you get adequate sleep every night.
Corrective therapy: Work to cut out addictive habits, like smoking and excessive drinking. Keep certain dietary restrictions. Submit to surgery to fix the root internal problem causing your symptoms. Actively engage in physical therapy to build strength, increase flexibility, and improve mobility after surgery or injury. Exercise rigorously to improve your cardiovascular health.
Medicine: As prescribed, take your medications, including vitamin supplements, that effectively promote normal, healthy functioning of all your body’s systems.

In order to improve your health, you must follow all aspects of the treatment plan your physician has handed you. If you only take your prescribed medications, but neglect the plan as a whole, refusing to eat well, sleep well, exercise well, stop smoking, or engage in any difficult strenuous activity, your health may not improve. Similarly, if you follow the first two aspects of the plan, but refuse to take necessary medications, your health may further deteriorate rather than improve.

As a physician of the body might provide a comprehensive treatment plan so that your physical health would be fully restored, our Divine Physician has provided a comprehensive treatment plan for the healing of your soul within His Church. The life of the Church cannot be neatly divided in separate categories, but for the sake of simplicity think of your treatment as having these three aspects:

A healthful daily lifestyle: Live a virtuous life. Obediently follow the commandments of Christ. Love God and your fellow human beings. Keep the Orthodox Faith in your mind, heart, and action. Be patient. Cultivate humility. Stay watchful. Remain within the stream the the Divine Will rather than being distracted and yanked around by the passions. Maintain chastity in the soul and body. Be good. Do good. Always pray.
Corrective therapy: The spiritual life is a Way of both spiritual therapy and training. In other words, the Orthodox Way involves ascetic effort. Though sometimes difficult, actively engage in the ascetic effort through self-denial and repentance. Practice abstinence. Keep the fasts. Cut out bad habits and turn away from sin through repentance. A patient engaged in physical therapy must sometimes endure demanding and painful exercises to heal. The difficulty you experience through your ascetic effort proves necessary for the strengthening, healing, and transformation of your soul.
Medicine: Receive the Holy Mysteries. the Divine Medicines of the Church.

The difference between the first two aspects, living a virtuous life and practicing the ascetic effort, is difficulty. If you were not afflicted by death, you would easily live a healthful lifestyle. It would be natural for you to follow the Way of Life. Since you possess illness in your soul, however, the Way will not always seem natural. What is natural for the healed person may be difficult in your present condition. On the other hand, that which is unnatural and harmful, may seem or feel natural to you. No matter how hard and exhausting, reject the temptations to give up and to take the easy path toward death. Keep your heart focused on Christ and your feet on the the Way that leads to Life. Your daily dedication to a healthful lifestyle (a virtuous life in harmony with the Way) and commitment to corrective therapy (ascetic effort) prepares your soul and body for reception of the Divine Medicines (the Holy Mysteries) you need.

Listen to the instructions that the Divine Physician has given you and faithfully carry them out. Carefully attend to all these aspects of your cure. Follow the guidance of your Priest-physician so that you may be healed and continue on the path of growth and transformation. To experience the fullness of salvation, dedicate yourself to the complete treatment plan of the Church – the whole Way.

Read: Luke 6.45-49

January 3, 2018March 15, 2018

47. In Good Order: Servants & Leaders

Christ_washes_apostles'_feet_(Monreale)

A good father and mother love their children more than themselves and provide all the necessary nurturing care necessary for their children to grow physically, mentally, and spiritually. Good children love and obey their parents. A proper order exists. The parents are not obedient to their children, but the other way around. Everyone loves one another. This is a healthy hierarchy, an order not based on power over others, but a balanced family relationship rooted in self-giving love. Within the Church, some have received greater authority and higher positions than others. The Church is a well-ordered, hierarchical family.

Within a marriage, the husband is the head, that is, the head servant responsible for loving his wife, living for his wife’s benefit, and, if necessary, dying for his wife’s sake. If you are in authority over others, you must be a servant, too. This is what being the chief means: Working as the chief servant. Our Master, Jesus Christ, taught the nature of spiritual leadership when He washed His own Disciples’ feet and dried them with a towel. For this reason, a simple towel serves as a powerful symbol of family hierarchy, humble leadership, and obedient servanthood within the Church. A leader in the Church is one who serves, being an icon of humility and an example of obedience.

