| Faith is often the central theme of many of the miracles performed by Jesus. In Matthew 9:27-31 we read about two blind men who came to Jesus and asked for healing. “And Jesus said to them, ‘Do you believe that I am able to do this?’ They said to him, ‘Yes , Lord.’ Then he touched their eyes, saying, ‘According to your faith let it be done to you’” (Matt. 9:28-29). Concerning the faith of the Centurion, Jesus said, “‘Truly, I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such faith’” (Matt. 8:10). To the Canaanite woman who asked Jesus to heal her daughter, Jesus said, “‘O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you desire’” (Matt. 15:28). After healing the woman who had an issue of blood for twelve years, Jesus said, “‘Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace’” (Luke 8:48). The spontaneity of Jesus’ compassion for the widow requires no expression of faith from her or from the crowd of mourners. In this way He is like Yahweh in the Old Testament who is unconditionally compassionate. Jesus pitied her for what she was and not for what she could do. Her faith was not a prerequisite for the divine action. Other examples in the Gospel of God’s compassion are expressed in the story of the Good Samaritan and in the parable of the Prodigal Son. We are all created in the image and likeness of God. Therefore, we all innately have the ability to develop and practice the virtue of compassion. Compassion does not have to be as dramatic as raising someone from the dead but can be as simple as smiling and being cheerful, or even just opening a door for someone. Compassion is when we show hospitality to a stranger. Compassion can be as simple as sharing a hug or a handshake, or volunteering to help someone with a chore. Expressions of compassion which are often easy to do most often mean quite a lot to the person who is the recipient of the act of kindness. Many people are depressed and focus on negativity. We can show compassion by not dwelling on everything that people do wrong, but using our voices to tell others what they are doing right and encourage them to continue working towards their goals. The list of acts of kindness are endless, from donating clothes, food or money to the poor, volunteering in a soup kitchen, to nurturing friendships and taking the time to listen to people talk about their problems and woes. The grieving widow in today’s Gospel symbolizes anyone who is suffering, in pain, and in need of some kind of help or consolation. May God help us all to show compassion to the grieving widows that we encounter in our lives, saying to them “Do not weep,” and offer them our love and a helping hand in whatever way we can. Amen. |
| Most people acknowledge that divine wrath must finally fall upon such criminals. But to include our Uncle Walt in such a category and to send him to hell as if he were as bad as Hitler just because Uncle Walt never said the sinner’s prayer seems profoundly unjust. It is the lumping together of Uncle Walt with Adolf Hitler that provokes secular derision, makes the popular doctrine of a wrathful God seem profoundly immoral, and deprives Christianity of much of its credibility. So, what about our Uncle Walt? That is, what about moral people who are doing the best they can according to the limited light they have received who never got around to saying the sinner’s prayer or becoming practicing members of a church? What of those people whose only exposure to Christianity consisted of hypocritical and abusive clergy and of grinning and greedy televangelists? Are they to be condemned because they could not recognize the love of God and His saving Gospel in such a distorted Christianity? St. Augustine would answer (no doubt quite sadly and reluctantly) “Yes”, since they were born condemned and burdened with the guilt of original sin. Their condemnation by God was nothing personal; it was not God’s fault if they were born guilty, but Adam’s fault. (Of course this answer does nothing to add credibility to the apologist’s case for Christianity, for most people would not unnaturally retort, “Why should I be condemned for someone’s else’s mistake?”) But St. Augustine’s answer is not the only one on the market. I would suggest that a closer reading of the New Testament yields a rather different answer. In this alternative reading, a man is not condemned for Adam’s fault, but only for deliberately turning away from the light which he has received. To be condemned by God, one must deliberately and stubbornly bang the door in God’s face, refusing to accept the light that had been given. That is the teaching of Christ: “To whom much is given, much is required” (Luke 12:48). If a man has been given spiritual light, then he is responsible to live according to it. But if a man has little or no spiritual light, and therefore thinks that Christianity consists of believing The Gospel According to Televangelist Greedy, that man is not responsible for living according to the light he had never received. |
| Unfortunately, the world believes that joy comes from gaining and possessing wealth, glory, positions and other pleasures. “There is nothing worse than a person who does not know how to love.” And “when you see someone who needs physical or spiritual healing, do not say to yourself: I wonder why this person was not healed by anyone. Simply heal that person of his or her illness, and do not seek to lay blame on others. If you anoint that person with the word of your teaching, like the oil of healing, if you cure that person with your good nature, restoring that person’s health with your patience, then that person will become the cause of the greatest treasure for you.” (See St. John Chrysostom, Homily 27 on 2 Corinthians and Homily 8 Against the Jews , PG 61.586-587 and PG 48.932-933). The truth is that the joy and satisfaction from offering love and material goods to our fellow human beings is incomparably greater. The conventional social understanding, which the young generation is taught as the most advantageous way of life, is greed and