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November 2, 2017March 17, 2018

30. The Greeting and Blessing

blessing hand ICXC

The proper way to greet a Bishop or a Priest is to make a bow, reaching toward the floor, then, standing upright again, place your right hand inside your left hand, palms up. When greeting the Bishop, say, Bless, Master. When greeting a priest, say instead, Bless, Father. The Bishop or Priest will bless you by making the sign of the Cross over you with his right hand. He will then place his hand in your open hands. You respond by kissing his hand with reverence.

During the blessing, the fingers of the Bishop or Priest form a configuration representing the Greek letters IC XC, an ancient abbreviation of the Name of Jesus Christ. The blessing offered by the Bishop and Priest is the blessing of Jesus Christ. They have been given authority to bless as ministers of Jesus Christ within His Holy Church.

Why do you kiss the hand of the Bishop or Priest? Since they hold Apostolic Succession, being part of a spiritual and historical genealogy originating with Christ’s original Twelve Apostles, when you kiss their hands, you are venerating the Holy Apostles. You are showing respect for the Holy Priesthood, which God has placed on earth for your salvation. You are therefore reverencing the hands set apart to touch Holy Things and honoring the sacred ministry established to bring all people into the healing, life-giving experience of the Living God.

Requesting a blessing from the Bishop or Priest is especially appropriate whenever you wish to do something in a spirit of obedience. For example, you may ask your Priest for a special blessing to begin a new project within the Church or to significantly change certain practical aspects of your own prayer and ascetic effort.

When Priests greet the Bishop, they do so in the same way a lay person does. The Priests are in obedience to the Bishop, serve under his authority, and act according to his blessing. (When the Bishop is present, the Priest does not bless people, but rather the Bishop offers all blessings.)

When Priests greet each other they kiss each other’s hands, each recognising the Apostolic succession of the other as brothers in the Holy Priesthood.

Seek to do all things in humble obedience in good order with a blessing from God.

Read: Genesis 14.17-20; 27.28-29; Numbers 6.22-27; Matthew 10.1-15; Luke 24.50-53; John 20.19-23; 2 Corinthians 13.14; Ephesians 6.23-24

(Posted originally in February 2018, but moved to be an earlier lesson.)

November 2, 2017March 17, 2018

29. The Sign of the Cross

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At the beginning of your training, learn to make the sign of the Cross upon yourself.

The sign of the Cross is made by placing the thumb and next two fingers of your right hand together. This represents the Holy Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Fold in the other two fingers of your right hand so that they touch the palm of your hand. These two fingers represent that Christ is two natures, human and Divine, and remind us that God was born a human child.

Touch your forehead with the three fingers you joined together. Draw your fingers down to your stomach. Then touch your right shoulder and move your hand across to touch your left shoulder.

When you hear the Name of the Holy Trinity, make the sign of the Cross upon yourself. You follow the true and living God. Whenever you drift into unawareness, by the sign of the Cross remind yourself that God is with you. The sign of the Cross is a silent and powerful prayer. Ask for God’s blessing and help by making the sign of the Cross. Renew your commitment to take up the Cross and follow Christ with this sign when you are tempted. Call upon Divine protection by the sign of the Cross. The demons fear the weapon of the Cross and flee from it. The Cross is a symbol of triumph over evil and death.

Make the sign of the Cross when you get up in the morning and when you lie down at night. Begin your prayers with the sign of the Cross and end your prayers with the sign of the Cross. By the sign of the Cross, start your work and finish your work. Every time you make the sign of the Cross, do so from your heart with prayerful attention and intention. Make the sign of the Cross boldly with faith, thanksgiving, joy, and hope.

The power of the Cross is the Power of God. With the Cross, Jesus Christ transformed mortality into immortality. He changed death into life! By the Cross, what is meant for evil against you can be turned into good. What is intended to harm you can be changed into something beneficial to your inner health. A situation that could crush you can instead by used to strengthen and nurture you.

Remember the sign of the Cross.

