| St. Nicholas. Novgorod, 15th century Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy Matthew 5:7 What great reward does the Lord Jesus Christ promise to the merciful? About what holy virtue is the Savior speaking in these words? This virtue of love and mercy in all its beauty and power is personified, my dear ones, by the one whom our faithful, pious hearts glorify today: the “feeder of orphans,” consoler of the sorrowing, intercessor in prayer for all who seek God’s help and mercy— St. Nicholas the Wonderworker . In the glory of his love he shines in the Church’s heavens, and the light of this glory covers the whole earth. The virtue of mercy is the highest of many. Whoever fulfills Christ’s commandment of love and mercy fulfills the entire Christian law. This is not our own, human thinking. It is the teaching of God’s word. The holy apostle Paul says, Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing (1 Cor. 13:1, 3). And what wondrous fruits does this holiest and greatest of virtues, promised to us by our Lord and Savior, bring! During the course of our earthly life we turn to the Lord with requests and pleas for forgiveness of our sins. We want our sins to be redeemed, as we weep and repent of them. The word of God teaches us to redeem our sins through charity (see: Dan. 4:24; Wisdom of Solomon 10:12; Is. 1:17-18). Do you see, my dears ones, that through works of charity, the virtue of mercy, and fruits of love we can redeem our sinful falls for which we repent before the face of our Heavenly Father. What a consolation this is for our sinful hearts! It would be a great happiness for us if God’s mercy would descend upon our whole lives and all our labors. Then, do works of love and mercy! The word of God tells us: But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully (2 Cor. 9:6). |
| J. Augustin Publisher, 1975), pp. 99, 100. 346 Syria where Pharaoh Nechoh, at a place called Riblah, had established the Egyptian headquarters. After the defeat of the Egyptian army, Nebuchadnezzar chose the same site as the base for his operations in the west. – See 2 Kings 23:31 349 1 of chapter 27 this message is dated to the beginning of the reign of “Jehoiakim,” but a comparison with verses 3 also confirmed by the next chapter, Jeremiah 28 1 to “the same year,” which is explained to be “in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year’” (NASB), that is, in 595/94 B.C.E. 350 Babylon” in Jeremiah 29:10 may have been influenced, directly or indirectly, by KJV. One of my friends, a Danish linguist, has also drawn my attention to the fact that the Latin Vulgate (4th century C.E.) has “in Babylon” in our text, which, like KJV’s “at Babylon”, is an interpretation rather than a translation. It is quite possible that this ancient and highly esteemed translation, too, may have influenced some modern translations. 351 the plural form of seper, was used of writings of various kinds, including legal documents and letters. Thus the word seper is also used of Jeremiah’s first “letter” to the exiles at Babylon recorded in Jeremiah 29:123 the Jewish exiles, probably later in the same year or early next year. 354 of the 19th century, noticed in his grammatical analysis how Daniel connected and yet distinguished the two periods, concluding: “Consequently, in the first year of the reign of Darius the Mede over the kingdom of the Chaldeans the seventy years prophesied of by Jeremiah were now full, the period of the desolation of Jerusalem determined by God was almost expired?’ – C. F. Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Daniel (Edinburgh: Clark, 1872), pp. 321, 322. 355 critical scholars, who regard the book of Daniel as a late composition from the end of the reign of Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175164 B.C.E.), have argued that Jeremiah’s original prophecy of the seventy years was repeatedly reinterpreted and reapplied by the later Bible writers Ezra, Zechariah, and Daniel. There is no reason to discuss these theories here, especially as there is wide disagreement on them among these scholars. 356 grammatical analysis of the Hebrew text of Dan. 9:2 the linguist mentioned in note 27 (see 193) above, which step by step clarifies the exact meaning of the verse. In conclusion, the following translation was offered, in close accord with the original text: “In his [Darius’] first regnal year I, Daniel, ascertained, in the writings, that the number of years, which according to the word of JHWH to Jeremiah the prophet would be completely fulfilled, with respect to the desolate state of Jerusalem, were seventy years.” Читать далее Источник: The Gentle Times Reconsidered/Карл Олоф Йонссон. - Fourth Edition Revised and Expanded. - Atlanta : Commentary Press, 2004 - 559 с. Поделиться ссылкой на выделенное |
