Tag: faith

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Love to the End

If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.

Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us.

If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also. Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him.

By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.

For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? (1 John 1:6-2:6; 4:7-5:5)

When we say, “Love is perfected,” we mean that love has reached its goal. There is one word for “perfected,” and it is the same word Jesus said when he died: “it is finished.” That takes three words in English, but one word in Greek: tetelestai means it is “finished”. Tetelomenē is the love that is perfected and has reached its goal. It is “love to the end.” That is literally what it means. “Love to the end. To the goal.” “It is finished,” says Jesus as he dies for us to take away our sins and give us eternal life. This is the “perfected” love John is talking about.

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear. Imperfect love, however, does not drive out fear. The torment of a guilty conscience, or a love that holds back, makes us angry and resentful, killing our peace. If you are agitated and angry, it is because you are afraid, and if you have fear, it is because you do not have that perfectly obedient and perfectly trusting love that comes from God. If we love God and love each other, we have boldness at the judgment; fearlessness. Perfect love abandons everything and throws itself into the arms of God.

So basically, if you want to say you love others, you must keep the commandments of God. Your love for others is flawed and misguided if you are not obedient to God’s commandments. It is a false love. It is not how Jesus loves.

In this passage, St. John says that if you do not obey Jesus’commandments, you have no communion with him. You are not his partner. You are not part of his Church if you do not follow his commandments. Those words are like a sharp dagger. Do not think that just because St. John always talks about love, he never talks about the fearsome justice of God. This is very serious. St. John the Theologian is an Apostle and a spiritual father. He is not a teddy bear. He is the Apostle who lay on Jesus’ chest at the supper, the one who refers to himself as “the disciple Jesus loved.” But he preaches about the fearsome God, not a tame God.

It doesn’t matter how much you think you love others, how much compassion you think you feel for others; if you are not obedient to the people God has put in authority over you, you do not love in the fullest sense. St. John says if you do not obey God, your love is not “perfected.” And God calls you to obey those in authority over you.

This perfected love is love that “has reached its goal.’ Obeying God is the fullest expression of love. Obeying God and those he has given authority over you was the point all along. God loves his people, and he creates order and harmony for his people. Your one-on-one experience is part of the plan of God for his people. First and foremost, his commandment is that you observe the loving, life-giving order. Serve others in an ordered, chaste, humble manner. Love your neighbour by getting along with all your neighbours. That is God’s love for you, and that is how you show God’s love to the world. That is the true heart of love. You are not one with Christ, who died and “finished” and perfected our salvation, if you do not obey him. He is the author and perfecter of our faith. There’s that word again. He perfects our faith. Without obedience, there is no perfect love nor perfect faith.

Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore, whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Therefore, you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake. For this reason, you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honour to whom honour.

Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbour; therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law. (Romans 13:1-10)

All Christians must also submit to the church’s authorities, children must obey parents, wives must submit to their husbands, and servants must obey their masters. I take this not as a law that justifies slavery, but rather, employees should obey their employers and do an honest day’s work. Young people must respect elders. We must all fear God.

We modern Western Christians, even when we become Orthodox, love our sentimentality, individualism and our customized experience of Christianity. When we tell ourselves that we are loving and empathetic, many of us do love others and do have empathy. Yet, sometimes we show love and empathy because we want to be accepted by the people we have say we love. Sometimes, we get angry on behalf of others, and our actual motivation is to be accepted by them or to be seen as compassionate. Often, our righteous anger is merely a way of pretending to be compassionate and loving. It is often born out of our fear of being judged by the world. But that is not actually love. It is not God’s love.

If we do not have a love that goes all the way to obedience, love that goes “to the end” and pushes through to humility, it is not the perfected love. If we do not have that love, we become (secretly) afraid of the last judgment. We think, “Well, at least I have helped the poor and needy and lonely. At least, I advocated for the people that the world tells me are victims. Perhaps it will make up for my lack of obedience and my ambivalence towards the difficult words of Christ.” Keep serving, but serve Jesus’ way.

Showing charitable empathy and compassion is a wonderful thing. The man who came to Jesus and said he obeyed all the ten commandments was told, “You lack one thing. Go sell everything you have and give the money to the poor.” He was only lacking one thing. Only one thing. We should infer that he had all the other necessarythings. Compassion for the poor was not the only thing necessary; it was the one thing that he lacked.

But for you, it might be the other way around. You can give everything to the poor, but if you have contempt for the commandments of God, you do not have communion with Christ. There is no communion with Christ or with your fellow man unless you have the kind of love that expresses itself in righteousness and obedience. Jesus assumed all of humanity. If you do not love him the way he said, you do not love humanity. He said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” That is the full and truest kind of love. And it is not sensational, it doesn’t get anyone’s attention, and you cannot self-congratulate quite as much because it doesn’t feel euphoric. You can “remain” in that perfect love, however, by continuing to obey God when your flesh is kicking and screaming. You must remain, stay faithful. If you remain in him, you have consistency and steadfastness in obedience. Then you “love to the end” and without exception.

One of the clearest signs of a false love is when you cannot get along at home, at work or in the other places where you feel most at home and therefore take the most liberties. Sometimes that place where we feel most at home is even in our church community. In private, or in a space where you are familiar with people and feel safe, your fear often manifests as anger and judgment. We are not polite at home in the same way we are with strangers. We do not self-censor with people who are familiar the same way we do with strangers. We do not always care how we make our spouse feel, or our children.

If we are compassionate towards one person or one group of people but angry and hateful towards those who are closest to us, that is because we do not have the fullness of love, perfected love. Real love casts out fear, but false love hides our fear. And when we are afraid, we get angry, hate and lash out. In those familiar safe places, the truth about our ability to love comes out whether we like it or not. What do you actually love?

Does the word “obedience” sound like a prison to you? If so, you have not learned to love. What does God say that you should be doing in your home? In your marriage? Towards your parents or siblings? What is God calling you to say or do in relation to your children? For example, paying attention to them, or perhaps confronting them if needed, being present, putting down the devices, and daring to call them out from behind theirs. What form of self-control or obedience is God calling you to in the home, at work or in your community? This is the place where God wants to make you perfect in love.

Start to “love one another as God loved us” at home, or where you feel most athome. Perhaps this is the lunch room at work, or wherever you have the opportunity to let your hair down. Perhaps you are in the habit of speaking some unpolished truths about your co-workers or your boss. Start to “love one another as God loved us” there. Then you will no longer fear the judgment day. You will no longer be angry and hateful.

You will no longer want to censor God and his Church if you have the fully obedient love of Christ. You will no longer have a secret faith that is almost the same as the Church you belong to. You will no longer be defensive or controlling if you obey the people God has called you to obey. When you are submissive to the people God has called you to be submissive to, fear goes away, and then anger goes away.

The people outside your inner circle will still be there. They will still need your love. The poor, the needy, the lonely, the outsiders will still be there, and you can still serve them. But now it will be less a matter of dulling your own guilty conscience with a self-congratulatory love. Now it will be a love that points towards Christ because you will not only have empathy, you will also have holiness! And that is Jesus’ love; real love. It is the fullness of love.

