St. Athanasius: He Came to Take What Was Ours and Give Us What Was His Own

One of the central questions which every Christian has to come to terms with in a very personal and convictional way is "why did Christ come?", "what did Christ come to accomplish," or, in other words, "what is the Gospel?" Individual Christians are apt to put forward different formulations, and those formulations can differ markedly depending on what tradition they represent. For example, the Lutheran New Testament scholar and theologian Matthew Bates suddenly awoke to the realization of the madness of the doctrine of justification by faith alone, and recast the doctrine as "justification by allegiance alone." One of his first tasks is to state what the Gospel is, so that he can then spell out what "allegiance" looks like. He goes on to distill the Gospel into eight essential points. Nevertheless, probably the easiest answer to these questions, the most terse formulation comes from St. Athanasius of Alexandria in the fourth century. This formula that appears so frequently in many Eastern liturgies is simply, "He came to take what was ours and give us what was His own."

It is a single statement in two parts, envisaging the Incarnation as two movements: one of taking and one of giving. Both of these movements are extremely important to us and each of them open vistas to us, which are literally infinite. "He came to take what was ours" is Athanasius' terse way of describing Christ becoming man for our sake. He took upon Himself integral human nature, integral meaning whole. In other words, there was no aspect of it, which He did not take. Christ accepting integral human nature doesn't mean that He assumed a human nature like that of Adam before the fall of mankind into sin. No, He took on the human nature that all of us have, the human nature damaged by sin. He did not know sin either original or actual, but He willingly assumed the consequences of sin. The reason we know this is the case is simply because He died. Yet, before He died He took Adam's fallen human nature and submerged it in the water of the Jordan, making the water effectual in the cleansing of sin. In this sense, and only in this sense, do the words of the Savior have meaning when He tells the Baptist that His baptism "fulfills all justice." Yes, it fulfills all justice because all the consequences of sin are born by One Who is completely innocent into the Jordan where they are drowned like Pharaoh and his armies in the days of the Exodus. This is part of the reason, but only part of the reason, why St. Paul says of Christ: "He Who knew no sin became sin for us, so that we might inherit the righteousness of God."(2Cor 5:21)

At the same time, however, Athanasius' formula tells us that He came to give us what was His own. This means Divine Life and everything that is associated with it (immortality, beatitude, dominion and glory). God loves human beings so profoundly that He wants them to share Life with Him forever. So, in Christ, the Incarnation brings to us everything necessary to attain to that eternal destiny.

And that fact brings us to what Athanasius' response to the foundational question means to us in our day-to-day life and struggles. It means that life in Christ is transformational. It must be transformational. Any time that it is not transformational, it is not genuine. A false gospel means no transformation. There are modern versions of Christianity, for example, that tell us that we can persist in our sins. No transformation necessary. The real Gospel is quite different. The testimony of the Early Church suffices. In the First Epistle of St. John, we read: "This is the way we came to understand love: that He laid down His life for us. Thus, we also should lay down our lives for our brethren."(1Jn 3:16) The path of transformation is sacrificially laying down life in exchange for greater life. It's not quid pro quo. It's love. Love is always transformational.

ВІРНИЙ ХРИСТИЯНИН: ЛАГІДНИЙ І СЛУХНЯНИЙ У ПРИСУТНОСТІ БОЖОГО НАДХНЕННЯ THE FAITHFUL CHRISTIAN: DOCILE AND OBEDIENT IN THE PRESENCE OF DIVINE INSPIRATION

 

Одна річ, яку варто робити всім нам у християнському житті, це роздуми над  Одкровенням святого апостола і євангелиста Івана Богослова, бо ця книга відкриває Божественне поклоніння на небесах, і таким чином пояснює наше Божественне поклоніння тут, на землі, показуючи зв'язок між цими речами та даючи нам всебічне розуміння всієї людської історії згідно з волею Божою. Ці роздуми, на жаль, є тим, що ми повинні робити самостійно або за допомогою коментарів, бо ця книга Святого Письма ніколи не читається в лекціонарії нашої Церкви. Роздуми над цією пророчою книгою, єдиною пророчою книгою в Новому Завіті, показують нам мету Божого плану в нашому житті — причастя Тіла і Крові Агнця, спілкування з Богом через участь у Божественній Особі Слова, але не індивідуально, а як нового Божого Народу. Мета Божого плану, історії спасіння, полягає в тому, щоб зробити нас учасниками Божественної природи Отця, Сина і Святого Духа, зробивши нас благодаттю тим, ким є Бог за природою. Іншими словами, через Втілення нашого Господа ми стаємо членами Божої родини. 

One thing that is worthwhile for all of us to do in the Christian life is to meditate on the Apocalypse of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian, because this book reveals the Divine Worship in Heaven, and thus explains our Divine Worship here on earth, showing the relationship between these things, and giving us a comprehensive understanding of the entirety of human history according to the will of God.  This meditation, unfortunately, is something that we must accomplish on our own or aided by commentaries, because this book of Holy Scripture is never read in the lectionary of our Church. Meditation on this prophetic book, the only prophetic book in the New Testament shows us the purpose of the plan of God in our lives—communion of the Body and Blood of the Lamb, fellowship with God through participation in the Divine Person of the Word, but not individually, but as a new People of God.  The purpose of the plan of God, the history of salvation, is to make us partakers in the Divine Nature of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, making us by grace that, which God is by nature. In other words, by the Incarnation of our Lord, we become members of God’s family.

Ця чудова мета плану Божого, тобто Католицька Церква є Святою Родиною Божою, і ми через присвоєння Таїнств Христових стаємо членами цієї родини. Сьогодні, у євангельському читанні, ми бачили Святу Родину (Пресвяту Богородицю, Святого Йосифа, і Господа нашого Ісуса Христа) як зернятко цілої Католицької Церкви, яку Христос засновить у Його воскресінні з мертвих. Але, це зернятко вже показує нам велику інтимність, яку ми маємо з Богом через членство у Його родині. Нехай бачимо те, що ми приймаємо через це членство, екзаменуючи це зернятко.

This is the wonderful plan of God, namely, that the Catholic Church is the Holy Family of God, and we, through participation in the Mysteries of Christ, become members of this family. Today, in the Gospel reading, we saw the Holy Family (the Most Holy Mother of God, Saint Joseph and our Lord Jesus Christ) like a seed of the entire Catholic Church, which Christ will found in His Resurrection from the dead. But, this seed already shows us the great intimacy, which we have with God through membership in His family.  Let us see what we gain through this membership by examining this seed.

Перше, ми бачимо те, що наше зернятко, Свята Родина, є дотриманою провидінням Божим.  Ми бачимо те, що ця маленька родина терпить дуже велике страждання. Кожен з нас може сказати те, що ми терпіли у нашому житті страждання того самого числа і тієї самої якості. Ми бачимо тут велику бідність, бо наша Свята Родина не має навіть хати, щоб в якій мешкати, а найбільша зі всіх матерів має народити її дитятко у мешканні твари́н. І тоді, дуже скоро, вони мають втікати в чужу країну, тому що сильні люди пробують вбити їх.  Але, незважаючи на страшне страждання, наше маленьке зернятко є дотриманим через Боже провидіння.

First, we see that our little seed, the Holy Family, is sustained by the Providence of God. We see that this little family endures very great suffering. Which of us can say that we have endured sufferings in such numbers and of such kinds. We see here great poverty, since our Holy Family does not even have a house to live in, but the greatest of all mothers must bear her child in the dwelling of animals.  And then, very quickly, they must flee into a foreign land, because powerful people are trying to murder them. But, despite this great suffering, our little seed is sustained through the Providence of God.