| 562 interesting to note that in this first deportation Nebuchadnezzar brought only “some” of the vessels from the temple in Jerusalem to Babylon, and these were not even the “valuable” vessels. This strongly supports the conclusion that the siege of Jerusalem at this time did not end up in the capture of the city. If it did, why did he not take the valuable vessels from the temple? If, on the other hand, the siege was raised because Jehoiakim capitulated and paid a tribute to Nebuchadnezzar, it is quite understandable that Jehoiakim did not include the most valuable vessels in the tribute. 563 cit., p. 102. The chronicle is in complete agreement with the description of this siege given in the Bible. (2 Kings 24:817 Chronicles 36:9 564 had a second Ululu (an intercalary month) in the seventh year of Nebuchadnezzar, thus making Kislev and Adar the tenth and thirteenth months respectively that year, although they were normally the ninth and twelfth calendar months. This fact does not affect the discussion above. 565 army left Babylon some time after Jehoiachin had ascended the throne, the siege was of very short duration, two months at most and probably less, as the time the army needed to march from Babylon to Jerusalem has to be subtracted from the three months from Kislev to Adar. Such a march took at least one month. It is possible, however, that a part of the army had left Babylon earlier, as 2 Kings 24:10 siege had begun. The reason for the short duration of the siege was Jehoiachin’s surrender to Nebuchadnezzar on Adar 2 or March 16, 597 B.C.E., Julian calendar. (2 Kings 24:12 excellent discussion of this siege, see William H. Shea, “Nebuchadnezzar’s Chronicle and the Date of the Destruction of Lachish III,” in Palestine Exploration Quarterly, No. Ill (1979), pp. 113f. 566 discussion of this problem may be found in the article by Professor Albertus Pieters, “The Third Year of Jehoiakim,” in From the Pyramids to Paul, a miscellany in honour of Dr. G. L. Robinson (New York: Thomas Nelson and Sons, 1935), pp. 180193. Pieters concludes: “The Third year” of Jehoiakim in Dan. 1:1 the “fourth year’ of Jehoiakim in Jer. 25:1 former being reckoned according to the Babylonian and the latter according to the Palestinian method of computing the years of the king’s reign.” – Ibid., p. 181. |
| Y los que pueden hacerlo y están dispuestos, dan lo que cada uno cree adecuado; y lo que se recoge se entrega al presidente, el cual socorre a los huérfanos y a las viudas y a aquellos que, por enfermedad o cualquier otra causa, tienen necesidad, y a los esclavos y a los que están de paso entre nosotros, y en una palabra, se ocupa de todos los que están en necesidad. Pero el domingo es el día en que todos nos reunimos en asamblea común porque es el primer día en el cual Dios, habiendo hecho un cambio en la tinieblas y la materia, hizo el mundo; y Jesucristo nuestro Salvador resucitó el mismo día de entre los muertos. Porque Él fue crucificado el día anterior al Saturno (sábado); y el día después de Saturno, que es el día del Sol, habiendo aparecido a sus apóstoles y discípulos, les enseñó estas mismas cosas, las cuales hemos sometido a ustedes para su consideración (Comentarios sobre la adoración semanal del capítulo 67 de First Apology [Primera apología]). Junto con Ignacio y Justino Mártir, muchos otros padres apostólicos y de la iglesia primitiva declararon claramente al domingo como el día cristiano de adoración. Esto fue mucho antes de la centralización de la autoridad de la Iglesia en Roma y la «cristianización» del Imperio Romano bajo el mandato de Constantino. Ignacio, Justino Mártir y otros padres de la Iglesia atribuyen el hecho de que se adore los domingos a que Cristo resucitó el primer día de la semana. Esto no es sorpresa, no sólo por el simbolismo que tiene con el día de la resurrección de nuestro Señor, sino porque el Señor mismo hizo hincapié en el domingo y no en el sábado al escogerlo como el día en el que se reunió con sus discípulos en sus apariciones posteriores a la resurrección (Mrc 16; Lucas 24; Jn 20:19–29 . Además, el Espíritu Santo se manifestó a Sí mismo un domingo y así nació la Iglesia (Hech 2). Aunque los principios morales que se hallan en los otros nueve mandamientos se expresan repetidamente en el Nuevo Testamento, ni una sola vez instruye el Nuevo Testamento a los cristianos a que guarden el mandamiento del sábado. Por el contrario, Colosenses 2:16–17 afirma que no debemos dejar que nadie nos juzgue respecto al sábado. En Romanos 14:1–6, el apóstol Pablo dijo claramente que se oponía a la controversia sobre «cuestiones disputables.» Declaró: «Uno juzga que un día es superior a otro, otro juzga iguales todos los días. Cada cual esté plenamente convencido según su propio sentir» (v.5). Dios dio el sábado a Israel como señal de su pacto especial con su pueblo escogido. Formaba parte de un elaborado sistema de sacrificios, rituales y ofrendas (Éxodo 31:13–17; Nehemías 9:13–14). Sin embargo, la Epístola a los Hebreos afirma claramente que la venida del Mesías invalidó estas regulaciones (Hebreos 10:1–18). Hace hincapié en que el Antiguo Testamento ha sido reemplazado por un nuevo pacto (Heb. 8:7–13). Pablo advirtió a la iglesia de Galacia sobre el legalismo que se relaciona con la ley mosaica diciendo: |