The whole truth of love is that it is not only meek and compassionate, but also holy. Jesus’ love is empathy, shedding tears for the ones who suffer, and holiness at the same time. When Jesus reached the tomb of his friend, Lazarus, he wept. He explained to Lazarus’ sister that he, Jesus, is the resurrection and the life. Jesus is both the resurrection and the life. If he were just the resurrection, he could raise Lazarus. But he is also the life, meaning he is the life we lead, the lifestyle. Jesus is the way we walk and the way we live. He helps us and reforms us. That is his perfect love. Compassion is holiness, and calling the world to holiness is how we shine the light of the gospel in the darkness of sin and death.

Is your love for the vulnerable both a compassionate love anda love of holiness and obedience? Go home, and go to work, go to where you are most at home and look at your ability to love people compassionately there, in that place. Do you have peace? Do you act in a way that brings peace to the people closest to you? Do you have enough courage to obey? That is real courage. Go there and look at yourself honestly, repent and you will have the answer as to whether you have perfect love.

Now when Jesus came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?”

Jesus answered, “I also will ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things: The baptism of John—where was it from? From heaven or from men?”

Theuy reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the multitude, for all count John as a prophet.”

So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.”

Jesus said, “Then I will not tell you by what authority I do these things. But tell me what you think: a man had two sons, and he went to the first son and said, ‘Son, go, work today in my vineyard.’ The son answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and went. Then the man went to the second son and said the same thing. And the second son answered, ‘Yes, sir. I will go.’ but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?”

They said to Him, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him.” (Matthew 21:23-32)

Most of the time when we read this, we read the version that does not have the parable about the two sons. But this version helps us see what Jesus was saying more clearly. Let’s consider the context of this conversation that Jesus is having. Jesus is in Jerusalem, teaching big crowds of people. He had just come into Jerusalem a day or two before, at the head of a great crowd who were shouting, “Hosannah, son of David. Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord.” He was making a scene. Jesus was criticizing the Jewish authorities who were standing nearby, listening to him. He was defying them more or less to their face. And they asked him, “What authority do you have to do this? Who do you think you are?”

What they are actually saying is, “Are you claiming to be some kind of messiah freedom fighter who is going to start a popular uprising?” They are daring him to admit to being a revolutionary in front of the crowd, because then they can have him arrested. On the other hand, if Jesus chickens out and does not proclaim himself king, so they think, then they have discredited him in front of the crowd. They believed they had cornered Jesus.

Instead, Jesus cornered them. He put them on the spot and said, “What do you think of John the Baptist? Was he a prophet from God or not?”

This confrontation between Jesus and the authorities in Jerusalem took place after John the Baptist had died at the hands of the friends of these religious leaders. The whole crowd there thought of John the Baptist as a martyr. And Jesus was calling the crowds attention to these people’s association with the murders of John the Baptist. He was also pointing out to the authorities, “I can see how scared you are! You don’t have the guts to say what you really think. You were relieved when they killed John the Baptist, but you are too scared to say it.” If they denounced John the Baptist, the crowds would turn on them and blame them for his death.

These same religious leaders had been angry with Jesus because he associated with sinners like tax collectors and harlots – the very people John the Baptist had preached to before Jesus’ ministry. But Jesus says, “John the Baptist convinced tax collectors and harlots to repent of their sins. But you didn’t repent of your sins.”

Now this is the most important point, and it is surprising. The religious leaders were not very religious, actually. They were disobedient. Jesus said as much. Jesus told his followers that the religious leaders pretended to be pious, but they disobeyed God by cheating and lying. They swore dishonest vows in the name of God! They did not keep the laws, even though they judged others. The only difference was that the leaders devised clever ways of making it look like they were obedient.

They were disobedient, and yet they hated sinners. They were disobedient, and therefore, they had no love for God. They said they obeyed the Father, but they actually hated the Father. That’s why they also hated the children of the Father. They even hated the Only-begotten Son of the Father. Disobedience breeds hatred.

Jesus did not condemn the Pharisees for their strict adherence to the law. He condemned them for their pretense. They did not lack love because they were too righteous. They lacked love because they only pretended to fear God, but actually, they were just as much sinners as the others. They hated Jesus because they hated sincerity.

So Jesus tells them this story that we don’t hear very much in Church: the parable of the two sons.

“A man had two sons, and he went to the first son and said, ‘Son, go, work today in my vineyard.’ The son answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and went. Then the man went to the second son and said the same thing. And the second son answered, ‘Yes, sir. I will go.’ but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said to Him, “The first.”

The one who was obedient (better late than never) had true love for his father. At least he came to his senses and loved his father by obeying him. That is true love.

Listen to Jesus’ words carefully. Jesus never said that what the Pharisees demanded that people do was wrong. He said that they were indifferent to the people for whom the commandments were too heavy. They did not love the people they were supposed to lead and care for. But he did not condemn the law. On the contrary, Jesus told his followers to be more righteous than the Pharisees. He condemned the pretense.

What did the father do in the parable? He did not beat the disobedient son for disobeying. He was patient and went to the second son, giving the first one time to rethink.

The Pharisees were disobedient, and therefore, they were afraid. Because of their fear, they were unable to love the repentant sinners. The fearful and disobedient Pharisees had no fatherly patience with sinners who wanted to change. The Pharisees did not have the light of God. They were children of darkness and were cast out into the outer darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Go home and be polite and respectful. Submit when you should submit. Obey when you should obey. Serve when you should serve. Lead with dignity and honour when you should lead. Teach and set an example. Take responsibility.

Spread the life-giving love of God at work. Show gestures of reverence in the holy space of the Church in front of the icons. And then let your mouth be filled with the same reverence for the Church, its leaders and members, when you are downstairs drinking coffee.

“Let our mouths be filled with Thy praise, O Lord, that we may sing of Thy Glory. For Thou hast made us worthy to partake of Thy holy, divine and life-creating mysteries. Keep us in Thy holiness, that all the day we may meditate upon Thy righteousness.”

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Seeds of Martyrdom

The Lord said this parable: “A sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell along the path, and was trodden under foot, and the birds of the air devoured it. And some fell on the rock; and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns grew with it and choked it. And some fell into good soil and grew, and yielded a hundredfold.” And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God; but for others they are in parables, so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand. Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, that they may not believe and be saved. And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy; but these have no root, they believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. And as for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bring forth fruit with patience.” As he said these things, he cried out “He who has ears to hear, let him hear. (LUKE 8:5-15)

A seed wants to grow because of all the energy inside God plants a seed inside us that wants and strives to become holy. The seed is the word. The Word is Jesus Christ. God’s word is buried in the earth through his death. And he grows up inside us because we were buried with Christ and we rose with him. Jesus’ love and holiness grow within us, striving to produce what is holy in our thoughts and intentions. Striving to make our desires holy, to make our attitudes holy, to make our preoccupation holiness and love. The seed of the Word of God strives to make our choices, identities and our actions holy.

