Reflections

Are you an instrument of belief?

Al-Massiah Qam! Hakan Qam!

Christ is Risen!  Indeed He is Risen!

In the gospel of St. John, chapter 20, we learn that eight days after the Apostle Thomas doubted Christ’s resurrection… Christ, Himself miraculously appeared before him and the other Apostles, and  immediately Thomas’ doubt was transformed…instantly making him an instrument of belief.  Thomas then took that belief, along with the other Apostles, and spread the message of the gospel throughout the whole world. 

Just like Thomas, we may also sometimes find ourselves questioning our faith, or our purpose and calling in life, or maybe even our entire belief system.  Well the good news is…is that there is nothing entirely wrong with doubt…we all doubt.  However, in our doubt, we need to guard ourselves against that doubt becoming truth.  Because doubt left un-checked, can very easily steal any faith we have…and without faith, there is no possibility of hope.  

St. Thomas is a great example to us of someone whose faith was challenged by doubt, but who was not willing to let that doubt be turned to dis-belief.  And in doing so, St. Thomas became an instrument of belief to the whole world. 

As humans, we are no differnet than St. Thomas.  So let us also allow God to continue to work in our lives…and let us not allow ourselves to give-in to any doubt we have.  But let us allow God to transform our doubts…so that we also may become  instruments of belief to all those around us. 

The following  prayer, attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, who lived in the 13th century, will help you in your daily struggle to overcome doubt.  May the glory of God and His mercy always be with you, now and ever and unto ages of ages. 

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.  Where there is hatred, let me be an instrument of love.  Where there is injury, let me be an instrument of pardon.  Where there is doubt, let me be an instrument of faith (Just like St. Thomas).  Where there is despair, let me be an instrument of hope.  Where there is darkness, evil, and sin…let me be an instrument of light.  And where there is sadness, let me be an instrument of joy.

Divine Master, grant that I may not seek to be consoled, as much as to console others; that I may not seek to be understood, as much as to understand others; and that I may not seek to be loved, as to show love to others. 

 For it is in giving that we recieve.  It is in pardoning that we are pardoned.  And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.   Amen.

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Christ is The New Passover.

Al-Massiah Qam!  Christos Anesti!  Christ is Risen!

It is because of Christ’s glorious third day Resurrection that Christians all around the world celebrate Easter.  The greek word for Easter is Pascha, which is literally translated “Passover,”  and has been celebrated by Judaism for over 3500 years in remembrance of when the Israelites were liberated from Egyptian bondage, and when the angel of death passed-over the homes of the Israelites who marked their doorposts with the blood of a sacrificial lamb.   This amazing historic story can be found in the Old Testament…in the twelfth chapter of the  book of Exodus.  But for Christians, because of the total selfless and loving sacrificial act of Jesus Christ on behalf of all creation…His death on the cross…followed by His resurrection, the Old Testament passover event has been fulfilled and has been given a whole new meaning.

The following article taken from the Orthodox Study Bible, offers a reflective and interesting explanation of  why we say that Jesus Christ is the “New Passover.”

     Passover, the central rite and symbol of Judaism, is based on the experience of the liberation of the Hebrew people from bondage in Egypt (Exodus 12:1 – 15:21).  It is called Passover both because the Lord passed over the homes of the Hebrews, sparing them from the death that came to the first-born in Egypt, and because the Hebrews passed over the Red Sea as if it were dry land.  Passover celebrates God’s steadfast love and devotion to His peoople and their freedom in Him.

     Throughout the rest of the Old Testament, Passover preeminently signifies God’s rescue and forging t0gether of His chosen people, Israel.  The Lord repeatedly brings this event to mind as He encourages and exhorts, His people to return to their convenantal responsibilities (Judges 6:7-10; 1st Kings 10:17-19; Psalms 80:10-11; Jeremiah 11:1-8; Micah 6:1-8)

     Through His saving work, Christ becomes our Passover (pascha in Greek).   Through Him we experience liberation from sin, death, and the devil.  St. Paul exclaims, “Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed fro us.  Therefore let us keep the feast” (1st Corinthians 5:7-8).  He is the paschal Lamb (Isaiah 53:7; John 1:29; Revelations 5:6-14) who gave Himself up in sacrifice “once and for all” (Hebrews 10:10-14) to reconcile us with God.  At every Pascha (Easter) the Church sings:   Today a sacred Pascha is revealed to us, a new and holy Pascha, a mystical Pascha, a Pascha worthy  of  veneration, a Pascha which is Christ the Redeemer.

     In many typological details, the Passover of the Jews clearly points towards Christ as our Passover.

     1.  The Passover Lamb, whose blood was smeared by the Hebrews on their doorposts, was  a male without blemish; Jesus was a male without blemish who died on the cross.

