heart – Page 3 – The Tao of Holy Orthodoxy

October 23, 2017October 23, 2017

23. What will you do?

Vasnetsov_Bapt_Vladimir

When the Apostle Peter spoke to the crowds on the day of Pentecost following the Holy Spirit’s descent, many of those who heard his words and witnessed the Spirit’s power asked, What shall we do? The Apostle told them all to repent and be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. About three thousand people believed in Jesus Christ and were baptized on that day alone. After this, the Church continued to grow daily.

Faith in Jesus Christ is the first step toward the fullness of Life. Listen to Christ’s own words:

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. (John 3.16, NKJV)

Believing in Christ is a response to Divine Love. It is a desire to be enlightened by the Light and shaped by the Truth rather than remaining enslaved to darkness and ignorance. Authentic faith is more than an intellectual acceptance of ideas. Real faith means trusting in Christ with your heart, believing in Christ Himself as your Lord, your God, and your Savior. He alone is the Physician Who can heal you from sin and death and bestow upon you the fullness of Life.

Faith in Christ requires authentic repentance. Repentance means turning completely toward God, which requires you to turn away from everything opposed to God. To repent means to change your mind, to change your heart, and to change how you live your daily life. The gates of Paradise have always been near, but you cannot see them until you turn around in repentance.

Christ calls you into His Church through the Mystery of Holy Baptism. Before His Ascension, Christ commissioned His Apostles saying,

All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. (Matthew 28.18-20)

If you submit to Holy Baptism, which involves immersion into the water sanctified by God’s Grace, you will personally participate in Christ’s death and Resurrection. You will be buried with Christ under the water as in a tomb and you will be raised with Him to new life, emerging from the water as a purified member of God’s family. Your baptism will be your admission into His Holy Orthodox Church, wherein the whole comprehensive therapy for your soul shall be open to you. Baptism is the end of the journey toward the Church, but only the very beginning of your life within the Church.

Read: John 3.13-21; Acts 2.38-47

October 21, 2017October 22, 2017

21. Holy Pentecost & the Mystical Church

PENTCOST

Before His Ascension into heaven, Jesus Christ revealed to His Disciples that after He ascended from the earth, the Holy Spirit would descend to them on earth. Ten days after Christ’s Ascension (and fifty days after His Resurrection), the Holy Spirit suddenly descended in power upon the Twelve, gathered together.

A strong, roaring wind from heaven swiftly rushed into the presence of the Disciples. Fire in the form of tongues rested over each of them. They were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled them. As Christ had promised, the Holy Spirit enlightened the spiritual intellect of the Disciples, leading them into all Truth, and empowered them to carry out their mission fully as Apostles throughout the world. (This is event is called Holy Pentecost.)

The Apostle Peter stood up and explained to a crowd of assembled people from all kinds of different countries and cultures that this event they were witnessing had been foretold centuries before by the Holy Prophets. Although Peter spoke in his own language, by the power of the Holy Spirit each person understood his words in their own native language. This miraculous sign showed that God called all humanity together, united in Truth and Love within His Church, that we might be healed and receive the fulness of Life.

Holy Pentecost is regarded as the birthday of the Church, yet the Church has existed since the beginning. The Church is like a tree that gradually stretched upward through the ages of history until it reached its height, stretching out its strong, broad branches, covering itself in bright flowers, and producing an abundance of sweet, nourishing fruit by the Life-Giving Power of the Holy Spirit.

What is the Church? The Church is a Mystery beyond comprehension. Its depth cannot be reached and its height cannot be measured. The Church is communion with God. It is the heavenly Paradise planted on earth with the Tree of Life at its center. Heaven and earth meet and mingle within the Church. The Church is the assembly of those who belong to Christ, the community of His disciples. It bears His Name: The Church of Jesus Christ. She is a nurturing Mother and a family that cares for one another as children of the ever-loving Father. The Church is the pure Bride of Christ, united with Him in love, and the Body of Christ, carrying out His work on earth. It is the Holy Temple of God, where the true and living God lives on earth. Inhabited and guided by the Holy Spirit, Who knows all things, the Church is the solid foundation of Truth and the Light of Truth in a world darkened by confusion and ignorance.