The seed is Jesus’ love that we see in his death on the cross. The seed is the power we see in his resurrection. The seed of Jesus the crucified and risen one pushes and strains to make our goals holy, to make our jobs places where we are holy, to make our friendships holy and lifegiving, to make our marriages holy, to make our families holy. This is the “fruit” that Jesus speaks about.

What threatens the growth of the seed? The first recipient of the seed is a Christian. But Jesus says that, “The Devil takes the word away from their hearts.” When we do not allow our longing to be sanctified, we lose our child-like faith and become distracted.

But the second group of recipients do keep the word in their hearts. They receive it with joy but do not allow the word to become their identity. Jesus is not “who they have decided to be.” He is someone who has done good things for them. They recognize that Jesus is full of love, but they have not decided to only define who they are, exclusively, by the holiness of Jesus Christ.

So they fall prey to temptation. They become of two minds. “I love Jesus,” they say, “but I have the right to do this other thing. I love Jesus but I desire what is pleasurable.”

Desire wins. We think about what we desire. We are very familiar with it in our minds, if not in our actions. We see it in our minds’ eyes. We dream of it. It feels natural. If we have not spent time imagining Jesus’ holiness to the point where it is familiar, if the holiness of Jesus has not become a home in our minds where our thoughts can settle and live, then the desires for sin that arise within us fit our identity like a hand in a glove. It just fits, so we follow that path.

The last seed in the parable dies. These are Christians who has preserved within themselves the child-like awe of knowing Jesus. They have given up their identity to Jesus. Whatever opinions and “fight” they had inside, they put it down and leave it behind to follow Jesus. They are not easily distracted by temptations because the temptations don’t fit them anymore. It’s like a glove that is too big; it falls off easily.

But life is hard. This person gets scared. It is hard to have time to go to church. It requires saying no to other things. Fear of missing out is a real fear. It is hard to make space for tithing. It is hard to prioritize community and service. It is hard to disappoint other people and explain to them, “no, I can’t do that, I have a commitment with my church.”

Who you have chosen to be Becomes a public statement. It is no longer just private. That is scary.

Jesus speaks about the wheat bringing forth “fruit.” In his language, seeds were included within the category of “fruit.” A seed-fruit has to fall off the stalk and get planted in the ground, j ust like the first seed, the seed of Jesus, the Word of God fell onto the ground. Jesus died. If our faith matures, we will die with Jesus. We will become martyrs.

When the seed of the Word of God inside us matures,  we look for any opportunity to be holy. When someone new comes into the church, we look at them and recognize this is what we have desired. This is what we have been praying for and waiting for. We have desired what Jesus desires, which is that all should be saved. All people should be included. We desire that everyone should have community and fellowship.

If we have desired this, we will have taught our children to desire this. They will recognize the opportunity immediately. When the word has matured within us, we look eagerly for the opportunity to serve, to volunteer, to participate, to give and to build.

When we have allowed Jesus to our identity, our choices take on a natural and determined holiness. We get in the habit of holiness. We become urgently concerned to discard anything that doesn’t fit; any sins of thought, word and deed We have to run to confession to get rid of them because they don’t fit with who we have decided to be.

We are not easily offended by people in the church. Because our identity is serving and building the church. We are not choked by our pride. When we are watchful, we see the moment when it comes, the moment for martyrdom.

It’s like the person who watches for the perfect sale at the clothing store. When she sees it’s half-off, she swoops in and pounces, buying three dresses for herself and a sweater for her sister, who isn’t as good at finding sales.

The martyr seeks the right opportunity to use what God has given them. For example, they can sponsor a refugee. They see a need to foster a child. The church needs to get over the hump financially, and this person gives a much bigger gift than they have ever given before.

This is a Christian who recognizes that the desire they have had for giving something deeply personal, the desire to truly sacrifice, can now be fulfilled. The right moment came along.

Such a moment is an opportunity that only God can orchestrate. The person who has allowed Jesus to completely recreate their desires, thoughts, choices, identity and habits: this person will recognize it right away.

God has given us reminders to help us recognize these possibilities. We have reminders surrounding us. Here. We have a great host of examples of people who have answered that call. That is why we have icons. The icons show us people who were just Christians. The moment for martyrdom came, and they were prepared. The moment for service to the Church came along. The moment of great personal sacrifice came, and they had equipped themselves with the word of God in their hearts. God opened a door for them. They walked through it into holiness.

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Fall Retreat at St. Vincent’s, 2024

November 22-23

Be Who You Are in the Body of Christ

Mother Melania, Abbess of Holy Assumption Monastery, California

Sessions

  • Friday 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
  • Saturday 9:30 am – 3:30 pm lunch provided
  • Saturday Youth Time 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm

Please RSVP for lunch by contacting Sarah S.

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Orthodox Christian life is liturgy.

An Orthodox Christian is responsible for saving the world. We do this by joining our lives to the life of the Saviour of the world, Jesus Christ. We are part of the body of Christ who is always saving the world.

In order to save the world, Orthodox Christians provide their community with life-giving worship. We provide a holy space, liturgical services and a community life. We keep a flame burning at the end of the candle.

We hire a priest. We bear the expenses of owning the building. We offer our time and our work. We cultivate the life of Jesus in our hearts and homes through prayer, fasting, giving and learning. All of this brings about worship here in our city. That will save the world. We listen to the words of St. Saraphim of Sarov (a Russian monk who lived in the 1800’s) who said, “acquire the spirit of peace and a thousand souls around you will be saved.”

We call our worship and our work liturgy. The word liturgy is Greek, and means the “work of the people” or the “work on behalf of the people.” In ancient Greece, a leading citizen of a city who was the head of a large family would be called upon to fund a new public amenity. This was a “liturgy.” Or perhaps he was obligated to pay for one week’s cycle of sacrifices to the gods on behalf of the city in order to ensure the gods’ protection. That was also a “liturgy.” It was his duty as a citizen of means to provide that which benefited the whole city.

We, of course, believe in one God. Our God who saves us in order to enable us to become worshippers in spirit and in truth. Our God invites us to his Liturgy. When Jesus died, he was offering his life and his death as a liturgy. When Orthodox Christians meet together to pray to our God, we are adding our lives to the Divine Liturgy.

Today, when we use the word liturgy, we are usually talking about the Sunday service that culminates in communion. Technically, funerals and weddings are also liturgies, but normally we mean the eucharist. We offer bread and wine as a sacrifice to God along with all the work we do to make the liturgy happen. In return, Jesus gives us that which he sacrificed: his body and blood. Every time we add our offerings to the timeless offering of Christ, this benefits everyone in the whole world, especially the people who receive the communion directly.

In Liturgy we offer God:

Our minds
When we encounter each new situation in life, we encounter it with our minds. So our minds must be healed from the corruption of sin. By praying the words of the Church we start to think like the Church. By reading the Bible we start to think like the Bible. We start to think like Jesus. We act more like Jesus. We live like Jesus and we die like Jesus. By reading the lives of the saints, we start to have the attitude of the saints. A life of prayer and worship moulds our minds and makes us holy, so that our actions in every new situation may be holy.