Наприкллад, ми повинні роздумувати над тим, що дари мудреців були дуже чужими і прецінними речами, і розповідь не була потім про тих. Ні, у провидінні Божому, дари мудреців були дані Святій Родині, щоб виживати їй під час мандрівки в Єгипті. Золото було би достатнім для цієї мети, але Бог дав їм інші прецінні матеріали, щоб не тільки наситити потреби, а дати вигоду також. Звичайно, Святе Письмо мовчить про випадки подорожі у Єгипті, але багато інших літературних джерел нам кажуть про епізоди, які ілюструють спеціальне провидіння, яким Бог захистив Святу Родину. 

For example, we should reflect on the fact that the gifts of the Magi were very odd but very precious things, and there is no account concerning them afterwards. No, in the Providence of God, the gifts of the Magi were given to the Holy Family to sustain them during their wandering in Egypt. The gold alone would have been sufficient for this purpose, but God gave them other precious materials as well, so as to not only satisfy their needs, but also to provide a measure of comfort. Naturally, the Holy Scriptures are silent about the circumstances of the journey into Egypt, but a lot of other literary sources tell us about episodes, which illustrate the special providence with which God protected the Holy Family.

Друге, ми повинні нотувати у нашому роздумуванні цей факт : Бог спеціально керував ним, якого Бог вибрав, щоб бути головою Святої Родини. Святий Йосиф був завжди під рукою Господньою, завжди лагідний і слухняний до керування Святого Духа. Найчастіше, Святий Дух чинить це керування через мрії, які змістили специфічні накази. Слухняність є результатом цього спеціального керування у житті Святого Йосифа, але слухняність є його причиною також, бо Святий Йосиф був лагідним і слухняним чоловіком, отже Бог вибрав його, щоб бути головою Святої Родини, але Святий Йосиф був слухняним до кожного індивідуального надхнення Святого Духа, і тож, тим Бог керував Святою Родиною через турботу мандрівки.

Second, we should note in our meditation this fact: God specially guided the one that He had chosen to be the head of the Holy Family. Saint Joseph was always under the hand of the Lord, always docile and obedient to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. More often than not, the Holy Spirit exercised this guidance through dreams, which contained explicit commands. Obedience is the result of this special guidance in the life of St. Joseph, but obedience is also its cause, since Saint Joseph was a docile and obedient man, God chose him to be the head of the Holy Family, but Saint Joseph was obedient to each individual inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and thus, by means of him, God guided the Holy Family through the hardship of homelessness.

Ми всі члени Божої родини маємо користь від тих самих речей, бо ми повинні мати непереможну упевненість у провидінні Божому і сильну віру в те, що Бог керує Святою Католицькою Церквою через єпископів, особливо Єпископа Риму, але Святий Дух також керує головами християнських родин, найменших але найважливіших частин Церкви.  Так, як ми бачимо у житті Святого Йосифа, ми мусимо мати правдиву свідомість, щоб мати користь від поради Святого Духа. Природно, ми можемо ігнорува́ти цю пораду, вибираючи продовжувати життя у грісі. Ні, ми мусимо вирішити, щоб бути лагідними і слухняними у присутності божественного надхнення. 

All of us, members of God’s family, benefit from these same things, since we should have an undefeatable confidence in the Providence of God and a strong faith that God guides the Holy Catholic Church through the bishops, especially the Bishop of Rome, but the Holy Spirit also guides the heads of Christian families, the smallest but most important parts of the Church. Just as we see in the life of Saint Joseph, we must have a correct disposition to benefit from the advice of the Holy Spirit.  Naturally, we can ignore this advice, choosing to continue a life in sin. No, we must decide to be docile and obedient in the presence of divine inspiration.

Родовід Господа нашого згідно з моральним сенсом The genealogy of our Lord according to the moral sense

Сьогодні, коли ми чуємо родовід Господа нашого Ісуса Христа згідно з Євангелієм від Святого Матея, ми повинні бути свідомими важливости цього читання буквально і морально. Згідно з буквальним сенсом, родовід показує нам те, що Бог став чоловіком, як член певної родини та у певному періоді. Родовід нам показує те, що родина Месії була недосконалою родиною, повною скандалу, трагедії й людського жалю, бо він нотує оповідання про Тамару і шлях, яким вона породила Фареса від Юди, її свекора, і також оповідання про Салмона, який одружив Рахаву, повію, і тоді оповідання про царя Давида, який породив його сина Соломона від Версавії, жінки Урії, якого Давид вбив.

Today, when we hear the genealogy of our Lord Jesus Christ according to the Gospel of Saint Matthew, we should be aware of the importance of this reading according to the literal and moral sense. According to the literal sense, the genealogy tells us that God became man, as a member of a certain family and in a certain period. The genealogy tells us that the family of the Messiah was an imperfect family, full of scandal, tragedy, and human sorrow, since it notes the story about Tamar and the way she bore Perez by Judah, her father-in-law, and also the story about Salmon, who married Rahab, the prostitute, and then the story about King David, who begot his son Solomon with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, whom David murdered.

Від коріння буквального сенсу, ми можемо бачити багатство значення згідно з моральним сенсом. Найперше, ми навчаємося чого-небудь, яке є фундаментальним для нашого розуміння Правдивого Бога. У Бозі, немає квапливости. Він завершив Його план через п’ять тисячів років. Ми потребуємо пізнати те, що Його робота у нас є рівно неквапли́вою і навмисною. Це дуже гарне правило, щоб пізнати діяння Правдивого Бога. Надхнення, яке потребує скорої дії або вирішення у нас, не приходить від Бога. Ні, радше, робота диявола у нас часто потребує квапливости, і ство́рює  заміша́ння і занепокоєння. Ми завжди повинні випробувати спокуси до квапливости, коли ми чуємося замі́шаними і занепокоєними, затримуючи дію до того часу, коли ці чуття залишать нас.

From the root of the literal sense, we can see a wealth of meaning according to the moral sense. First of all, we learn something that is fundamental to our understanding of the True God. In God there is no haste. He accomplished His plan over the course of five thousand years. We need to recognize that His work in us is equally meticulous and deliberate. This is a very good rule to recognize the action of the True God. Inspiration, which demands quick action or decision in us, does not come from God. No, rather, the work of the devil in us often requires haste, and creates confusion and uneasiness. We should always test temptations to haste, when we feel confused and uneasy, delaying action until these feelings abate.

Родовід Господа нашого є також дуже важливим для нас, тому що Христос є народженим у кожному з нас згідно з родоводом, бо чесноти мають власний родовід. Тут, у Євангелії від Святого Матея, народження Христа є кінцем і метою родоводу. Тим самим способом, у кожному з нас мета всіх чеснот є любов’ю, бо Бог—Любов. Наш ріст у чесноті приведе нас ближче і ближче до тієї самої досконалости у чесноті так, як кожне покоління привело Божий народ ближче і ближче до народження Месії. Між чеснотами споріднености, які є ясними шляхами ро́сту. Ми можемо пізнати ці шляхи через наші спокуси, бо, наприклад, якщо ми страждаємо через спокуси до хтивости, а також обжерливости й лінивости, наша центральна проблема не є дефицітом чеснот, які є протилежними до цих пороків, тобто чистоти, тверезости і ретельности, але дефицітом матері всіх цих чеснот, тобто поміркованости.

The genealogy of our Lord is also very important for us, because Christ is born in each one of us according to a genealogy, since the virtues have their own genealogy. Here, in the Gospel According to St. Matthew, the birth of Christ is the end and purpose of the genealogy. In the same way, in each one of us, the purpose of all the virtues is love, since God is Love. Our growth in virtue brings us closer and closer to that same perfection in virtue, just as each generation brought God’s people closer and closer to the birth of the Messiah. Among the virtues there are relationships, which are clear paths of growth. We can recognize these paths through our temptations, since, for example, if we suffer temptations to lust, but also to gluttony and sloth, our main problem is not a lack of the virtues, which are contrary to these vices, namely purity, abstinence, and diligence, but a deficit of the mother of all those virtues, namely temperance.

