Uncategorized – Page 18 – The Tao of Holy Orthodoxy

October 11, 2017October 16, 2017

15. The Holy Theophany

In the wilderness, Jesus Christ fasted and prayed for forty days. He demonstrated the benefit of spiritual training for acquiring good health in the soul. After His time of preparation, He visited John the Baptist. This John is the prophet who prepared for Christ’s arrival by announcing, “There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose” (Mark 1.7, NKJV).

Jesus instructed John to baptize Him and so John did as the Master commanded. When Jesus rose up out of the water, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in the form of a dove and a voice from heaven proclaimed, “You are my beloved Son in Whom I am well pleased” (Luke 3.21-22). The baptism of Jesus Christ is called the Holy Theophany because through this event the true and living God revealed Himself clearly to humanity as the Holy Trinity – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, One God.

In His Baptism, the Creator Who covered the earth with water was submerged into His creation. Since the water of the earth had been affected by the condition of death, the Son of God renewed the water, restoring it to the pristine state of Paradise. God made the nature of water pure and holy by His Divine Presence so that water could be used a spiritual medicine for healing of the human soul.

Read: Luke 3.21-22; John 1.29-34; Matthew 3.13-17

October 2, 2017October 16, 2017

14. The Holy Incarnation

The Holy Gospel According to St. John, one of four Gospels in Holy Scripture recording the life of Jesus Christ, opens with the words “In the beginning,” echoing the story of the creation in the Book of Genesis:

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. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. (John 1.1-5, NKJV)

The Word was with God because He is the Son of the Father. God created by His Word, that is, the Father created through His Son. The Son is not the Father and the Father is not the Son, but the Son of God has always existed with God the Father. With the Father, the Son created all things, gives order to all things, and sustains all things. The Word was God because the Father and the Son are One Essence, undivided, without beginning or end. In whatever way the Father is God, the Son is also the One God.

In Greek, the Eternal Word underlying all reality is called the Logos. In Chinese, the Eternal Word is called the Tao. Ancient Greek philosophers and Chinese sages spoke of this Mystery beyond human thought, but they only knew a little of this revelation. No one can know more about God than God Himself reveals about Himself.

The Apostle John spoke more of the great Mystery concerning the the Son of God, the true Logos and Tao:

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1.14, NKJV)

As Creator and Lord of All, God fills all things and sustains all things. Yet, while being present everywhere as God, He made for Himself a human body and soul in the womb of a Virgin. The Uncreated One Who contains the universe within Himself became a creature on earth. From the moment of his miraculous conception, the Son of God existed as a perfect human being, while still reigning as King over all creation. He is one Person in two natures, both completely human like His mother and entirely God as His Father. He is Jesus Christ, the God-Man. For this reason, His Virgin Mother, Mary, is called the Mother of God and Theotokos, which means, the Birth-giver of God.

The birth of Jesus Christ is also described in two other Gospels, the The Holy Gospel According to St. Luke and The Holy Gospel According to St. Matthew. In his account, St. Luke described how the Archangel Gabriel brought a divine message to a young virgin named Mary. The Archangel revealed to Mary that she would give birth to a son, whom she would name Jesus. By the power of God, she would conceive in her virginity and become the mother of the Holy One, the Son of God. St. Luke indicted that when Jesus Christ was born, he was wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger, a humble feeding trough for animals. The Child received shepherds as visitors after heavenly angels appeared in the night to announce the birth their Lord and King, called the Christ.

In his description of events, St. Matthew adds mention of a centuries-old prophecy foretelling a Ruler who would be born in the small town of Bethlehem. This Child would have ancient origins, even as far back as before time (Isaiah 7.14; Micah 5.2, LXX). St. Matthew also wrote how pagan astrologers, called Magi, travelled from a foreign land to find a King whose birth had been revealed by an auspicious star. When they found Him, the Magi presented the Child with royal gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, and worshiped Him.

The Apostles Matthew and Luke recorded historical details regarding the birth of Jesus Christ, the God-Man. The Apostle John, who is often symbolized by a high-flying eagle, takes us straightway to the height of the Mystery. In these few simple words, he offers a profound explanation of the meaning of Christmas: And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…..