Our time
We attend church as often as possible. Church is the gas station where we fill up our tank. You do not know when you may be called upon, as a fellow sojourner in the next seat. Perhaps you will be the one whose kindness and listening are needed. Perhaps you have the words that need to be spoken in that moment. You might make all the difference just by being there and being available. But you are not available if you are not there.

Our money
No one pays the church’s bills except us the members. Giving to God is an act of great faith, and it helps the giver to become bold in prayer.

Our conscience
We offer our conscience to God. We ask for forgiveness constantly. We confess our sins (to a priest) as often as possible. We find hope in learning more about our own shortcomings because then we can cooperate with the work of the Holy Spirit which heals us and changes our attitudes and our habits. As a result, we cause others less pain and sorrow.

Our hearts
By investing our energy in prayer, confession, worship and work, we grow to be emotionally invested in the Kingdom of God. We begin to long for other people to find the same hope. We feel this longing deeply. We become like family with the other people in the church. In the Divine Liturgy, the priest says, “let us lift up our hearts.” And we answer, “we lift them up unto the Lord.”

The one who loves is taking a great risk. We take the risk of being grieved when those we love are hurt. That is the cost of loving in a corrupted world. Jesus paid the cost of his infinite love for us who are dying, by entering the grave with us. He calls us to the same work. We weep with those who weep (Romans 12:15).

We offer our heart’s hope. The more we come to church, the more we find that we have become dependent the Divine Liturgy for our peace of mind and wellbeing. We deliberately foster a dependence on God. God becomes our only hope. And many of the things we used to hope in are of no use to us now. We are no longer trying to love two masters (Matthew 6:25), but love the one master who said, “abide in me.” (John 15:4)

Orthodox Christian life is a gift of love which we give to God. We pray, “thine own of thine own we offer unto thee in behalf of all and for all.” We do this not because God needs it from us, but because this is the only way truly to be alive. Life that is truly human, fulfilling, healthy and joyful is the life of a person who offers this sacrifice to God together with the rest of the church.

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Does God answer prayers?

Praying is the most natural and fundamental activity of human life. By praying, I mean the most basic definition of prayer: asking. The word pray originally meant simply to ask.

When I was in seminary, we did a ministry in the local jail. You have never seen a more religious group of people than those who have made very bad decisions and ended up in jail. They each have a well-worn bible, full of notes and underlining. They had all day to read them. Many of these people would have laughed at you before they went to jail for talking about God and prayer. But here they are, gathering in the chapel for a bible study with a bunch of Orthodox seminarians in black cassocks.

Or there is another example of how people just default to prayer: a very close friend of mine who used to be a Christian, but who does not identify as a Christian anymore, still calls me up sometimes when there is a crisis and asks me to pray. She can’t ask God but she can ask me to ask God. Something at least.

Many of the people in jail who are asking God to get them off the hook, or asking God for a lighter sentence, will not get what they are asking for. Many of the relatives of patients in the hospital who pray for their relatives to recover will in fact see their relatives die.

Some people will be healed. Some people will keep their job. Some people will keep their house. It may appear to be a kind of lottery; the “God jackpot.” We might ask, “Are you going to pick the right number or say the right prayer?”

People make all kinds of promises to God when they are in dire straits. They make a deal with God. This is where we get the saying “I swear to God.” That is a kind of verbal exclamation point that means, “I really mean it! I swear.” We promise or swear to God that we will stop drinking if God just lets us out of jail. Or we will start going to church if only God heals our friend or if only I find a new job.

I am not saying that this is a ridiculous thing to do. I know of people who have made that kind of oath, and they did receive what they asked for. Subsequently, they also did turn their life around like they promised. But God did not help them because they promised God something. God helped them find determination by allowing them to face adversity. God gave them the circumstances that led them to repent, and then God paved the way for them to serve him with this new-found determination. It wasn’t actually a “deal,” but sometimes it does work out in a way that makes it look like we convinced God. Actually God convinces us.

Most of the time, however, when we swear such oaths, we are trying to give ourselves hope. What we are really saying is, “I cannot hope that God will help me and I do not really see how it will work out – it probably won’t work out … but maybe if I promise God something then I can hope in the deal that I can make with God. Even if I do not have faith in God, I have faith in my ability to convince God.” What kind of faith is that, really?

Calling out to God is a good and natural thing to do. Whatever you want to ask of God, ask! Do not feel guilty for asking. Keep asking. Miracles do happen (actually you don’t even need to ask for miracles because they happen all the time without you knowing it, but it doesn’t hurt to ask for them).

But prayer is not a lottery. Saying that you should ask God is not the same as saying, “You might win the jackpot, so buy a ticket. You never know, you might win.” That is not why the Church tells us to keep praying and asking. The Church gives us words to pray so that we learn how to pray, not so that we can maximize the chances of God doing what we want.

The fathers tell us that God has revealed himself to us even before Jesus came and healed the sick, even before God parted the Red Sea. Nature itself teaches us enough about God that we should know about God with certainty. This is called natural revelation. If we do not know that God exists, that is because we are not willing to look.

And the fathers tell us moreover that the way events come together in life is itself a revelation of God. We just “happen” to meet a person who helps us, or we just “happen” to find something out at the right time. God is there, in those events. The Christian faith gives us the glasses to see those providential events as providential. But what is more, the Christian faith gives us the glasses to see our disappointments as opportunities to pray the prayer that will always be answered, “God, give me the serenity and the peace to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

We can see (especially after the fact) that God has put a person in our life, or an event, and this was an intervention for our sake. We also see how a challenge that God did not just clear out of our path, or a loss, or a crisis was something that caused us to mature. It was something that equipped us to have more empathy with other people who have gone through similar things. God gives us the opportunity to trust that He will always be with us. And he shows us afterwards that he always was with us. Having gone through a crisis gives you boldness to trust God on behalf of others as well. It also gives us the boldness to trust God when we are choosing between doing what is right and wrong. Perhaps we need boldness to endure the cost of doing right: our experiences of adversity in the past help us to trust God in those moments.

God is there in times when it seems obvious that our prayers were answered. And God is there in the times when it does not look like our prayers were answered. How do we know that God is there even when we do not get what we hoped for? What is it that we get instead? Let’s read these passages from the Bible to see. The first passage is from the Epistle of St. James:

“Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!

Why is St. James talking about grumbling against each other? Because if you think that bad things happen only when people are trying to hurt you, you start to have many enemies. First you see God as your enemy (or at least an unsympathetic father), and then you even start to distrust people as well. St. James continues:

Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. All you need to say is a simple “Yes” or “No.” Otherwise you will be condemned.

That means that when you pray, just ask. It is better not to make promises. Just say “yes, I would like this to happen.” Or “no, I would not like that to happen.”

Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”

James 5:7-16

St. James knew that people died of sicknesses. He does not mean that you are guaranteed to get a miracle as long as you have enough faith, or as long as you use the right holy oil (but we still anoint people with oil). He says, “ask for healing …” and then St. James goes on to talk about

confession of sins, repentance from sins, and being a righteous person who prays.