The Church is one. Only a single Church exists in the universe, uniting all its members. The Church is holy. It is pure and perfect, made sacred by God and lacking nothing. The Church is catholic. It is complete and whole, encompassing the entire Way of Life, containing the whole Truth, and embracing all those who belong to it in all places and all times. The Church is apostolic. Built upon the bedrock of the Holy Disciples and Apostles, every generation of the Church preserves, lives, and transmits the complete, undefiled Apostolic Faith entrusted to them. The Church is orthodox. It holds together correct belief, keeping the Truth that God has revealed, and correct worship, glorifying the true and living God well with a pure heart.

The Church is a gift of Love. When the Divine Physician ascended into heaven, He did not leave us to follow the Way alone, but gave us His Church for our salvation. The Church, filled with the Life-Giving Spirit, is the Hospital on earth that God Himself has established for us that we might be healed.

The healthy, perfected human being is someone who personally lives as a temple of God, whose heart has been enlightened by the Holy Spirit, who is moved and guided on the Way of Life by the Spirit, and whose daily life shows the transformative power of the Holy Spirit. As the Hospital for the soul, the Church contains the complete holistic lifestyle, therapy, and medicine each of us needs to fulfill our potential and purpose.

Now that you have seen what Christ has accomplished of us as human beings, it is time for you to learn exactly what this means for you personally.

Read: John 16.5-13; Acts 1.4-8; 2.1-47; 4.32-5.16; Luke 10.25-37; 1 Timothy 3.14-16; 1 Peter 2.1-9; Ephesians 2.19-22; 5.17-33; 1 Corinthians 3.16; 6.18-20; 12.12-26; Revelation 12

October 15, 2017October 16, 2017

17. The Holy Transfiguration

Transfiguration Theophanes Greek (15th_c,_Tretyakov_gallery)

Jesus Christ said to His Disciples, “I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God” (Luke 9.27, NKJV). Eight days later, Jesus took Peter, James, and John upon Mount Tabor to pray. As Jesus prayed, these Disciples saw His appearance change before their eyes. They saw His face radiating with Light like the sun and His clothes became white, shining with Light, like lightning. Suddenly, they found themselves witnessing a conversation between Christ and two ancient prophets, Moses and Elias, about Christ’s approaching death. As this happened, a cloud surrounded them and the Disciples heard a voice from the cloud say, “This is My beloved Son with Whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him!” Peter, James, and John fell on their faces, but Jesus approached and touched them, saying, “Get up. Do not be afraid.” When they looked up again, they saw Jesus standing alone.

On the mountain, the Disciples Peter, James, and John, saw Christ’s body transfigured by His own Divine Glory. (This event is called the Holy Transfiguration.) The Glory did not suddenly appear in that moment, but Christ opened the hearts of His Disciples so that they could see the radiance always present, yet hidden from the sight of blind human hearts. As God, Christ is the Source of Divine Glory. His Divine Presence shined through His human body as metal in hot fire glows brightly with light. He gave Peter, James, and John the gift of seeing the Glory for a moment, at least as much as they were able to withstand.

Through His Transfiguration, Christ showed His disciples that His suffering and death would not be imposed upon Him against His will by others, as though He were powerless, but that He willfully approached suffering and death with humility and love for the benefit of our humanity.

On Mount Tabor, Christ demonstrated His Power to heal and transform the human being. He showed Peter, James, and John what a healed human being looks like and what it means to be like Christ, united with the Divine Presence of God. Being the Son of God, Jesus Christ radiated with the brightness of His own Divine Glory. We are healed and perfected by personally participating in His Glory, the Uncreated Energy of God.

Read: Luke 9.21-39; Matthew 17.1-9; 1 Peter 1.1-18

September 30, 2017October 16, 2018

13. Our Summary Diagnosis

California_Drought_Dry_Riverbed_2009

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.