God became human so that we might become like Him by participating in His Grace (2 Peter 1.4). Our Physician joined His Divine Nature to our human nature in order to heal and perfect our human nature. This Mystery, impossible to grasp, of God becoming a human being is called the Holy Incarnation.

Read: John 1.1-14; Luke 2.2-24; Matthew 1.18-2.12

September 30, 2017October 16, 2018

13. Our Summary Diagnosis

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The disease of death shows itself through a variety of interconnected illnesses. Holy Scripture summarizes the effects of death on our human race by describing the how the various consequences affect humanity. These consequences include the darkening of the heart, pride and delusion, misuse of a rational mind disconnected from the heart, forgetfulness of God, the influence of chaotic passions that lead us toward suffering and death, and the struggle to choose good instead of evil.

Near the beginning of his Letter to the Romans, the Apostle Paul summarizes the disastrous effects of sin and death on our ancestors in the past. Since we have inherited death, we still experience these affects today. This particular passage (Romans 1.18-32) explains that when our ancestors lost knowledge of the true God, they forgot what it means to be true human beings, made according to the image of God with potential to become like Him. Relationships between the Creator and His creatures, relationships among human beings, the relationships between males and females descended into chaos.

When reading Holy Scripture, understand that the sacred writings sometimes attribute human characteristics, including emotion, to God. The language of God’s wrath in this passage, for example, provides an image humans can understand to describe a Mystery that is beyond understanding. God does not really have anger or wrath, which are human passions, as we do. God is passionless. Besides, the “wrath” of God mentioned is not turned against human beings. The divine wrath is turned against the unnatural sin and death afflicting humankind, which prevents us from receiving the Love and Grace of God and keeps us from following the Way toward our healing, purpose, and potential. Holy Scripture says that God gave us over to do evil, which means that God allowed human beings to turn away from Him and His Way. (God created us with the freedom to choose.) Men and women wanted to follow their own desires, so God permitted them to do so. God is Love. The human being decided to forsake God in order to pursue his own opinions and follow the passions, which lead toward chaos, suffering, and death. (Throughout history, God sent his prophets to remind people that He loved them and desired for them to return from the path of destruction so that they might enjoy goodness and life in relationship with Him.)

If you want to be healed, you need the One Physician who knows your diagnosis perfectly and possesses the Power to cure you from death in both soul and body entirely.

Read: Romans 1.18-32

September 27, 2017October 11, 2017

12. What Will I Do?

In our present condition, we do not always use our will correctly. The human will is naturally inclined toward God and operates in harmony with God’s Will. If we follow God’s Will we do what God intends for us to do. When we do what God intends for us to do, we remain true to our human nature, always doing what is good for us and moving toward the fulfillment of our potential and purpose.

This is our problem: We do not personally will to do what God desires for us. Instead of naturally doing good, each person goes through the process of considering the different possible actions and then making a choice to do good or to do evil. Because our knowledge is imperfect, we don’t always know the good way to act. Even when we do know what the good action is, we often still decide to act according to self-will, placing ourselves in opposition to God’s Will. When we do not act in harmony with God’s will, we do what is harmful to our souls. If we keep inclining toward evil choices, we can form a deeply-rooted habit of harmful behavior.

September 27, 2017October 11, 2017

11. The Passions

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Death in the soul has given rise to the passions.

The passions are unnatural movements of the soul. We may understand them as impulses, like love, that were once natural, but have been terribly twisted into unnatural urges, like lust.

The passions may seem natural to us in our present condition. This is delusion. Using a drug may seem natural to an addict, but it is dangerously unnatural.

The passions are like wild animals in the soul. In the heart, anger roars and lust preys. God created us to rule over the animals, but we cannot now live in harmony with animals. We do not even live in peace with the animals within.

When we allow the passions to guide us, we do not live according to our true spiritual nature. The passions lead us away from our potential as human beings. Through obedience to the passions, acting according to their urging, we behave like lower animals. Instead of following the stream of the divine Will that moves us toward growth in maturity and greater health, we instead allow ourselves to be controlled by animalistic instincts that carry us toward suffering, sickness, and a greater experience of death.