In ancient times, the service of anointing with oil was the equivalent, or the ancestor of our current-day rite of confession and absolution. When I pray for someone who is sick in the hospital, I ask for forgiveness of their sins. And when someone has confessed, I pray for them to be healed. They are intimately connected.

The most important prayer is, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Pray with Jesus as Jesus prayers, “not my will but your will.” Pray with Jesus, and you will become like Jesus. That is the most important miracle you can have.

Let’s read another passage:

“We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of our spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

Romans 8:20-28

We do not know what we should pray for. We ask God to help us to pray for His will to be done. We ask God to help us to trust him. Help us to do right. We ask for the strength to keep trusting Him and to keep loving the people around us. We ask God for inner peace in all circumstances.

In another passage, St. Paul writes:

“Brothers, in your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing and emptied himself by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Philippians 2:5-11

God giving Jesus the “name that is above all names” is not a reward in exchange for Jesus’ death. It means that God has shown us that the greatest glory that a person can have, the best person we can be, is when we give everything we have for the love and service of other people. We empty ourselves like Jesus. We humble ourselves like Jesus. We obey God like Jesus.

For example, when we start a family, we give all of our effort to nurturing our family faithfully. We are dedicated to being the best husband or wife we can be, with God’s help. We are faithful to being the best father or mother we can be. We work hard in order to provide not only for our families, but for our whole communities.

Maybe we find a job where we make an obvious impact on the lives of people. But even if it is not obvious that our work impacts people, we still make many sacrifices. We prioritize our church services, our prayers. We sacrifice time by working for the church or welcoming people into our home. When we prioritize these things, that means we will have less time for other things. But this is how we are our truest selves: by dedicating ourselves to what is the most important, which is to show the love of God to everyone we can.

You do not know when the moment will come that you will be able to make a huge difference in someone else’s life. The people who have made the biggest difference in my life probably had no idea at the time. Small kindness at God’s appointed hour will save the world. But when you have fostered character, virtue, the fruits of the Spirit, when you have been willing to give, or because you were honest when other people would not have been, because you have shown yourself to be trustworthy: moments will come when your small service and your small faithfulness will make a world of difference. Ask God to make you that person who comes along at the right time for someone else, that is one of the greatest joys in the world. But you don’t know when it will be. So prepare yourself with prayer, and make yourself a servant now.

When we say that God gave His Son the name that is above all names, that means that you are your truest self when your life is directed towards serving others, praying for others, helping others. That is the greatest hope you can have. That is the answer to all our prayers: God’s calling to us. If you are trying to “find yourself” or trying to figure out what God wants you to do in your life, this is the answer. Pray. Work. Love. Rejoice.

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MATTHEW 15:21-28

At that time, Jesus went to the district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and cried, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely possessed by a demon.” But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” And he answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.

Sacrifice is a feast; a holy meal. Sacrifice, the festive meal, is where we give what we have worked for, our work and dedication, as a gift to everyone gathered and to God. We give. The guests meet God’s providence and God’s love. We give thanks to God and proclaim His love to each other. Sacrifice is the heavenly wedding banquet, the table of Abraham. God recreates and saves his people at the meal of the Passover and at the Mystical Supper. That is sacrifice.

In today’s gospel, Jesus meets the Canaanite woman and begins to speak about a meal. He compares her request for her daughter’s healing to a request for food at the heavenly banquet. The heathen, godless Canaanite woman comes to Him to ask for healing. Not just healing but deliverance from demons. In all likelihood both she and her daughter have served the pagan demons in sorcery and other demonic occupations. She comes to a metaphorical meal with Jesus, even though her sacrificial meals are offered to the demons of her pagan gods. She calls Jesus, “Son of David,” even though it was the Canaanite idols of old that tempted the people of King David away from their God. Because of the Canaanites, the people of David learned to offer meal-sacrifices to demons, and the Kingdom of David was destroyed. The temple of David’s son, King Solomon was destroyed because of the constant idolatry. The very place where the God of Israel received sacrifices was destroyed because Israelites ate and drank and sacrificed with Canaanites and their demonic gods. That is why Jesus says, “we do not give the food of the children to the dogs.

But the Canaanite woman accepts the rebuke. She will do what it takes to gain healing for her daughter. The Canaanite woman’s humility and willingness to hear the rebuke become an intercessory offering on behalf of her daughter. The woman is offering a sacrifice of confession and thanksgiving to Jesus for her daughter’s healing. Proclaiming your belief that God can help you is the same as thanking God: in both cases God is proclaimed to be the one who provides.

Our martyrdom, our walking in the way that has been taught to us, our confessions, tithing, compassion, abstaining from whatever is not holy: all this is our sacrifice on behalf of others. As it says in the Liturgy, “Thine own of thine own we offer unto Thee in behalf of all and for all.” We offer our repentance and our obedience as a joyous sacrifice-feast with our God. We do this for others and for the life of the world.

Sacrifice is a feast. It is not to placate God, but to cause that which God intends to become all the more our reality. We become pleasing to God inasmuch as what God has been well-pleased to do becomes our life, and the life of our whole community. Our righteousness has a knock-on effect. Our example of dedication to God shows the world that Jesus is our only hope. Our righteousness is a proclamation of the gospel, because it is not our own righteousness but Jesus’ righteousness which has caused us to follow Him.

Today we remember St. Ignatius the God-Bearer of Antioch. In about the year 107 AD, Ignatius was summed to speak to the Emperor in Rome and to give an account of his faith. This would mean certain death. Ignatius would claim that there is only one God who has sent His Son to die for us, thereby denying that Caesar or any other Roman gods were truly gods.

As he travelled from Antioch to Rome he wrote farewell letters to various churches, knowing that he would die in Rome for his faith. In his letter (which was sent ahead of his arrival) to the Roman church, St. Ignatius pleads with the church not to intervene on his behalf to prevent his martyrdom. He writes, “I must use this opportunity of attaining to God.” He longs for the opportunity to become one with Christ our God in his death. He writes, “I must be sacrificed while the altar is still prepared.” There is an urgency in St. Ignatius’ desire to sacrifice: his death will be an invitation to others to join him. With the fear of God and faith and love, draw near! His sacrifice is an offering of faith to God, but also an invitation to others to come partake of the feast of faith and become emboldened to do likewise.

St. Ignatius writes:

Allow me to become food for the wild beasts, through whose instrumentality it will be granted me to attain to God. I am the wheat of God, and let me be ground by the teeth of the wild beasts, that I may be found the pure bread of Christ. Rather entice the wild beasts, that they may become my tomb, and may leave nothing of my body; so that when I have fallen asleep [in death], I may be no trouble to any one. Then shall I truly be a disciple of Christ, when the world shall not see so much as my body. Entreat Christ for me, that by these instruments I may be found a sacrifice [to God].

St. Ignatius says, “do not keep me from living!” For him, to die as a martyr is life.