| El Apóstol San Pablo escribe: «¿Acaso no son todos ellos (los ángeles) espíritus que están al servicio de Dios, enviados para ayudar a los que desean heredar la salvación?» (Heb. 1:14). Los ángeles no solamente cantan la gloria de Dios, sino que también le sirven en el plan de Su Providencia en el mundo material y sensible. Sobre este oficio frecuentemente hablan los Santos Padres: «Algunos de ellos están próximos a la grandeza de Dios, otros con sus acciones apoyan a todo el mundo " (San Gregorio el Teólogo). «Los Ángeles fueron puestos para guiar los elementos de los cielos y de la tierra y todo lo que hay en ellos» (San Atenágoras). «Cada uno de ellos recibió (para su control) alguna parte del universo o algo determinado en el mundo, como lo sabe Quien todo lo hace y distribuye, y todos ellos se dirigen a un extremo (un objetivo), según lo señalado por el Autor de todo» (San Gregorio el Teólogo). En algunos escritores eclesiásticos se encuentra la opinión de que ángeles especiales son designados para ramas específicas del reino de la naturaleza – la inorgánica, la orgánica y la animada (Orígenes y San Agustín). Estas últimas opiniones tienen su fuente en el Apocalipsis, donde se dice que ángeles, conforme a la voluntad de Dios, dirigen algunos elementos de la tierra. San Juan escribe: «Y oí al Angel de las aguas que decía…» (Ap. 16:5), «Vi a cuatro ángeles de pie en los cuatro extremos de la tierra, que sujetaban a los cuatro vientos de la tierra, para que no soplara el viento ni sobre la tierra, ni sobre el mar, ni sobre ningún árbol…» (7:1), «y salió del altar otro ángel que tiene poder sobre el fuego y gritó…» (14:18). Según la visión del profeta Daniel, hay ángeles a quienes Dios les confía cuidar de la suerte de pueblos y reinos existentes sobre la tierra (Dan. cap. 10, 11 y 12). E n la escala de la creación del mundo, el hombre está puesto en el peldaño más alto y en relación con las otras criaturas de la tierra ocupa un puesto de supremacía. Aunque pertenece a la tierra, por sus dones se asemeja a los seres celestiales, «pero es inferior a los ángeles» (Sal.8:6). |
| No podían faltar en la Carta, tan doctrinalmente densa, una exhortación a la vida cristiana que ha de hacerse «sacrificio vivo, consagrado y agradable a Dios, y culto auténtico , y que por tanto no nos conforma con el mundo, sino que nos transforma con una nueva mentalidad» ( 12:1–2). En aquella comunidad cristiana de Roma, que se halla dividida por la raza y por la procedencia de su anterior religión, «nadie ha de tenerse en más de lo que es, según el cupo de la fe que Dios ha repartido a cada uno, según el regalo que Dios le hace» (12:3–6). Pablo repite a los romanos las mismas advertencias y consejos que ha ido repartiendo por las diversas regiones de su mapa pastoral: «Sed cariñosos unos con otros., alegres en la esperanza, enteros en las dificultades, asiduos en la oración, solidarios en las necesidades de los demás, no devolviendo a nadie el mal por mal, y en lo posible en paz con todo el mundo.» (12:10–18). No falta tampoco un recuerdo sobre la actitud del cristiano frente a las autoridades civiles, que en Roma tenían su centro y su máxima expresión: «No existe autoridad sin que lo disponga Dios, y el insumiso a la autoridad se opone a la voluntad de Dios, porque es agente de Dios para ayudarte a lo bueno.» Lo que podríamos llamar un «tratado de ética social y política» establece una norma viva no sólo para quien se halla sometido a la legítima autoridad, sino también para quien la ejerce (13:1–7). En este panorama de indudable transparencia, se traslucen algunos temas que mantenían dividida a aquella comunidad en la que, en fuerza a costumbres y hábitos adquiridos, todavía subsistían interpretaciones de sabor judaico respecto a las fiestas y al uso de los alimentos: «Hay quien tiene fe para comer de todo; y otro, en cambio, que la tiene débil, come sólo verduras. El que come de todo, que no desprecie al que se abstiene; y el que se abstiene, que no juzgue al que come. Hay quienes dan preferencia a un día sobre otro; en cambio, otros estiman que cualquier día es bueno. Cada cual está bien convencido de lo que piensa. El que come de todo, lo hace por el Señor, y la prueba es que da gracias a Dios; el que se abstiene, lo hace por el Señor, y también da gracias al Señor. Tú, ¿por qué juzgas a tu hermano? Y tú, ¿por qué desprecias a tu hermano?. Total, que cada uno de nosotros tendrá que dar cuenta a Dios de sí mismo» (14:2–12). «Al fin y al cabo no reina Dios por lo que uno coma o beba, sino por la honradez, la paz, la alegría que dé el Espíritu Santo; y el que sirve así a Cristo, agrada a Dios y lo aprueban los hombres. En resumen: esmerémonos en lo que favorece la paz y construye la vida común» (14:17–19). Proyectos y Despedidas |