У родоводі, всі ймення не є рівно важливими, і, тим самим способом, певні чесноти –важливіші від інших, тому що вони є місцями, в яких нам треба робити більшим і серйознішим зусиллям. Наприклад, багато людей страждають через спокуси до гніву, і часто лік цієї проблеми є збільшенням чесноти терпеливости, але терпеливість є донею чесноти мужности, і часами збільшення матеро-чесноти також-- необхідне. Що є різницю між роля́ми терпеливости і мужности? Просто це: Спокуса проти терпеливости є гнівом, який булькотіє щодалі, але мужність нам допомагає, щоб анулюва́ти вибухи гніву від впливів, які приходять від моменту до моменту.

In the genealogy, all the names are not equally important, and, in the same way, certain virtues are more important than others, because they are places, in which we need to work with greater and more serious effort. For example, a lot of people suffer from temptations to anger, and often the remedy of this problem is an increase in the virtue to patience, but patience is a daughter of the virtue of fortitude, and sometimes an increase in the mother-virtue is also needed. What is the difference between the roles of patience and fortitude? Simply this: A temptation against patience is an anger that simmers over time, but fortitude helps us to avoid outbursts of anger from stimuli, which come from moment to moment.

Кожному з нас треба екзаменувати сумління щоденно, щоб узнати наші гріхи, і отже наші спокуси, бо це нам показує шлях, яким рости у подобі Господа нашого. До цих гріхів і спокус—протилежні чесноти, злучені спорідненостями, які є як родовід, приходячи до народження Христа. Нам треба узнати ті чесноти, які ми потребуємо, і робити резолюції, щоб практикувати їх з Божою допомогою.

Each of us needs to examine his conscience everyday to discover our sins, and therefore our temptations, since this shows us the way to grow in the likeness of our Lord. To these sins and temptations there are contrary virtues, joined by relationships, which are like a genealogy, leading to the birth of Christ. We need to discover those virtues that we need, and make resolutions to practice them with God’s help.  

Two modes of being: reactive and contemplative

One of the little-known works of early Christianity is the enigmatic biography known as The Testament of Theophilus. The Theophilus that is referred to in the title, the purported author of the work, is the predecessor, uncle and mentor of St. Cyril as the Archbishop of Alexandria in Egypt. The Testament begins with an account of the way that the Christians of Alexandria, unable to endure the terrible blasphemies all around them for even a moment longer, rose up in great numbers, killed the pagans and their priests and burned to the ground the last and greatest of the city's pagan temples, the Serapeum, along with its very extensive library. In the opening paragraphs of the book, the Christian community then braces for what they believe to be inevitable, the vengeance of the Emperor, who, they feared, would come and impose terrible punishments on them for their vandalism and disorderliness. Yet, in the end, the Emperor Maurice does come to the city, but he rewards the Christian community with enormous imperial largesse. Afterwards, the Archbishop Theophilus takes him on a marvelous tour of the extensive treasuries of the Church of Alexandria, showing to him all of the precious things offered to the Church since its legitimization under the Emperor Constantine the Great.

After the Emperor departs to make his return journey to Constantinople, a trance falls upon Theophilus, and he sees a detailed vision of all the characters and events of the life of Jesus and His Holy Mother (as well as of St Joseph the Betrothed) during their stay in Egypt, fleeing from the murderous intentions of the King of Judea, Herod I. In the sections that follow, the entire journey of the Holy Family through all the parts of Egypt that they visited is told in great detail, and most of the places that are referred to in the text are still known and recognizable. Many of these places are still marked by churches and shrines, for example the great church erected at the river crossing, Ma'adi, where the Holy Family is said to have spent the night in a pagan temple before crossing the river at dawn the next day. From the account in the Testament, the entire sojourn can be reconstructed with all its various different movements, many of which were motivated by the Holy Family's need to evade spies from Herod, who were seeking them for years after their entry into Egypt. Because of their need to avoid these spies and to also avoid the many occasions of sin that filled pagan Egypt at the time, the Holy Family never entered the cultivated areas. All of the sites associated with them are in the desert one both sides of the Nile.

The only problem with this otherwise interesting work of early Christian literature is that the Most Holy Mother of God is completely insufferable. She is presented from beginning to end as the consummate whiner, whose bitterness and complaining does not cease for any appreciable period of time during the entire journey. Most of the sayings that Theophilus attributes to her begin something like, "O that I had died in the land of Israel, surrounded by kinsmen, before this particular suffering could come upon me...." Yes, indeed, the entire depiction of the Most Holy Mother of God is "off." It's just not consistent with what we believe regarding the one, who "kept all these things, pondering them in her heart."

I always strongly recommend to everyone that they develop for themselves a Rule of Prayer, a short description of everything that they commit to do during the course of the day as regards prayer. One of the features of my own Rule is a short reading each evening before I retire from Father Alexandre de Rouville's work The Imitation of Mary. Now listen to what de Rouville relates concerning the Mother of God. These are words that he puts in her mouth: "When some affliction is close to you or already upon you, when it stays with you and even intensifies, or when it is followed by others, repeat frequently to God: Yet not my will but Yours be done....Banish from your soul in time of adversity every thought that cannot be expressed in these few words: It is God's will."

When we hear words such as these, especially after laboring and suffering through the pages of Theophilus, we recognize the Mother of God that we know. The one who is not a complainer, not a whiner, but a person deeply conformed to the Will of God. In de Rouville, as well as in the Scriptures, she is a person who understands that the Almighty, All-Knowing and All-Compassionate God is directing her life, through the instrumentality of other human beings to be sure, but that instrumentality never disrupts God's gracious plan; it only brings it to completion.

So, why are these two depictions of the Mother of God important for us? Because they represent two distinct modes of being. The first of these modes is reactive. Such a human being is in constant need of responding to external events, and a life lived in constant reaction to what happens around us leads, inevitably, to resentment. On the other hand, the second mode is contemplative. Completely convinced of God's unique agency, such a person seeks communion with God in every action and event. In the same way that one can and should ponder the words of the Scriptures, so too can such a person ponder his or her circumstances, learning of God, because He is the unique Actor. Such "keeping and pondering," as the Gospel puts it, is only possible for one who recognizes God's gracious action. By all means, "Banish from your soul in time of adversity every thought that cannot be expressed in these few words: It is God's will."

«Господь — чоловік війни»: Ми повинні боротися, показуючи свою вірність нашому новому Цареві “The Lord is a man of war”: We have to struggle, showing our allegiance to our new King

Ця неділя визначена як Неділя Святих Праотців. Це одна з двох неділь, які спеціально та цілеспрямовано готують нас до свята Різдва Господа нашого Ісуса Христа 25 грудня. Мета цих двох недільних святкувань — дати нам можливість поміркувати над історією світу до пришестя Христа, поміркувати над століттями очікування обіцяного викуплення. Тому цієї неділі Церква закликає нас поміркувати над життям усіх праведників, які жили до того, як Бог дав Закон пророку Мойсею на горі Синай. Тож сьогодні ми головним чином згадуємо патріархів Авраама, Ісаака та Якова. Наступної неділі, Неділі Отців, ми згадаємо всіх праведників, які жили після дарування Закону, і серед цієї групи пророк Даниїл займатиме дуже чільне місце, тому що саме йому були дані дуже чіткі́ одкровення щодо пришестя Месії.

This Sunday is designated as the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers. This is one of two Sundays that specifically and intentionally prepare us for the feast of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ on the 25^th day of December. The intent of these two Sunday commemorations is to give us an opportunity to meditate on the history of the world before the coming of Christ, to reflect on the centuries of waiting in expectation for the promised redemption. Therefore, on this Sunday, the Church calls us to reflect upon the lives of all the righteous people, who lived before God gave the Law to the Prophet Moses on Mount Sinai. So, today, we principally commemorate the Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Next Sunday, the Sunday of the Fathers, we will commemorate all the righteous people, who lived after the giving of the Law, and, among this group, the Prophet Daniel will have a very prominent place, because it was to him that very clear revelations were made regarding the coming of the Messiah.