We can apply this teaching to ourselves in the same way that we did with the Canaanite woman. St. Ignatius did not want to waste the opportunity to bear witness to Christ before the emperor, and in so doing die for Christ. The Canaanite woman took the opportunity afforded her by Jesus’ rebuke. She learned that to be brought face-to-face with the reality of our sins, and to be given the opportunity to change, is a great mercy. When we take advantage of this opportunity, we are offering our improved lives, our cleansed hearts as an offering to God, and it will become a blessing for everyone. Who will be blessed, when you offer your life to God?

When Jesus died, the disciples failed to take advantage of the opportunity to die with Christ. This was especially true in the case of Peter who denied Christ three times. But Jesus invites the disciples back to the meal of the sacrifice. This is the story of how Jesus offered this reconciliation to Peter and the others – in the context of a meal.

“After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way. Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, you have no fish, have you?” They answered him, “No.” He said to them, “Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the sea. But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off.

When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred fifty-three of them; and though there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” because they knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” A second time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” And he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.” (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, “Follow me.”” (John 21:1–19)

Jesus prepares a meal so that we may bring the fish that we have caught. We add our own food to the meal. We add our own sacrifice to His sacrifice. In any case, the fish were only “the disciples’ fish” in a derivative way of speaking: Jesus was the one who caused them to catch the fish when they had caught none during the night. All things are from Jesus and are offered back to Him, so that He may make all things holy.

Jesus gives you your challenges, temptations and humbling encounters with the truth of your fallenness and sins. He gives them to you as fish to cook with His. Jesus gives us joy and blessings so that we may offer our thanks as wine with the food. Jesus tells us to tend and feed His sheep. When we speak the truth of the gospel with our lives we are nurturing others who are beginning to follow Jesus.

At Your mystical supper receive me today, o Son of God … like the thief I will confess You: remember me, o Lord, in your Kingdom!

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Praying with Jesus

At that time, Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was many furlongs distant from the land, beaten by the waves; for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear. But immediately he spoke to them, saying “Take heart, it is I; have no fear.” And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus; but when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “O man of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they entered the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” And when they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret.

MATTHEW 14:22-34

The disciples were rowing in the storm in today’s gospel. They were cold, wet and tired. It was also pitch dark. When you are in a boat on the stormy seas there is no break from the waves. You can’t press pause.

The wind was blowing against them, otherwise they would have used the sail. And this sounds like the worst-case scenario, but it was not. When it is stormy, the best thing is to have the front of the boat point straight into the waves. What is dangerous is when the waves come from the side. The storm that Jesus left them in was difficult but not deadly.

This is the second time that Jesus is with the disciples in the storm. The last time there was a storm, Jesus was with them in the boat. This time he is on land, and they are rowing alone. He is training them for their work as apostles once he ascends into heaven.

Many interpret this story as “Jesus comes to us in our storm to comfort us.” That is part of the point.

But when Jesus comes to the disciples it is not comforting at first. The disciples think that they are seeing a ghost. You don’t look outside when you’re rowing and working so hard. You can’t see someone walking on the water in that darkness. But suddenly Jesus is right up next to them.

Peter says, Lord, if it is you, tell me come to you.” Peter did not say, “let me walk on the water too.” Rather, Peter says, “let me come to you, Jesus.” Peter did not say, “I am coming.” He waits to hear the voice of Jesus. He waits for a command.

Jesus says, “come.”

Peter is full of love but also eager to the point of recklessness. Jesus affirms his love because Jesus always receives us when we run to him. Jesus also allows Peter to learn how to be more sober.

By allowing Peter to first walk out onto the water, and then sink, Jesus is saying to Peter, “Yes, you want to come to me. That is a desire which will always be fulfilled. But no, you are not invincible in your faith. Take your weakness seriously. Be careful not to get caught up in ecstasy.”

Powerful and intense feelings are deceptive. An intense feeling is not a substitute for sober, mature thought. Feelings are like little children. They are precious and command our attention. They are hard to ignore. They become our darlings.

But feelings have to grow up. Feelings cannot always dominate our conversations. Every child has to learn not to interrupt. Every child has to learn that mom and dad cannot always read them books; cannot always give them a hug. Mom and dad have to correct them. Mom and dad need to expect them to work.

Affection walks hand-in-hand with steady direction. That is how our feelings must be managed. When we allow our feelings to be the boss, especially in our faith, then our world is ruled by a child. A child who is in charge of the house becomes the worst of tyrants.

Love the feelings. Be open to the feelings. But let your inner adult be the boss. That is the best thing for your feelings.

The disciples were on the sea, in the storm. They were almost home when Jesus came to them. The thing that had brought the disciples so close to their goal was not a feeling of ecstasy but hard work.

When Jesus comes to deliver them from the storm He waits until the “fourth watch.” That is something like 4 or 5 in the morning. The night was almost over. They got to their destination immediately after he came to them. Hard work and faithfulness and the mature sobriety brought them most of the way. When Jesus comes to the disciples, He does not calm the storm immediately. The storm is still raging when Peter gets out of the boat. That is why Peter starts to be afraid. Sometimes just as we are about to be delivered the storm gets much worse. That is almost a part of the proof that deliverance is at hand.

Jesus calmed the waters but he did not give them wind from behind to fill their sails either. They still had to row the rest of the way. But because they had been working so hard against the storm, the rest of the work was easy by comparison.

When Peter’s faith starts to fail, when he loses sight of who it is that he is walking towards, when it is less a matter of love and more a matter of being seduced by feelings of wonder, then he sinks. Jesus steps in and supplies what is lacking. At the ordination of a priest or deacon, the bishop prays that God will supply was is lacking.

This means something wonderful and unexpected: we too can be part of supplying the faith that is lacking in others. How is that?

The reason Jesus was not in the boat with them that night was that he withdrew to pray. Perhaps he was praying for them as they rowed. Think about that for a moment. Jesus, our Lord and God and saviour, prays. We pray to him. He prays to his Father.

When we pray, we are praying not only to Jesus but with Jesus. What else are we doing with Jesus? We come to church to serve and to make sacrifices with Jesus. Jesus is not only he who was offered. Jesus is he who offers. He is both the lamb who was slain and the High Priest.

We too make offerings together with Jesus. In the Divine Liturgy we say, “thine own of thine own, we offer unto thee in behalf of all and for all. We do this in behalf of all. We supply what is lacking in their faith by offering up spiritual sacrifices for our own sins and for the ignorance of the people.

Just showing up, just participating is an expression of divine faith. We have come to walk on the water by coming here to church. Even if we do not have an ecstatic feeling of faith, even if we struggle to even know why we are here we are still working together with Jesus to save the world. Faithfulness, showing up and working hard may bring a feeling of closeness to Jesus. But it always is a closeness to Jesus, even if we do not feel it.

And Jesus supplies what is lacking (often by allowing us to struggle, since he knows that we mature in that way). Jesus is with us so that we will become one with him in his prayer and in his ministry to the world.