| Help Andrei get a bone marrow transplant to fight leukemia December 1, 2015 A personal appeal has appeared on the site of the Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of the Orthodox Church in America to help a father and his five year-old son who is battling leukemia in Bucharest, Romania. We are posting the appeal here in hopes that our readers will respond. This is a personal appeal from the heart to help the son of a dear friend of mine from Bucharest, Romania. We need your help to save Andrei’s life and give him the chance to have much needed surgery for the bone marrow transplant which he needs urgently. ANDREI is a 5 year old boy who lives in Bucharest, Romania. He is joyful, friendly and intelligent, with an amazing smile and very peaceful demeanor. He is presently hospitalized after being diagnosed with leukemia this past summer (2015). After undergoing treatment for the past 5 months at Marie Curie Children’s Hospital in Bucharest, he was scheduled to undergo a bone marrow transplant at the Charity Clinic in Berlin, Germany at the beginning of the month of December 2015. The total cost of the operation is Euros. His father, Teodor, who raised the boy by himself after the mother abandoned Andrei a few years ago, has already raised Euros by selling his apartment in Bucharest, the furniture, house apparel, and then taking a bank loan and even obtaining some modest and much-appreciated support from family and friends. Besides all this, he appealed to the Health Ministry of the Romanian Government asking for the remaining funds to complete the total amount of the surgery. However, the Ministry of Health denied his request for the much-needed assistance because of lack of funds in their budget. The Charity Clinic in Berlin, Germany accepts to provide treatment only when the total cost will be paid before the operation takes place. I am appealing to your kindheartednes and generosity to assist me in raising the rest of the money, approximately Euros, so that Andrei can have his surgery for bone marrow transplant in Berlin, Germany before December 10, 2015, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE. Please consider this as a personal appeal from me, being a real and personal situation close to my heart as I speak as an ambassador and friend of the family who through me is seeking your kindness and generosity to save Andrei. Through your kindness, please assist us to raise the remaining funds to cover the cost of the transplant, which will put Andrei on the path of a health and a normal life! Go to youcaring.com to help Andrei Badaru. Fr. Vicar Dan Hoarste 1 декабря 2015 г. Смотри также Комментарии Мы в соцсетях Подпишитесь на нашу рассылку |
| But why did the Holy Ghost come to them, not while Christ was present, nor even immediately after his departure, but, whereas Christ ascended on the fortieth day, the Spirit descended when the day of Pentecost , that is, the fiftieth, was fully come (Act. 2:1)? And how was it, if the Spirit had not yet come, that He said, Receive ye the Holy Ghost (Jn. 20:22)? In order to render them capable and meet for the reception of Him. For if Daniel fainted at the sight of an Angel (cf. Dan. 8:17), much more would these when about to receive so great a grace. Either this then is to be said, or else that Christ spoke of what was to come, as if come already; as when He said, Tread ye upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the devil (Lk. 10:19). But why had the Holy Ghost not yet come? It was fit that they should first be brought to have a longing desire for that event, and so receive the grace. For this reason Christ Himself departed, and then the Spirit descended. For had He Himself been there, they would not have expected the Spirit so earnestly as they did. On this account neither did He come immediately after Christ’s Ascension, but after eight or nine days. It is the same with us also; for our desires towards God are then most raised, when we stand in need. Accordingly, John chose that time to send his disciples to Christ when they were likely to feel their need of Jesus, during his own imprisonment. Besides, it was fit that our nature should be seen in heaven, and that the reconciliation should be perfected, and then the Spirit should come, and the joy should be unalloyed. For, if the Spirit being already come, Christ had then departed, and the Spirit remained; the consolation would not have been so great as it was. For in fact they clung to Him, and could not bear to part with Him; wherefore also to comfort them He said, It is expedient for you that I go away (Jn. 14:7). On this account He also waits during those intermediate days, that they might first despond for awhile, and be made, as I said, to feel their need of Him. And then reap a full and unalloyed delight. But if the Spirit were inferior to the Son, the consolation would not have been adequate; and how could He have said, It is expedient for you ? For this reason the greater matters of teaching were reserved for the Spirit, that the disciples might not imagine Him inferior. |