Сьогоднішнє читання послання взято з Послання святого апостола Павла до Колосян. У цьому уривку, який ми чули сьогодні, святий Павло починає з обнадійливої ​​новини: «Коли ж з’явиться Христос, ваше життя, тоді й ви з’явитеся з Ним у славі». Це стислий виклад надії Євангелія Христового. Кожен з нас може сподіватися на участь у славному Небесному Царстві, коли з’явиться Христос, наше життя. Однак, само собою зрозуміло, що ми можемо мати цю надію лише тоді, коли Христос справді є нашим життям. Павло далі пояснює, що ми повинні робити, щоб Христос справді був нашим життям. Він каже: «Умертвіть же земні ваші члени: розпусту, нечистоту, пристрасті, злу пожадливість та зажерливість, яка є ідолослужінням». Іншими словами, Павло каже, що для того, щоб Христос справді був нашим життям, ми повинні виключити з нашого життя ці інші речі, які панують над нами. Ми повинні знищити їхні претензії на нас, щоб ми могли справді нале́жати Христу. Цей список, який святий Павло наводить нам у цьому уривку (розпуста, нечистота, пристрасть, зла пожадливість та жадібність, яка є ідолопоклонством), є переліком імен демонів, фальшивих богів, коли́шніх правителів цього світу, яких Христос переміг Своїми життєдайними стражданнями, смертю та воскресінням. З цієї причини Павло продовжує: «Через них гнів Божий гряде на непокірних». Хто такі непокірні? Ті, хто не віддає своєї вірності Господу Ісусу, новому правителю, який скинув тиранів, що спокушають нас грішити, і віддав нас у рабство гріха. Усі ми починали своє життя як раби цих тиранів. Ось чому святий Павло каже: «Так само й ви колись поводилися, живучи так». Проте наше хрещення у Христа спасло нас. У цьому хрещенні ми остаточно змінили свою вірність з наших старих рабовласників на нашого нового Царя, єдиного законного Царя, Самого Бога, Ісуса Христа.

The epistle reading today is taken from the Letter of the Holy Apostle Paul to the Colossians. In this passage that we heard today, St. Paul begins with hopeful news: “When Christ your life appears, then you too will appear with him in glory.” This is a succinct statement of the hope of the Gospel of Christ. Each of us can hope for a share in the glorious Heavenly Kingdom when Christ our life appears. Yet, it goes without saying that we can only have this hope if Christ is indeed our life. Paul goes on to explain what we must do for Christ to really, truly be our life. He says, “Put to death then the parts of you that are earthly: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and the greed that is idolatry.” In other words, what Paul is saying is that, in order for Christ to really be our life, we must eliminate from our life these other things that have a lordship over us. We must destroy their claims on us, so that we can truly belong to Christ. This list that St. Paul gives us in this passage (immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and the greed that is idolatry) is a list of the names of demons, false gods, the former rulers of this world that Christ has defeated through His life-giving suffering, death and resurrection. For this reason, Paul goes on to say, “Because of these the wrath of God is coming upon the disobedient.” Who are the disobedient? Those who do not give their allegiance to the Lord Jesus, the new ruler, who has deposed the tyrants who tempt us to sin and put us in slavery to sin. All of us started out in life as slaves of these tyrants. This is the reason why St. Paul says, “By these you too once conducted yourselves, when you lived in that way.” Nevertheless, our baptism into Christ has saved us. In that baptism we have definitively switched our allegiance from our old slave masters to our new King, the only legitimate King, God Himself, Jesus Christ.

Брати і сестри, хрещення, ця зміна вірності, було початком, але тепер ми повинні боротися. Ми повинні довести, що ми справжні вороги правителів старого світу, бо́рючись з ними силою та мужністю Христа. Саме тому святий Павло дає нам другий, більш чіткий список їхніх імен, тобто їхніх справ. Він каже нам: «Але тепер відкиньте все це: гнів, лють, злобу, наклеп, непристойну мову з ваших уст. Не говоріть неправди один одному, бо ви скинули з себе старого чоловіка з його вчинками та одягли́ся в нового, що відновлюється для пізнання за образом свого Творця». Іншими словами, кожен з нас повинен боротися з силою, яка дана нам у нашому хрещенні та оновлена ​​в нас через Святу Сповідь та Божественну Євхаристію, щоб залишатися близькими до Христа в молитві, боротися зі спокусами та знищувати пристрасті в нас через самозречення. Нам слід завжди пам’ятати слова пророка Мойсея в Книзі Вихід, а саме, що «Господь — чоловік війни», і не менш відрезвляюче твердження в Книзі Йова, що «життя людини в цьому світі — це війна».

Brothers and sisters, baptism, that switching of allegiance, was the beginning, but now we must struggle. We must prove ourselves to be true enemies to the old world-rulers by fighting them with the power and courage of Christ. This is the reason why St. Paul gives us a second, more explicit list of their names, that is, their works. He tells us, “But now you must put them all away: anger, fury, malice, slander, and obscene language out of your mouths. Stop lying to one another, since you have taken off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed, for knowledge, in the image of its Creator.” In other words, each of us must struggle with the strength that is given to us in our baptism and renewed in us through Holy Confession and the Divine Eucharist, to remain close to Christ in prayer, fight temptation, and destroy the passions within us through self-denial. We should always remember what is said by the Prophet Moses in the Book of Exodus, namely, that “the Lord is a man of war,” and the equally sobering pronouncement in the Book of Job that “a man’s life in this world is a warfare.”

Брати і сестри, Той, Хто народився у Вифлеємі Юдейському, Хто лежить у яслах, є Господом Саваотом (Воло́дарем армій). Тільки ті, хто бореться та воює в Його війська́х, дійсно належать Його Царству.

Brothers and sisters, the One born in Bethlehem of Judea, Who lies in the manger is the Lord of Armies. Only those who struggle and fight in His armies are welcome to His Kingdom.

Nativity III: The Incarnation is the Key to Peace

The season of Advent, the traditional period of preparation before the feasts of Christmas and Epiphany (the Christmas Holy Days) is the perfect opportunity to revisit some of the hymns authored by our father among the saints Ephrem the Syrian. First, let's remember the context in which these extraordinary works were formed. Ephrem's voluminous output is due to the fact that he was leading a choir formed by members of his own ascetical community (the B'nai Qyama-- the Sons of the Covenant). Often, he would write the hymns that were then chanted under his direction.

In Hymn III on the Nativity, Ephrem celebrates the way that the Christmas feast is the key to understanding the rest of the year. He argues that all the other feasts attain light from this feast, that is, they take their meaning from the Christmas feast. He writes, "All the days from the Treasure of Thy bright day gain blessings. All the feasts from the stores of this feast have their fairness and their ornaments... A store of medicines is this Thy great day, because on it shone forth the Medicine of Life to the wounded!" He then goes on to explain how the feasts of Epiphany and Pascha (Easter) depend on the Christmas feast. Once he has established these three feasts, he goes back and fills in all the gaps, showing how Lent and all the Gospel readings on the Sundays before Lent and during Lent attain their brightness and clarity from the light of Christmas. This unity of the whole Church's liturgy leads to St. Ephrem giving voice to a very fervent prayer to Christ: "Heal us, O my Master, every time that we see Thy feast. May it cause rumors that we have heard to pass away. Our mind wanders amid these voices. O Voice of the Father, still [other] voices; the world is noisy, in Thee let it gain itself quiet; for by Thee the sea was stilled of its storms."