October 31, 2017March 13, 2018

28. The Holy Tradition

My box photo (2)

We call the Way of Holy Orthodoxy by another name: Holy Tradition. The Tradition is Holy because it has been revealed to the Church through the Holy Spirit. We also call this Apostolic Tradition because it has been passed down to us through history from the Apostles, whom the Holy Spirit led into all Truth. The Orthodox bishops and priests, having Apostolic succession, are particularly responsible for guarding the Holy Tradition. The Tradition is not just a list of dogmas or doctrines, but our entire Way of Life, the Way that has been preserved, passed down, received, and lived in every generation for nearly two millennia, whole and undefiled.

Holy Tradition includes what the Apostles’ preached and taught after Holy Pentecost. The Old Testament, received by the Church, and the New Testament, written within the Church by members of the Church, is part of the Tradition. Within Holy Tradition, both the Scripture and the correct interpretation of Scripture are held together. Holy Tradition encompasses what we believe, the way we pray and worship, how we express the Faith through our sacred writings, music, and art (iconography), and how we live the Faith in the world. Holy Tradition, then, is opposed to the traditions of men, that is, religious traditions invented by human beings that contradict what God revealed and the Apostles’ taught.

Consider what would happen if a terrible plague swept across the world and you were entrusted with an ancient box, passed down for millennia, containing detailed instructions and all the components necessary to prepare an antidote capable of curing anyone willing to take the medicine. Would you not be careful to preserve and keep safe the whole contents of the box in its entirety? Would you also not make sure that this life-saving gift is used to cure people? This box should not be kept on a shelf like a museum piece because of its outward beauty. It was given to you freely so that you may liberally use its contents to save and protect people in need.

This box is an image of Holy Tradition. Holy Tradition is given to us whole and complete, containing everything necessary for our salvation. The Tradition holds our panacea, the medicine that completely cures the illness of the soul and, ultimately, even death of the body. Within the Church, this box has been passed down to us and received by our generation so that we will use it for the benefit of the world. We bear the noble responsibility to live Holy Tradition faithfully every day and the responsibility (and the honored privilege) to pass it on to others whole and unaltered as we have received it.

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Holy Tradition is also like a mountain. It stands high, strong, firm, heavy, and immovable. Yet, Holy Tradition is also like a river that flows from the mountain, nourishing everything drawing its water. If you were to stand in one place on the banks and look at a single point in the river, the light would glimmer on the surface. It is not static, by dynamic. The river flows under, over, and around the rocks and fallen trees effortlessly. It fills wide spaces and narrow passes, shifting shape without altering what it is – its essence. The river moves straight and winds, flowing calmly in silence, rippling gently and quietly, then rushing with a roar.

Holy Tradition is unchanging because it is founded upon the immoveable Truth, which remains constant in all times and in all places. At the same time, Holy Tradition is a living Tradition embodied by Orthodox Christians in the real world. Without changing what it is, Holy Tradition is expressed differently in various times and places. Although the Tradition is immovable and unchanging with regard to Truth, the expression of the Tradition is fluid. Observe the tremendously diverse variety of liturgies, music, art, practices, and cultural traditions within the Church, all embraced by Holy Tradition. While the expressions of Holy Tradition show development and diversity throughout history and across cultures, the variety remains in symphonic harmony with the mind (phronema), ethos, and vision of the Church, guided by the Holy Spirit. Wherever Holy Tradition goes, it fits the culture without compromise. Tradition can fit into a new society where Holy Orthodoxy takes root like water fills a glass, taking its shape to reflect the people who live in that particular place at that particular time. What is good within the society is affirmed and what is not good is either purified or removed.

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Holy Tradition is also like perfectly cut and beautifully clear diamond. The diamond is strong and whole. When light shines on the stone, its interior glows with white-light brilliance. On the surface of the diamond, the light is dispersed, projecting a rainbow of the various colors that together comprise the white light. As the diamond is turned, the light reveals the various angles cut into the singular diamond. Holy Tradition is simple and complex. If you wish to see the beauty of the Holy Tradition, see it in the Light.