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On this Rock: the faith of St. Peter

At that time, when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do men say that the Son of man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

Matthew 16:13-19

When Peter calls Jesus the “Son of God,” he is means that Jesus is a man who great and mighty. Perhaps Jesus is some kind of warrior-king like King David, or perhaps a prophet like Elijah. Jesus can work miracles. He is the “Son of God,” for that reason.

Jesus says, “Blessed are you … for flesh and blood did not reveal this to you …” “Flesh and blood” in this context means the kind of things that are mighty and awe-inspiring in our material world. It means “the visible world.” “Flesh and blood,” means an authoritative person, a leader, a warrior-king, a great teacher. Peter says, “Son of God,” but Jesus replies that the true meaning of this confession is not found only in the notion that Jesus is a strong and charismatic man. Jesus is not just that.

Jesus refers to Peter as “Bar Jona” which means “Son of Jonah” in Aramaic. He is saying, “You call me ‘Son of God.’ I am calling you, ‘Son of Jonah.’ Jonah is the father you left in the boat in Galilee when you followed me. You became something more than Bar Jona. I am something more than the Son of God in the sense that you mean. When you see me, you are seeing an image of my Father who is in heaven. I have also come from my father to you, as you left your father to follow me.”

Jesus tells Peter that he will build his church, “on this rock.” What rock? “Peter” is the nick-name that Jesus gave Simon. And Peter means rock. So perhaps Jesus is saying, “on this “Peter” I will build my church.” How can Jesus build a church with Peter as the foundation? Jesus is the cornerstone which the builders rejected! Jesus is the foundation.

Rock, in the context of building, means bedrock; the rock you get to when you dig all the way down through the dirt and can’t go any farther. Jesus says elsewhere, “therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” (Matthew 7:24) The confession of Peter is the beginning of the faith. That confession, such as it was, was a bedrock foundation. But a foundation must be built upon. This confession, at this time, is not the whole house. In the next verse, Peter will rebuke Jesus for saying that he must die on the cross! How perfect is this faith? Clearly not perfect yet.

Even though Peter calls Jesus the “Son of God,” in today’s reading, later on Peter denies Christ. This is because, despite Peter’s eagerness, he did not yet understand that Jesus is not simply a mighty man. Peter does not know yet that the full greatness and wisdom and power of Jesus is revealed as Jesus takes up the cross of weakness, and in so doing reveals his Father in Heaven. Peter sees the glory which is fame, reputation, the respect that a person commands, the authority of a person. That is what glory means to Peter. But Jesus tells him that this glory is instead humility, self-sacrifice, love and meekness. It is the willingness to be weak, to trust God, to love others to the end and without exception. The glory of God is a man who is fully alive to God, and dying on the cross.

To admire Jesus in the same way Peter did is only the first step. It is the foundation. We must try to understand Peter, and not be harsh. He did, after all, become Saint Peter, the chief of the Apostle. But when Peter denied Christ, he proved to himself and to us who read the Gospel that admiration is not the fulness of the faith. Peter did not trust that God could save the world through weakness. And so, even though it looks as if Peter has great faith, in fact his faith is only a small faith which will quickly fail. Peter will become an apostate, one who no longer believes, when he denies Christ.

When we disobey God, we too are apostates at that moment. We do not trust God to give us what we need. We feel that we must disobey. We must grab for relief, not believing that God can give it to us. We deny Christ in our disobedience. We run away from the crucified Lord at that moment of disobedience.

Peter wept bitterly after his denial of Christ. So, in one sense, he returned to his faith. He regretted his apostasy. After Jesus rose from the dead, he met Peter at the Sea of Galilee and asked him three times, “do you love me?” Each time, Peter said, “yes.” Jesus exhorts Peter to, “feed my sheep.” The third time Jesus asks Peter, “do you love me,” Peter is grieved and says, “you know everything, you know that I love you.” In response, Jesus tells Peter that he will die as a martyr, “to show by what death Peter was to glorify God.” At first, Peter thought that the glory of Jesus was human glory. But now Peter learns that he will glorify God by his own death.

St. Peter did end up feeding the sheep. St. Peter fed the sheep by showing them how to truly confess Christ. He showed them what real belief and faith are. Belief is martyrdom. It is obedience unto death. Belief is trusting God to give us everything we need, even when, and especially when, obedience and holiness and sacrifice are dreadfully difficult. Faith is not being of the opinion that your church is the right one, with the best liturgical expression. Faith is not being impressed by and convinced by the majesty, seriousness and grandeur of the hymns and the doctrines.

True doctrines, true majesty is humility. It is a confession which says, “all I need is to follow you, Jesus, as you trusted in your Father. I do not need to seek a quick fix in sins, but what I need is, rather, to be made holy as you are holy, to participate in your self-sacrificial love.”

Later in his life, St. Peter writes, “God is begetting you.” In other words, “God is becoming your Father.” At vespers of this feast (the feast of Ss. Peter and Paul), we read his first epistle. By this time, Peter is the great apostle, not the wavering fisherman. He writes,

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has begotten us into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls. Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow.”

1 Peter 1:3–11

St. Peter is now beyond being “Bar Jona” the fisherman. He is beyond calling Jesus, “Son of God,” in a limited sense. Now St. Peter knows that the real sonship of Jesus Christ, his real glory, is the same sonship and the same glory to which we are called, namely to suffer together with our Messiah.

Peter writes, in the other epistles that we read at vespers, “obey the civil authorities so as not to bring shame onto the Church.” He writes, “be holy as God is holy.” Obedience, love, humility, willingness to suffer for the love of others in order to bring the hope of Jesus to the world: all this is true faith. This is the fullness of the faith.

In Rome, Christians have venerated the chains of St. Peter since his death. These are the chains that Peter was bound in, when he was going to his own martyrdom. We reverence these chains because they are the full expression of the faith Peter eventually received. At that point it was no longer the foundation of the faith, but the fullness.

In Rome, only a short time after St. Peter’s death, there was a deacon named Lawrence. Lawrence was given the task of keeping the gold belonging to the church. When there was a time of great persecution, the authorities summoned St. Lawrence and demanded that he turn over the treasure. St. Lawrence agreed to come back the following day to hand over the treasure. That night, St. Lawrence distributed the money amongst the believers. In the morning, he brought the poor, the lame, the sick and the beggars to the authorities. He brought the whole large crowd and said, “behold the treasure of the church!”

Peter’s eagerness from today’s gospel reading, matured into confidence. Obedience to Christ gives us great confidence and daring. This is what St. Lawrence in Rome had learned. When we take on the obedience, the holiness, and the trust in our Father that Jesus revealed to us, then we become so confident that we can teach others how precious they are by showing them true dignity, which is holiness. We show them how precious they are by showing them what they can become by believing in Jesus Christ. This is the meaning of “feeding the sheep” which Jesus called St. Peter to do. This is “nurturing the lambs” of Christ. We feed them by showing them an image of Christ’s humility and holiness. We pass down the true faith to them by following Jesus to his death, in the confident hope of the resurrection!