For St. Ephrem, the Mystery of the Incarnation (showing forth in its feast, the feast of Christmas) is what gives meaning and sense to everything else. Christmas is then hermeneutical key by which the rest of Creation is rendered intelligible. Because of the unifying action of the Incarnation in us, the world with all its noise and tumult is rendered quiet. This is the action of the Medicine of Life. It heals the noise, busyness and disquiet within us.

Nevertheless, what the Mystery of the Incarnation does objectively is not what it does automatically. No, on the contrary, we have to willingly descend into the mystery of this feast, put it on like a coat, and sit in it like a room. Our Father Among the Saints Moses the Ethiopian is famous for saying to his disciples, "Sit in your room, and it will teach you everything." In this period of serious prayer, fasting and almsgiving, the cave of Bethlehem has to become our home, as we ponder as ceaselessly as possible the truth of God becoming man for our salvation. With the eyes of God, look deeply into the manger by means of your own creativity. No two persons' reflection will ever be the same. Think how the Church is enriched if all her children fervently pray in this way. In the midst of all the turmoil of the 19th century, Dom Prosper Gueranger is famous for his peaceful reflection on the birth of the Lord Jesus. He thought of the feasts of the saints surrounding the feast of the Nativity as a royal and holy entourage gathered to welcome the King of the Universe. He thought of these great saints as being personally present in the cave-stable of Bethlehem. Their very variety was a great source of deep insight into the Incarnation itself: St. Stephen the Protomartyr, St. John the Evangelist, St. Thomas a Becket, the Holy Innocents of Jerusalem and its environs. Gueranger pondered, "what does it mean that so many of these gave their lives?" His conclusion-- the Lord Jesus is a Master all-loving and all-lovable, but He is not easy. He puts great demands on us for such is the internal, intrinsic logic of love. As all the members of the entourage of the Great, Loving King had to give their lives, so I too must give my life, gladly, joyfully, completely.

ЯК БАГАТІТИ В БОЗІ HOW TO BE RICH IN GOD

 

Ми людські істоти маємо тенденцію, щоб залежити від наших власних ресурсах, замість того, щоб залежити від Бога. Чоловік, у сьогоднішньому євангелії був упевненим про свою здатність у фінансовому керуванні, і він зробив стратегу, щоб випробувати свою проблему. Природно, ідея, яку Господь наш Ісус Христос тут промовляє є тою, що наше багатство над потребою не є для нас, але для інших, і навіть як це правдиво в рамках пшениці та комор, так, навіть більше, це доречне для наших внутрішніх ресурсів. Ми мусимо пізнати те, що наші мисленні і фізичні ресурси є даними Богом для нашого спасіння, бо у всесвіті нашого розуму, у комплексі наших здібностей, ми знайдемо багатство радости, а також страждання, яке є нашим особистим  шляхом до єднання з Богом.

We human beings have the tendency to rely on our own resources, rather than relying on God.  The man in the today’s gospel was confident in his ability in financial management, and he made a strategy to solve his problem. Naturally, the idea that our Lord Jesus Christ here proclaims is that our wealth over and above necessity is not for us, but for others, and even as this is true in the areas of wheat and barns, so this applies even more to our interior resources. We must recognize that our mental and physical resources are given to us by God for our salvation, since, in the universe of our mind, in the complex of our abilities, we find a wealth of joy, but also suffering, which is our personal path to union with God.

Тож, у нашому житті, пшениця і комори чоловіка у сьогоднішній притчі є метафорами тих самих здібностей, які Бог нам дав, щоб завершити наше освячення через любов. У цьому сенсі, врожай є завжди багатим, тому що, незважаючи на меншість або більшість наших здібностей, любов є завжди потенційно рівною. Наприклад, мабуть я маю дуже великі здібности, але я вживаю їх малою любов’ю; проте, мій ближній є більшим від мене, тому що, хоча Бог йому дав дуже маленьку здібність, він використовує її  з великою любов’ю. Це більше Богові подобається.

So, in our life, the wheat and barns of the man in today’s parable are metaphors of those same abilities that God gave us to accomplish our sanctification through love. In this sense, the harvest is always rich, because, despite the meanness or greatness of our abilities, love is always potentially equal. For example, perhaps I have very great abilities, but I use them with little love; nevertheless, my neighbor is greater than I am, because God gave him a very little ability, but he uses it with great love. This pleases God more.

Якщо ми маємо сумніви про важливість того, щоб вживати здібности у служінні іншим, ми можемо думати про інші притчі, які мають той самий пункт. Наприклад, у притчі талантів ми знаходимо трьох чоловіків, які всі різняться у своїх здібностях, бо один має десять талантів, другий—п’ять, і третій—один. Ніхто не є засудженим, крім того, хто ніщо не зробив з талантом, а заховав його у землі. Подібним способом, ми маємо приклад притчі десятьох дів. П’ять дів, які були мудрими мали посуди олії разом зі своїми лямпами, але немудрі діви не купили олію, і тож свої лямпи були погашеними перед приходом жениха. Така страшна доля! Господь їм каже, «Я ніколи не пізнав вас! Геть! Ви—лицеміри.» Отже, ми можемо бачити те, що всі ці нагоди у цих притчах є о́писами любови, бо вони всі включать ідею соціальної розмови: комерція з великими сумами грошей і куплення олії.  Вони є описами любови, яку людські істоти практикують один до одного.

If we have doubts about the importance of using our abilities in the service of others, we can consider the other parables, which have the same point. For example, in the Parable of the Talents we find three men, who all differ from one another in their abilities, since one has ten talents, a second, five and a third, one. No one is condemned except the one, who did nothing with his talent, but buried it in the ground. In the same way, we have the example of the Parable of the Ten Virgins. Five virgins, who were wise, had vessels of oil together with their lamps, but the unwise virgins did not buy oil, and so their lamps went out before the arrival of the bridegroom. What an awful fate! The Lord says to them, “I never knew you! Depart from me, you evildoers.” Thus, we can see that all these events in these parables are descriptions of love, since they all include the idea of social interaction: commerce with great sums of money and the purchase of oil. They are descriptions of the love, which human beings practice towards one another.

Отож, кожен з нас має різні здібности; деякі мають дуже великі здібности, та інші мають менші, але любов є в змозі створити нас рівними. Любов є багатством, яке ми маємо обов’язок, щоб розділити один для одного. Вона є безмежним багатством, ніколи не зменшуючи. Коли ми доглядаємо внутрішньо на всіх наших здібностях і звершеннях, довіряючи їм, ми повинні пам’ятати те, що ми маємо безмежне джерело всіх речей, які є необхідними до нашого спасіння, не у нас, але у воплоченні Господа нашого. Воплочення є досконалістю людської природи, тому що це є перфектним єднанням нашої людської природи з безмежним Богом. Навіть якщо ми маємо найбільші звершення і здібности у людській історії, а ще це ніщо у порівнянні з безмежним Добром. Тож, щоб бути у Христі є дуже великим і страшним, чудовим таїнством. Воплочення Господа Ісуса нам дає все, що потрібне так, як Святий Апостол Петро каже, «Його божественна влада нам дає всі речі, які є необхідними до життя і святости.» Що є «великим врожаєм» наших власних здібностей і завершень у порівнянні з Божим Добром, яке є доступним для нас у воплоченні? Від цієї скарбниці ми можемо приймати що-небудь, що ми потребуємо.

Thus, each of us has different abilities; some have very great abilities, and others have lesser ones, but love is able to make us equal. Love is the wealth that we have an obligation to share with one another. It is an infinite wealth, never decreasing. When we look interiorly upon our abilities and accomplishments, trusting in them, we should remember that we have an infinite source of everything that is necessary for our salvation, not in us, but in the Incarnation of our Lord. The Incarnation is the perfection of human nature, because this is the perfect union of our nature with the infinite God. Even if we have the greatest abilities and accomplishments in human history, still this is nothing in comparison with infinite Good. So, being in Christ is a very great and awesome, wonderful mystery. The Incarnation of the Lord Jesus gives us everything necessary, just as the Holy Apostle Peter says, “His divine power gives us all things necessary to life and holiness.” What is the “great harvest” of our own abilities and accomplishments in comparison with the Good, which is God, available to us in the Incarnation? From this treasury we can receive whatever we need.