     2.  The blood of the Passover lamb saved the first-born of the Hebrews from death; the blood of Christ saves all those believing in Him from eternal death (Romans 5:8-10; 1st Peter 1:17-19).

     3.  The Passover lamb had none of its bones broken (Exodus 12:10, 46); Jesus also had no bones broken as He was sacrified (John 19:31-36).

     4.  The Hebrews escaped from the burden of slavery in Egypt by passing through the Red Sea; Christians pass “from Egypt, from the burden of sin,” being “set free and saved” through the waaters of Holy baptism (St. Gregory of Nyssa).  For in the waters of Baptism, we are “baptized into His death,”  “crucified with Him,” and raised up “in the likeness of His resurrection” to “walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:3-11).

 St. John Chrysostom morvels at the power of Christ’s blood:  “If the type of it had such great power…in the midst of Egypt, when smeared on the doorposts, much more the reality…if death so shuddered at the shadow, tell me how would it not have dreaded the very reality?  this blood is the salvation of our souls; by it the soul is washed, and made beautiful and …more gleaming than gold (see Revelations 7:13-14).

     Sustained and strengthened by the blood of Christ our Passover, we resume daily our journey to the eternal promised land, the promised kingdom to come.

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A Holy Week Reflection

The Kingdom of God is the life of the Holy Trinity in the world.  It is the Kingdom of holiness, goodness, truth, beauty, love peace, and joy.  These qualities are not works of the human spirit.  They proceed from the life of God and reveal God.  Christ Himself is the Kingdom.  He is the God-Man, who brought God down to earth (John 1:1,14).  “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, yet the world knew Him not.  He came to His own home, and His own people received Him Not” (John 1:10-11).  He was reviled and hated.

Palm Sunday summons us to behold our King – the Suffering Servant.  we cannot understand Jesus’ Kingship apart from the Passion.  Filled with infinite love for the Father and the Holy Spirit, and for creation, in His enexpressible humility, Jesus accepted the infinite abasement of the cross.  He bore our griefs and carried our sorrows; He was wounded for our transgressions and made Himself an offering for sin (Isaiah 53).  His glorification which was accomplished by the resurrection and the ascension was achieved through the cross.

In the fleeting moments of exhuberance that maked Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the world received its King.  The King who was on His way to death.  His passion, however, was no morbid desire for martyrdom.  Jesus’ purpose was to establish the mission for which the Father sent Him.

(Taken from; “Great Week and Pascha in the Greek Orthodox Church,”  by Fr. Alkiviadis C. Calivas, pg. 23)

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A Journey toward Transformation

Great Lent for us, as Orthodox Christians, is a journey toward transformation.  This week, the church remembers St. John Climicus, a seventh century monk from Egypt, who wrote a book called, “The Ladder of Divine Ascent.”  In this book, St. John lists 30 stages of spiritual development to help us on our journey toward transformation.  The steps are:

  1. Turn backs on world
  2. hold all things with open hands
  3. live as strangers
  4. practice obedience (obedience)
  5. turn backs on sin
  6. remember our mortality
  7. be realistic about life
  8. bend without breaking
  9. let the past be the past
  10. keep our mouths shut, part 1
  11. keep our mouths shut, part 2
  12. speak the truth (truth)
  13. escape from boredom
  14. control our eating habits
  15. keep ourselves pure (purity)
  16. let go of things that hold us, part 1
  17. let go of things that hold us, part 2
  18. get serious
  19. stay awake
  20. stay alert
  21. face our fears
  22. humble ourselves
  23. beat pride
  24. live meekly
  25. develop humility (humility)
  26. discern God’s will for our lives
  27. learn how to be still (prayer)
  28. seek union with God through prayer (theosis)
  29. grow beyond our passions
  30. achieve the heights of the virtues (Love)

*The Above list is adapted from: “Journey through Great Lent”-Teacher guide.

And there is an icon that was developed to depict these stages, and represents the Christian struggle toward transformation, and our desired Salvation.  So, may this week be, for us, a week of reflection about our own Christian journey.  And may we work toward increasing our prayer and fasting as we anticipate the celebration of Christ’s glorious resurrection.

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Taking up your cross

This week let us remember to thank God for all the blessings he bestows upon us.  And let us, this week, not forget to thank God for dieing on the cross for us, and to ask Him for the strength to endure any cross that we may find ourselves carrying.  And finally, let us take this week, the half-way point of our Lenten journey, to rejuvenate ourselves, re-focus our attention, and re-fresh our minds towards the final triumphant reward that is awaiting for us at the end of our journey…Christ’s glorious resurrection.  Good Strength to you all as we begin the second half of this great and holy fast.

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