| The thief did what once the three youths in Babylon did, refusing to bow down before the golden idol which Nebuchadnezzar had set up on the plain of Dura and before which “all nations, tribes and tongues” bowed down (Dan. 3:7). The thief came to belief in the suffering Lord; confessing Him as “the hidden God,” he came to know Him before anyone else, and the power of His resurrection, and participation in His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death (Phil. 3:10); he understood before anyone else what constitutes the Kingdom not of this world; he came to know what is truth (John 18:36-38). He was the first to comprehend the nature of Christ’s Kingdom, and therefore he was the first to enter it. He was the first to see Jesus Christ and Him crucified (I Cor. 2:2), the first to preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumblingblock, to the Greeks foolishness, But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God (I Cor. 1:23-24). For this reason he was also first to personally experience the power and wisdom of God, the power of Christ’s co-suffering and regenerating love; he was first to hear “the sound of the power of the Cross, for through it Paradise was opened.” (Fourth Ode, Ascension Canon) His thorough repentance of his sins and transgressions, his profound humility, his firm faith in the Crucified Lord Jesus Christ Who gave Himself over to suffering, and his confession, made at a time when the whole world was against Christ — these are the strands which wove the crown that adorned the head of the former thief, this is the substance of which the key was forged that opened to him the gates of Paradise! Many people sin, trusting to repent just before death; they point to the example of the wise thief. But is anyone capable of what he did? “The Lord pardoned the thief at the final hour so that no one would despair. But it was a single instance, that no one should have immoderate hope in His mercy” (Blessed Augustine). |
| Besides the direct prophecies about the immortality of the Messiah, in fact, all those places in the Old Testament, in which the Messiah is called God, attest to this (for example in Ps. 2 , Ps. 45 , Ps. 110 , Is. 9:6 , Jer. 23:5 , Mic. 5:2 , Mal. 3:1 ). God by His very essence is immortal. The immortality of the Messiah can also be concluded after we read the predictions of His eternal Kingdom (for example in Gen. 49:10 ; 2Sam. 7:13 ; Ps. 2 , Ps. 132:11 ; Eze. 7:27; Dan. 7:13 ). For an eternal Kingdom presumes an eternal King! In this way, summing up the contents of this chapter, we see that the Old Testament prophets very definitely spoke of the expiatory sufferings, death, and then – of the resurrection and glory of the Messiah. He was to die for the redemption of human sins and rise to head the eternal Kingdom of those He saved. These truths, first revealed by the prophets, later formed the basis of the Christian faith. The Prophecies of Daniel T he Patriarch Jacob, as we showed in the second chapter, coincided the times of the coming of the Conciliator with the time that the descendants of Judah would lose their political independence. The time of the coming of the Messiah was defined more precisely by the prophet Daniel in his prophecy of the seventy weeks. The Prophet Daniel wrote the prophecy of the time of the Messiah’s coming while he and other Hebrews were in Babylonian captivity. The Hebrews were led into captivity by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar, who destroyed the city of Jerusalem in 588 BC. The prophet Daniel knew, that the 70 year time period of captivity predicted by the prophet Jeremiah (in the 25 chapter of his book), was coming to an end. Desiring a rapid return of the Hebrew nation from captivity to its native land and the restoration of the Holy City of Jerusalem, St. Daniel often began to ask God for this in fervent prayer. At the end of one of these prayers the Archangel Gabriel suddenly appeared before the prophet and said, that God had heard his prayer and will soon help the Hebrews restore Jerusalem. Along with this, the Archangel Gabriel announced even more glad tidings, specifically, that from the time of the issuance of the decree to restore Jerusalem, the calculation of the year of the coming of the Messiah and the establishment of the New Testament would begin. Here is what the Archangel Gabriel said to the Prophet Daniel: |
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