Тож, що ми потребуємо робити, щоб «багатіти в Бозі» як євангеліє каже? Ми мусимо довіряти Богові а не в собі. Ми мусимо зупинятися, щоб думати про наші здібности і завершення у порівнянні з іншими, і зосереджуватися на любові, що з нею ми мусимо вживати всі Божі дари, особливо наші здібности. Так як Святий Апостол Павла нам каже, «що-небудь не є з любови, це гріх.»

So, what must we do to be “rich towards God” as the gospel says? We must trust in God and not in ourselves. We must cease thinking about our abilities and accomplishments in comparison with others, and focus on the love with which we must use all of God’s gifts, especially our abilities. Just as the Holy Apostle Paul tells us, “whatever is not from love, is sin.”

The Lord’s Remembrance Господня Пам’ять

 

When preaching on this passage in St. Luke’s Gospel, Our Holy Father Cyril of Alexandria notes the fact that the rich man is not named, while the poor man is. St. Cyril immediately connects this fact with various other verses in the Holy Scriptures and concludes: Only the compassionate man is remembered by the Lord. Cyril calls attention to the verse of Psalm 15, in which King David declares, “I will not so much as make mention of their names with my lips.” Similarly, in the parable of the wise and the foolish virgins, the Lord ultimately says to the foolish virgins, “I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of iniquity.” In another passage, we find the Lord Jesus saying that He will acknowledge before the throne of His Father only those who acknowledge Him before other human beings.   Also, in the Old Testament, the Lord’s remembrance is very often synonymous with salvation. For example, in the story about Noah and the Great Flood, after the flood has destroyed the entire earth, except for Noah and his family and the animals with him in the ark, the text declares, “but God remembered Noah.”   Similarly, in the Book of the Prophet Jonah, Jonah’s song speaks about the prophet remembering the Lord in the time of his distress, but it also speaks about the Lord remembering His prophet. The Lord, throughout the Old Testament, remembers the covenants that He has made, and the Lord “remembering” Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is a frequent way of speaking about the salvation of Israel.   Thus, what we have in this concept of “remembrance” on the part of God, and on the part of his holy ones, His people, is a mutual acknowledgment of presence. What the Lord remembers is present, not absent, and His people are continually called to enter into just that same kind of remembrance. In fact, the Hebrew language has a special word for this kind of remembrance: zikaron.   The concept of zikaron is everywhere present in the Divine Liturgy, because, according to the Lord’s command, we celebrate the Liturgy in remembrance of Him, and it is that remembrance that makes Him present, really and truly. In the same way, during the Divine Liturgy, we constantly call on the Lord to remember this or that person, or this or that group. Particularly during the Anaphora, the verb to remember is everywhere.   Zikaron affects a real presence and, thus, a real relationship, in which we bring our concerns to the Lord, and He strengthens and confirms us, turning towards us in the remembrance. We should call to mind that this same act of remembrance is mentioned prominently in the service for the deceased. There, we beg the Lord for “eternal memory” for our departed loved ones. We are not asking that the world remember them forever. No, we are asking for their salvation, because whatever the Lord remembers remains in the existence and life.   We want the Lord to lovingly remember us at all times. We want to be assured that the Lord God Himself, the Almighty, is personally involved in our life, guiding us and helping us. We have many reasons to believe that He is most eager to do so, both from the Holy Scriptures and the Tradition of the Church. Think for example about the fact that He appoints guardian angels over each one of us, and not only that. He appoints a further angel guardian over each of our associations, our meetings, no matter how brief.     We want God to remember us with loving intention, but in order for us to reap the benefits of this loving remembrance we must remember God. Just as the Lord Jesus Himself tells us: “If anyone denies Me before men, him will I deny before the throne of my Heavenly Father; and if anyone confesses Me before men, him will I also acknowledge before my Father in Heaven and before the holy angels.” Remembrance of God must become a way of life for us. After all, God’s remembrance of us is what keeps us in being. This culture that we live in has many faults and many sicknesses, but one is greater than all the others: Forgetfulness of God. It is the source of all the other problems. We pray morning and evening, we go to church on Sundays and feasts, but we must be careful that we do not forget God in between. We must strive constantly for continuous remembrance of God. Remembering Him, we must frequently raise our minds to Him, confess our sins to Him, ask His help and guidance.

Проповідуючи про цей уривок у Євангелії від Святого Луки, наш святий Отець Кирил Олександрійський нотує те, що багатий у цій притчі немає імення, але ми знаємо ім’я бідного чоловіка. Святий Кирил раптом злучує цей факт з іншими уривками у Святому Письмі, і робить висновок: Господь тільки пом’яне співчуттєвого чоловіка. Кирил цитує вірш 15-ого псалму, в якому Цар Давид проголошує, «Я не буду навіть вимовляти їхні ймення губ́а́ми моїми.» Подібним способом, у притчі про мудрих і немудрих дів, накінець, Господь говорить немудрим дівам, «я ніколи не пізнав вас. Геть, робітниці лукавства!» У іншому місці, ми чуємо те, що Господь Ісус визнаватиме перед престолом Його Отця тільки тих, хто визнали Його перед іншими людьми.   Також, у старому завіті, Господня пам’ять дуже часто однозначна зі спасінням. Наприклад, у оповіданні про Ноя і Великий Потоп, після того, коли потоп знищив всю землю крім Ноя, його сім’я і тварини у ковчезі, текст каже, «але Бог пом’янув Ноя.»     Подібним способом, у пророцтві Святого Пророка Йони, пісня Йони описує пророка, хто пам’ятає Господа у його турботі, але ця книга також говорить те, що Господь пом’янув Його пророка. Господь через цілий старий завіт, пам’ятає заповіти, які Він зробив, і «Бог пам’ятає Авраама, Ісаака та Якова» є часто шляхом, щоб говорити про спасіння Ізраїля. Тож, те, що ми бачимо у цьому концепті «пам’яті», і Бога і Його святих, Його народу, це взаємне визначення присутности. Те, що Бог пам’ятає, це присутнє, ані відсутнє, і Він постійно кличе Його народ, щоб входити в ту саму пам’ять. Фактично, єврейська мова має спеціальне слово для пам’яті цього сорту: зикарон.     Концепт «зикарон» є всюди у Службі Божій, тому що, згідно з наказом Господа, ми виправляємо у Його пам’яті, і ця пам’ять робить Його присутнім, дійсно і реально. Тим самим способом, під час Служби Божої, ми постійно просимо у Господа, щоб пом’янути певних людей або груп. Особливо, під час Анафори, дієслово «пом’янути» є всюди.    Зикарон створює правдиву присутність, і тож, правдиву спорідненість, якою ми приносимо нашу дбайливість Господеві, і Він підсилює і підтверджує нас, звертаючись до нас у пам’яті. Ми повинні нотувати те, що та сама дія пам’яті грає дуже велику роль у богослужінні за померлих. Там, ми просимо у Господа «вічної пам’яті» для наших усопших родичів. Ми не просимо того, що світ пом’янув би їх навіки. Ні, ми просимо їхнього спасіння, тому що якщо Господь пом’яне їх, вони залишатимуться у існуванні і житті.   Ми хочемо того, що Господь пом’яне нас завжди. Ми хочемо упевнености того, що Сам Господь, Вседержитель, особисто діє у нашому житті, керуючи нами і нам допомаючи. Ми маємо багато причин, у Святому Письмі й традиції Церкви, щоб вірити в те, що Він готовий, щоб це робити. Думайте, наприклад, про цей факт: Він встановлює ангелів хоронителів над кожним з нас, і не тільки це, але Він встановлює додаткового ангела хоронителя над кожним нашим спілкуванням і зустрічю, навіть дуже коротко.   Ми хочемо того, що Бог пом’яне нас люблячим наміром, але, щоб приймати користь цієї люблячої пам’яті, ми мусимо пам’ятати Бога. Так, як Господь Ісус нам каже: «Якщо хто-небудь відрікається Мене перед людьми, того Я буду відрікатися перед престолом мого Небесного Отця; і якщо хто-небудь сповідає Мене перед людьми, того Я буду сповідати також перед моїм Отцем на небі з усіма святими ангелами.» Пам’ять про Бога має стати шляхом життя для нас. Зрештою, Божа пам’ять про нас є тим, що тримає нас у існуванні. Ця культура, в якій ми живемо, має багато недоліків і недуг, але одне з них є більшим від всіх інших: забуття про Бога. Це джерело всіх інших проблем. Ми молимося уранці та увечері, ми йдемо до Церкви в неділю і свята, але нам треба бути дбайливими, щоб не забути про Бога між цими речами. Ми мусимо пробувати постійно, щоб мати Бога на спомин. Пам’ятаючи Його, ми повинні часто піднімати наші серця і розуми до Нього, і сповідати наші гріхи, шукати Його допомогу і керування.

