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
Text copyright © 2018 by Fr. Symeon D. S. Kees