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.