 

The Life of the Saints: The Truly Natural Life

In the late nineteen-sixties, a Christian man in Egypt comes home from an exhausting day at his factory job. He lives in a room in his brother's house in a mid-size city in Lower Egypt. When he arrives at the house, his brother is waiting for him. His brother tells him: "You have to move out. My wife doesn't like you living here." That night the man slept barely at all. In the morning, he got up, put all his belongings in a duffle bag and left before dawn, without having had anything to eat, walking to the train station to catch the train into Cairo. He had only enough money in his wallet for the fare. After he had purchased his ticket, he made his way through the crowd to go to his platform. Suddenly, he saw lying on the pavement in front of him a small amount of paper money, not much, but enough that he took the money and went to a nearby vendor and purchased some typical Egyptian fare, fava beans and falafel. Then, the man got on his train and traveled into Cairo.

Once he arrived in Cairo, since he didn't have anywhere to go, and his workplace would not be open for some hours, he went to the patriarchal cathedral in the Old City. There, the Patriarch of Alexandria, Cyril VI, who was widely respected as a wonderworking saint even in his own lifetime, was presiding at Matins and the Divine Liturgy as he did every morning, and the man settled into the back of the church and prayed in a spirit of great dejection. When the services ended a little after dawn, all the people present approached the patriarch to receive his blessing along with the antidor, the blessed bread from the day's Liturgy. When he received the blessing of the patriarch, he took the opportunity to say to him, "Please pray for me, Your Holiness, because God has abandoned me." Cyril VI looked at him with great love and said, "Don't be stupid. He just fed you with beans and falafel, didn't He? Now go home. Everything is taken care of." When the man returned to his brother's house that evening, his brother told him how worried he had been when he found that he was gone. The brother's wife had relented. He would be able to remain in his brother's house.

In the same country, but many centuries earlier, and a short distance further up the Nile, a very short young man named John has decided that he wants to give his whole life to God. He has heard about the men, who have gone into the desert to dedicate themselves to prayer, since Saint Anthony's time, about a hundred years earlier. John needs to find a man, who is experienced in the life, so that he can learn the necessary lessons of consecrated life. Finally, John feels so privileged and blessed to have found a very old, experienced, but peevish, monk. The old man has no intention of having any disciples, but here is this young man, who is intent on being his disciple. John's teacher, Diomed, comes up with a plan to get rid of his annoying visitor. He decides that he will make John run away from discouragement. He takes his staff and thrusts it into the sand of the desert. Then, turning to John, he commands him, "Water it until it bears fruit!" John takes up the challenge. In addition to many other duties, over the space of four years, John walks the two and a half miles to the river up to four times a day to bring water to water the staff. At the end of those four years, the staff put forth leaves and bore an abundance of almonds. Diomed was amazed at what had happened. He spent the rest of his years on earth traveling around to all his fellow monks in the whole region, bringing to them the almonds of the tree, telling them the story and saying, "Here! Taste the fruit of obedience."

All of us, who read the lives of the saints are used to miraculous happenings and extraordinary abilities illustrated in those lives. These two stories are examples of just such things. In the first case, we saw Patriarch Cyril VI, who was in church since before midnight, but who somehow knew that God had provided a sufficient breakfast of fava beans and falafel to the dejected man in the church that morning, and that, even further, God had provided a change of heart on the part of the man's brother and his wife. Similarly, in the case of St. John the Dwarf, we see that the saint's obedience so moves the heart of God that He raises the dead wood of the staff to life, endowing it with an extraordinary fecundity. The message is not lost on Diomed: the fruit of loving obedience is greater than anything else.

Unfortunately, when we read this kind of story, we very often get it wrong. We are tempted to think to ourselves, "these were saints, and so they showed forth miraculous abilities and deeds." But this is backwards. What we see in the saints is what is truly natural. They decided to cooperate with God in the restoration of their human nature. They allowed their souls and bodies to be filled by Divine Grace, and that Divine Grace, the Life of God being carried within them, brought forth the works of grace, things that we consider miraculous, because our human nature is so withered, emaciated and weak. Ironically, we live in a world that is obsessed with the idea of human beings living up to their full potential. We are bombarded by advertising many, many times a day that pushes products that claim to aid in our self-actualization. Yet, with none of these things will we ever get there, because the human being was designed to be filled with God, to do astounding things in communion with Him. Every human being has that potential in Christ, and we have to see it in everyone we meet. This is the reason why, in the presence of the saints, we often see the restoration of conditions that we recognize as paradisal. The dead staff coming back to life to become an almond tree is an example of this. Another example is the way we often see wild animals behave in the presence of the saints. They are tame and docile, eager to help the saints in accomplishing the will of God, as when we see the lions come out of the desert and dig the grave of St. Paul of Thebes.

«Свята Трійця – наша батьківщина» “The Holy Trinity is our homeland”

 

Сьогодні, 2 листопада, ми вшановуємо пам'ять святих мучеників Акіндина, Анемподіста, Елпідифора, Афтонія та багатьох інших, які загинули мученицькою смертю в Перській імперії під час гоніння на християнство, наказаного імператором Шапуром II. Коли цю групу мучеників притягнули до суду за злочин, пов'язаний з християнством, суддя запитав їх, звідки вони родом. Акіндин відповів судді: «Наша батьківщина — це Свята Трійця, Єдина за суттю та неподільна, Отець, Син і Святий Дух, Один Бог».

Today, on the 2^nd day of November, we commemorate the Holy Martyrs Akindynos, Anempodistos, Elpidephoros, Aphthonios and many others who were martyred in the Persian Empire during the persecution of Christianity ordered by the Emperor Shapur II. When this group of martyrs was brought to trial for the crime of being Christians, the judge asked them where they were from. Akindynos famously replied to the judge, “Our homeland is the Holy Trinity, One in essence and undivided, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, One God.”