A Bishop, even one holding the high office of Patriarch, must be humbly obedient to the decisions of His brother Bishops who together form the Synod. Everyone over whom the Bishop is a spiritual Shepherd is called to be obedient to the Bishop and to the Priests, who are given authority to serve as spiritual fathers, pastors, and ministers. Again, this is not a hierarchy of power, but a balanced family structure rooted in love.

Consider the Deacon with regard to proper, reverent obedience. The Deacon does not put on his vestments until the Priest blesses him to do so. Before he leads the people in a prayerful litany, the Deacon receives the blessing of the Priest. Before he census with the censor, the Deacon asks the Priest to bless the incense. The Deacon does not presume to lift up the Gospel Book from the Holy Altar, but instead receives it from the hand of the Priest as he kisses the Priest’s hand. Before he reads the Holy Gospel, the Deacon asks the Priest to bless him. The Deacons is an icon of humility and obedience.

When the Bishop visits an Orthodox community, much of what the Priest usually does is performed by the Bishop, who is superior in office and authority to the Priest. The Priest does not bless the Deacon, the people, or the incense when the Bishop is there because the Bishop offers the blessings. The Priest does not presume to put on his vestments when the Bishop is visiting until he receives a blessing from the Bishop. When he offers prayers during the services, the Priest and Deacon often bow to the Bishop in reverence and recognition of His authority.

The spiritual life flourishes in the community characterized by good order, loyal obedience, and mutual love. Love and respect those who have been set in authority over you for the benefit of your salvation and endeavor to love and serve others. Strive to be a leader within the Church by being a faithful servant of Jesus Christ. If you live this Way, you will contribute to the harmony within your spiritual family and also nurture peace and harmony within yourself. Remember, this is part of your spiritual therapy for the healing of your soul and the fulfillment of your potential and purpose.

Read: Matthew 20:20-28; Matthew 25.14-30; John 13:1-17; 21.1-25; Acts 6.1-8; 20.28; 2 Corinthians 11.22-33; Ephesians 5.1-33; Hebrews 13.7, 17; 1 Peter 5.1-4

December 31, 2017December 31, 2017

46. Reverence in the Holy Place

StGeorge

Always enter the Orthodox temple with an inner attitude of humble reverence. Be mindful of your sins and imperfections before the Holy One and your unworthiness to stand in the presence of His heavenly Angels and pure Saints. At the same time, remember God’s unconditional love for you and the Saints’ prayers on your behalf. Be modest, courteous, and respectful. Banish thoughts of arrogance and presumption. See everyone else as better than yourself. This is true humility. Beware of becoming ignorantly cocky, egotistical overbearing, hypocritically judgmental, and emotionally offended. Do what is proper for you according to the custom of the Faithful in obedience to the Bishop and Priest.

The architecture of the temple reminds us not to be presumptuous. Sometimes the doors separating the Narthex from the Nave are closed so that no one may enter into the Nave. The Icon Screen that separates the Nave from the Holy Sanctuary reminds us that only Clergy and Laymen blessed to be in the Sanctuary should pass beyond the Screen. No one but the Clergy (or one with a special blessing) touches the Holy Altar. The temple holds a throne for the Bishop that no one but the Bishop sits in. These customs help us all to remember to maintain an inner attitude of humility, obedience, and reverence before God and one another.

As you prepare to enter into the temple with reverence and attentiveness, you may say this prayer:

I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear I will worship toward thy holy temple. Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before me, that with a clear mind I may glorify thee forever, One Divine Power worshipped in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Read: Genesis 3.1-7; Psalm 50 (51); Isaiah 1.10-20; 6.1-8; Jeremiah 1.1-27; 2 Kingdoms (2 Samuel) 6.1-8; Numbers 16-17; Matthew 23.1.39; Luke 1:46–55; 7:36-50; 8:43–48; 14.7-14; 18.9-14; Acts 4.32-5.11; 8.4-25