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MATTHEW 27:33-54

At that time, when the soldiers came to a place called Golgotha (which means the place of a skull), they offered him wine to drink, mingled with gall; but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots; then they sat down and kept watch over him there. And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus the King of the Jews.” Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left. And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him; for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.'” And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way. Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “This man is calling Elijah.” And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave it to him to drink. But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” And Jesus cried again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom; and the earth shook, and the rocks were split; the tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe, and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!

In today’s gospel we read about a centurion. A centurion was much like a sergeant in today’s military. He was a leader of a group of one hundred men. This centurion participated in the crucifixion of Jesus. We actually know the name of this centurion: his name was Longinus.

When Longinus saw how Jesus died he said, “surely this man was the Son of God.” It is interesting that we know the name of Longinus but not of the others with him. The gospel says, “When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw …  what took place, they were filled with awe, and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!” Longinus was not alone but he is the one whose name we know. We know about his life after Jesus’ death and resurrection and today is his feast day.

Tradition suggests that Longinus believed because as the gospel says, the “earth shook, and the rocks were split and the tombs were opened.” But the gospel does not say that is the only reason he believed or even the primary reason he believed. Surely, one of the many reasons to believe would be that Jesus died without cursing the people who killed him. Jesus asked the Father to forgive them. Jesus gave hope to the thief on the cross beside him. Jesus blessed his disciple and his mother as they stood there. Longinus the centurion would have seen all of that as well.

Longinus is the one who was present at the crucifixion. He was faced with this terrible and awesome event just like each of us is faced every day with a moment of crisis when we decide what we think about the crucified one. There are many unique things about how Longinus saw the crucifixion. First of all, he was a participant. He was doing the crucifying. And the issue of how guilty he was or how much blood he had on his hands is rather unclear.

Longinus was ordered to crucify Jesus. He didn’t know Jesus previously. They told him to kill someone. That’s something soldiers did. So in one sense he had no choice. But on the other hand he chose to be a soldier and he must have known  that soldiers did things like this. Longinus was a small cog in the big machine That killed the God who created heaven and earth. Longinus was a one small part of a much bigger system.

We too are small cogs in a big system that is destroying the world through sin and suffering. Someone else has hurt me and made me angry. t’s not my fault. What am I supposed to do?

I want nice things and I have the opportunity to have them. Everyone that I know else has them. There are poor people who could use my help, but I did not make them poor. It’s not my fault.

There are many demands on my time. Church and God and prayer are difficult to squeeze in. It’s not my fault.

We play our small part in a big huge mess and in the midst of all the factors we do not control and all the factors we do control we meet the God who loves us enough that he invites us to carry our crosses and die with him. We encounter the love of God as the one who so loved the world that he calls the world to be holy as his son is holy. And whosoever follows his son and carries their cross and sells all they have and visits those in prison and clothes the naked; whosoever is living the life of Jesus is already living Eternal Life. That is the love of the God that we encounter today.

And that is a crisis for us each and every day. It is not a one-off moment of crisis. Meeting the crucified Lord is a crisis when I decide whether or not to lash out in my anger. It is a crisis when I decide whether or not to indulge my shallow materialistic desires. It is a crisis when I have to decide what to spend my time on. Why is it a crisis?

When I am angry I think I need a God who will smite my enemies. I think I need a God who tells me that I am right, that I have the answers, that I am on the right side of the debate. I think I need a God like that.

When materialism and the pleasures of the world entice me, I think I need a God who gives me money when I do what he wants. I think I need a God who will take care of the poor for me. So that I don’t have to. I think I need a God who just wants me to enjoy life and be happy. I need a God who will sit in church and wait for me whenever I have time to come. That is the kind of God I think I need; accommodating, generous to me, not too demanding.

I think I need this God because as a sinful person the only other God can imagine is a God who is not generous but stingy. If God is not the guy who does what I want he must be the guy who does what I do not want. That would mean he is a God who does not smite my enemies when I get mad. Maybe he doesn’t even care. Perhaps he is a God who punishes me and threatens me.

The make-believe Santa Claus God we hope for is the jolly and happy opposite of the tyrant and monster we secretly fear that God is. This is the pagan notion of God. Pagans must control God. Pagans must placate God and make him happy so he doesn’t get mad and kill us.

This is the childish and selfish way of understanding God, and it is the religious mindset behind the culture that Longinus belonged to. The Romans had many gods, but the message was basically the same. The army had a god of war who they believed helped them win battles. The Romans had the gods of Rome who helped them conquer and get rich. But none of these gods could tell Longinus who he was meant to be. None of them could show him how he too could become a son of God. A God who is like a vending machine, where we deposit our prayer or our piety, in order to get our request granted – this is not a God who can tell us who we are, not someone who can calm the existential anxiety and emptiness that we feel inside. Neither can the tyrant God we fear. Only the crucified Son of God can reveal to us the Father who runs out to meet the prodigal son on the road. Only the crucified Son of God can teach us to call God our father.

And now Longinus is standing at the foot of the cross and seeing the stark contrast between the loving and humble crucified Lord Jesus and the callous and heartless and shameless people who killed him. And Longinus is confronted with a picture of a God who is not Santa Claus and is not a tyrant who will smite us if we provoke him. Longinus is seeing a God who became like us in our weakness and suffering in order to show us how to be like him in his divine holiness. Longinus is seeing pure love. Longinus is seeing a God who does not want something from us but rather wants to recreate us in his own image.

It is not fitting to ask this God what he can do for me. Instead it is fitting to ask what this God wants to do through me. God does not make the earth quake in order to win a battle against an army. Rather, Jesus is conquering death by death. He is not tearing the temple curtain in two because he has defeated anyone in the temple. Jesus is tearing the temple curtain in two because he has defeated sin. Jesus is not a God who is demanding that we bring blood into the temple so that he can stop being angry. Jesus is a God who brings his own blood as an offering so that we may join him by offering our lives as well. Jesus is inviting all human beings to enter in and offer bloodless sacrifices of praise and worship and he is inviting us into communion with him.

Will we accept this God? Do we want to know this God? If I accept Jesus Christ as my God I can no longer have a magic fairy godmother of a God. Instead I will see God’s providence and generosity when he provides me with people to care for and nurture.

Longinus quit the army and moved back to Cappadocia (in current-day eastern Turkey) where he became a missionary. He founded a fast-growing Christian community. He converted so many people that it got the attention of the authorities.

The soldiers came to arrest Longinus, but when they arrived at the village they did not realize that the person who greeted them was the man they were looking for. Longinus gave them a meal and treated them with hospitality. Just like Jesus shared his meal with Judas. Longinus told the soldiers who he was. The soldiers told him to run away and escape. But he refused to run away just as Jesus refused to plead with Pilot to let him go; just as Jesus accepted the will of the father.

Longinus truly understood and embraced the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father and the communion of the Holy Spirit. Longinus stopped being a cog in the machine of sin that is killing the world. He used his life and his death to bring healing to the world.

Will you also follow Jesus Christ by changing the way you understand who God is and what the nature of your life is, this life that God has given you? Will you also use the time you have in your life to bless and to minister and to serve and to pray? Will you follow Jesus?

Lord Jesus Christ, our God, help us to follow you.

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