Сьогодні в Євангельському читанні ми чули притчу про сіяча. Притча розповідає про те, як Слово Боже сіється всюди у світі. В деяких місцях воно приносить рясні плоди благодаттю Святого Духа, але в інших серцях приносить мало або взагалі не приносить плодів через людську гріховність. Притча є символічним описом Втілення. Бог Слово, Друга Особа Святої Трійці, зійшов і прийняв нашу природу. Він увійшов у приниження, страждання та смерть, щоб явити воскресіння. А у Своєму воскреслому житті Він розсіявся, посіявся по всьому світу через Свої Животворчі Таїнства, щоб зібрати всіх нас в одне в радісному, божественному жн́иві. Через наше хрещення, миропомазання та Божественну Євхаристію ми включені в Його Єдине, Неповторне Синівство, бо через таїнства ми отримуємо Небесне Царство як нашу спадщину. Свята Трійця стає нашою батьківщиною, бо ми усвідомлюємо, що ми вийшли з небуття з волі Божої, і що Він дарував нам вічну долю бути правителями з Ним у майбутньому віці. Церква показує нам ці великі Таїнства образотворчим чином на іконі, яку по-різному називають «Трійця Старого Заповіту» або «Гостинність Авраама». Чи помічали ми коли-небудь, що на цій іконі передня частина столу, навколо якого сидять три Божественні Особи, завжди відкрита. Вона зображена таким чином, бо це запрошення для нас. Бог, Свята Трійця, кличе кожного з нас наблизитися, розділити Його спілкування та отримати нашу спадщину, яка є не що інше, як Сам Бог – вічне володіння Бога, повнота всього доброго.

Today in the Gospel reading, we heard the parable of the sower. The parable relates how the Word of God is sown everywhere in the world. In some places it bears abundant fruit through the grace of the Holy Spirit, but in other hearts it bears little or no fruit, because of human sinfulness. The parable is a symbolical description of the Incarnation. God the Word, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, has descended and taken on our nature. He has entered into abjection, suffering and death, so that He could reveal the resurrection. And in His resurrected life, He has become diffused, sown into the whole world through His Life-Giving Mysteries, so that He can gather all of us into one in a joyful, divine harvest. Through our baptism, chrismation and the Divine Eucharist, we are incorporated into His One, Unique Sonship, for through the sacraments we receive the Heavenly Kingdom as our inheritance. The Holy Trinity becomes our homeland, for we recognize that we came forth from nothingness by the will of God and we have been gifted with an everlasting destiny by Him, to be rulers with Him in the age to come. The Church shows us these great mysteries in a pictorial way in the icon that is variously called “Old Testament Trinity” or “The Hospitality of Abraham.” In that icon, have we ever noticed that the front of the table around which the three Divine Persons are seated is always left open. It is depicted in this way, because it is an invitation to us. God, the Holy Trinity, is beckoning each and every one of us to approach, to share in His fellowship and receive our inheritance, which is nothing less than God Himself –the everlasting possession of God, the fullness of everything that is good.

Нас запрошують наблизитися. З великим бажанням Бог кличе нас, так само, як Господь Ісус сказав апостолам на Містичній вечері: «З великим бажанням Я бажав спожити з вами цю вечерю». Бог хоче, щоб ми відповіли Йому відповідним бажанням бути з Ним. Але як ми можемо показати Йому, що маємо це бажання? Він також сказав нам про це. Він сказав нам: «Якщо любите Мене, то заповіді Мої зберігайте». Проте, брати і сестри, на цьому етапі наш шлях уперед стає трохи неясним, трохи таємничим. Зрештою, коли ми читаємо Святе Євангеліє та роздумуємо над його словами, ми насправді знаходимо дуже мало явних заповідей. Це правда, що Старий Завіт має багато таких явних заповідей, але такі уривки в Новому Завіті дуже мало і трапляються рідко. Отже, які заповіді? Для нас усе життя Господа Ісуса є заповіддю, бо наше учнівство — це наслідування. Сам Христос — це заповідь, якої ми повинні дотримуватися. Його спосіб життя — це настанова для нас. Саме коли ми живемо так, як жив Він, Свята Трійця стає нашою батьківщиною та нашою вічною спадщиною.

We are being invited to approach. With great desire, God is beckoning us, just as the Lord Jesus told the Apostles at the Mystical Supper, “with desire, I have desired to eat this supper with you.” God wants us to reciprocate with a corresponding desire to be with Him. But how do we show Him that we have this desire? He has told us that too. He has told us, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” Nevertheless, brothers and sisters, at this point our way forward becomes a bit obscure, a bit mysterious. After all, when we read the Holy Gospels and meditate on their words, we actually find very few explicit commandments. It is true that the Old Testament has many, many such explicit commandments, but such passages in the New Testament are very few and far between. So, what commandments? For us, the whole life of the Lord Jesus is commandment, because our discipleship is one of imitation. Christ Himself is the commandment we must follow. His manner of life is precept for us. It is when we live our lives as He lived that the Holy Trinity becomes our homeland and our everlasting inheritance.

Patron Saint of Encouragement: Imparting the Stimulus to do Great Deeds

Sunday, 26 October, was a very important day in the calendar of the Greek Church. It was the feast of the Great-Martyr Demetrius of Thessaloniki, who is called the Myrrh-Gusher, because, like St. Nicholas of Myra, his bones put forth a fragrant oil (called in Greek myron), which has miraculous properties and is often used to heal the sick.

St. Demetrius has an extraordinary life to share with us, not because of his own astounding deeds, but because of the great deeds that he inspired in others. St. Demetrius is in many ways the patron saint of all those, who encourage us in the Christian life. His life is a reminder that encouragement is important. Perhaps we should ask ourselves, "how many Christians fail to advance to their own potential, wither on the spiritual vine and are even lost for want of encouragement?"

Like Saint George of Lydda, and at about the same time, Demetrius achieved high rank in the Roman army. Demetrius was appointed by the Emperor Galerius to the position of proconsul (military governor) of the region of Thessaloniki. During Demetrius' administration, Galerius conducted a imperial progress, in which he toured all the provinces, going from city to city with a vast retinue. The local governors were responsible for entertaining the Emperor and his retinue at each stage of the progress. Galerius arrived in Thessaloniki in the summer of 306, and, as a part of his retinue, he brought his court favorite, the wrestler Lyaeus. Lyaeus was the greatest wrestler of his time, but he was also a sadist. Since the persecution of the Christian Church was an enormous reason for the progress of the Emperor through the various provinces, Lyaeus would stage wrestling competitions with Christian captives, but Lyaeus version of wrestling was a blood sport. Greco-Roman wrestling always takes place in a circle, but Lyaeus had a circular platform constructed and around the platform a deep moat with sharp upright spears pointing up towards the sky. Lyaeus would vanquish his opponents and then throw them onto the spears.

Demetrius knew perfectly well that he was not a terribly good wrestler, but one of his men, Nestor, a member of his personal guard was known throughout the cohort for his skill in this area. Furthermore, Nestor was also a Christian. So, Demetrius began to encourage Nestor to challenge Lyaeus to a single combat wrestling match. This was accomplished by Nestor openly declaring himself a Christian before the Emperor. Finally, having trained very hard and supported by Demetrius' prayers, he met Lyaeus in a wrestling match in the area. Nestor soundly beat him, throwing him over the side of the platform onto the spears. The nightmarish anti-Christian spectacle in the city was over, the blood sport terminated.

The Emperor Galerius, however, was so angry at seeing the demise of his favorite that he ordered Nestor to be beheaded. Nevertheless, the greater part of his fury was reserved for the one who had goaded Nestor into challenging Lyaeus in the first place. Appropriately in his mind, he ordered Demetrius to die slowly, having been pierced through with many spears.

So now, every year, the Great-Martyr Demetrius is celebrated on 26 October, while Holy Martyr Nestor is commemorated on 27 October, the following day. The feast of St. Demetrius is a feast of high rank in the calendar and the feast of St. Nestor less so. It is a fitting reminder of the importance of encouragement for all of us. It's a time for us to honor those who have encouraged us, but it's also an opportunity for us to remember our obligation to be a source of encouragement and inspiration to others. Today the handbook was like St. Demetrius for us, encouraging us to frequently confess our sins. In the same vein, we should take a look at our lives and eliminate in them anything that would not be an encouragement and inspiration to our brothers and sisters. The universal call to holiness, our vocation to be saints, is the call to transcend the ordinary, to stand out, to be heroic. There have never been, nor will there ever be mediocre saints.