Read: Mark 7.7-9; John 16.13; Matthew 28.19-20; Acts 2.42; 2 Thessalonians 2.15; Jude 1.3; Galatians 1.6-24; 2 Timothy 4.1-4

October 31, 2017

27. Behold the Mystery

stars-in-the-night-sky

On a clear night, look up at the starlit sky. Standing here on Earth, with your eyes looking out into the darkness of space, you could try to count the stars, one by one, but there are too many. You can’t count the stars any more than you can count the grains of sand on the beach, the drops of water in the ocean, or blades of grass in a broad field. The universe is so unimaginably vast, yet here you are, so small. (This planet alone seems incredibly huge when you are standing on such a little piece of it.) You could try to reach up to the stars, but that wouldn’t get you much closer.

The starry sky serve as an icon, a visual image that points us toward Mystery. The creation points toward the uncreated Creator. Your own human vision cannot penetrate into the depths of space from where you stand. When you encounter the Church and its Way, you encounter Mystery far beyond human reach and capacity to rationally understand. You cannot wrap your human mind around the Mystery. Wonder at the Mystery in silence. Bow before the Mystery in reverence. Keep in mind that whatever you see and you understand, there is far more that is unseen and transcends understanding. If you remember this truth, it will nurture humility in your soul.

October 30, 2017

26. You are in Good Company

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The Holy Orthodox Church is a Mystery, whole, pure, and perfect. She is the Body of Christ, the Bride of Christ, and the living Temple of God on Earth, indwelled by the Holy Spirit. Individual members of the Church, however, are only personally whole, pure, and perfect to the extent that they have immersed themselves into the Mystery of the Church, the Fountain of Divine Grace, and have been healed and perfected, becoming like Christ.

The Orthodox Church is a Hospital whose patients demonstrate various degrees of sickness and health. Some have achieved tremendous improvement as model patients and others progress slowly in the Intensive Care Unit.

The disease of death in our hearts affects our rational minds and behaviors. Members of the Church are not only patients in the Hospital, but we are all psychiatric patients. (The root of the word psychiatric actually refers to the soul.) Pride makes us delusional, causing us to think we are better than other people. We do not see others as our neighbors. Even though we know that that our lives should be oriented entirely toward God at every moment, we are often irrationally distracted by the passions and temporary things in the world. We know what we should do, but we do the opposite of what is right, good, and nurturing for the soul.

Since the Orthodox Church is the Hospital, do not be surprised to find its floors full of sick people. Where else should sick people go? Although we are affected by death, too, we may be tempted to judge others as unspiritual hypocrites. If someone does suffer from hypocrisy, the Church is where he should be! Perhaps in the past, this person possessed far worse symptoms, but, through the therapeutic life of the Church, he has made tremendous progress. If he is aware of his sickness, he may be improving. If he is not yet aware, be patient with him and pray for him.

A cancer patient in a hospital should not complain that the hospital is full of cancer patients, nor judge others for being sick and week. Since we all suffer from the effects of death, we are in good company among other sick people. Be understanding, compassionate, and lenient with other people. Regarding yourself, be attentive to carefully follow the physician’s instructions. Even though the Physician and Hospital are perfect and lacking nothing, you will not heal if you refuse treatment or fail to follow the therapy prescribed for you. Keep your eyes on your own sins and symptoms and let other patients worry about their own personal failings. You have enough problems of your own to keep you occupied. Keep in mind how much patience and love God has for you so that you remember to extend the same to others.

The Mystery of the Church is where we find spiritual sanity and a clear spiritual vision of the world. It is also where we find the Way to attain sanity and clarity. Attend to your healing so that you may be in good company with the Saints, the members of the Church who have already been healed and perfected. As you work toward your salvation, they offer their help by the examples they showed us while living on Earth and by their present prayers beyond the earthly life near the throne of God.