avarice. However, when such notions prevail, they create social turmoil and ultimately harm even those who acquire excessive wealth at the expense of others. The inevitable social division must be alleviated voluntarily by the offering of those who have to those who do not have, as our Lord explicitly teaches: “Let the person who has two garments give to another who has none” (Luke 3:11). It is only when we perceive our unity with all our fellow human beings, and especially the weak, will we journey through the period of Holy and Great Lent in a godly manner and receive the blessing of Christ. During this year, which we have declared as “The Year of Global Solidarity,” particularly in light of the serious financial crisis in our world, we must all demonstrate greater concern for the consolation of our brothers and sisters who are deprived of the most elementary resources. In this way, we shall enter “the arena of virtues that lies before us” in a devout manner and with spiritual progress, we will “enjoy the small coin,” “we will accept the just payment” and we will celebrate with fullness of joy the Holy Resurrection of our Lord, through which “life is truly oriented.” May His Grace and rich Mercy be with you all. |
| For Plato, justice was “based on the idea of good, which is the harmony of the universe.” Now Christians believe that “The Good” equals God and that the harmony of the universe is the peace of Christ. Therefore, “giving to each man what is proper to him” might include a good deal more than what usual human standards have regarded as appropriate. If we Christians believe that each person is a bearer of the image of God, and that our ultimate destination is to be with God in heaven, then the concept of “what is due” each of us expands considerably. Looked at this way, God asks much more of us than the promotion of human justice. If we give each “his due” – thinking about this in the usual constricted and grudging sort of way, then we are in danger of being like the persons mentioned in Luke 6 about whom it was said “even sinners love those who love them.” That is, even a non-believer might be willing to say that everyone should get what is due him, if they mean only a juridical type of “due-ness.” We, however, are bound to make the definition of the word “justice” subsume all that our instruction in the faith would lead us to include in it, the fullness of justice, if you will. St. Isaac the Syrian actually made this distinction between God’s grace and man’s justice when he counseled, “Never say that God is just. If He were just, you would be in hell. Rely only on His injustice which is mercy, love and forgiveness.” Surely this explains why “Lord have mercy” appears so often in the Liturgy. Indeed, we strive to become people of mercy, as our Father first extended mercy to us. “Be you therefore perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.” (Mt 5:48) Added to the Christian’s calling to manifest mercy is the goal to seek out occasions to show mercy, especially under adverse or uncomfortable circumstances, and to strive for more than just expedient answers. As Laurel Rae Matheson recently wrote in Sojourners, “Justice is not just a matter of fairness or equity [but of] creating sustainable solutions for conflict.” In other words, justice should be strongly conciliatory and constructive, rather than “restorative, distributive or punitive.” The end result we seek should be better than any ante bellum condition, hewing much more emphatically toward “the peaceable kingdom.” |
| The theme of the age to come of course comes to the fore in the New Testament . And here, Christ speaks quite categorically: the punishments of Gehenna are eternal. He warns of the impenitent being bound hand and foot and cast into the outer darkness where men will weep and gnash their teeth (Matthew 8:12, 22:13, 25:30), and there is no suggestion that this punishment will be temporary. Indeed, He teaches that in Gehenna, the “unquenchable fire”, the “worm does not die and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:43, 48). If the Universalists are correct, then the worm will indeed die and the fire will indeed be quenched, but Christ here says the opposite. In His parable about Lazarus and the rich man, Christ explicitly says that there is a great gulf fixed between paradise and the place of punishment, so that none may cross over from the place to punishment into paradise (Luke 16:26). Granted that this is a parable and not a behind the scenes peak at eternity, it remains an odd thing to say if in fact everyone in the place of punishment will indeed eventually cross over into paradise. Also important to the discussion is the fact that Christ describes the two fates awaiting men after the final judgment either as “eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels”, and “eternal punishment”, or as “eternal life” (Matthew 25:41, 46). Note that the same word “eternal” (Greek aionion ) is used in v. 46 to describe both the eternal life of the saved and the eternal punishment of the condemned. One can debate the meaning of the word aionion if one likes, but the word must have the same meaning in both halves of v. 46. It cannot mean, for example, “the unrighteous will go away into age-long punishment, but the righteous into eternal life”. If the life of the righteous is eternal, then so must be the punishment of the unrighteous. One may assert that St. Paul proclaims universalism, but no one has ever suggested that Christ did. All of His words about the fate of men in the age to come are emphatic that hell is eternal, and contain not a hint of universalism. One cannot bypass this fact when promoting universalism, as many seem to do, but must rather explain why it is that Christ is so uncompromising in His words about hell. |
| We should not think of our creation as the winding of a time clock which thereafter runs independently from its winder. The creation of man is rather like the plugging in of a light bulb which gives light only when in full contact with the source of its power. When man, through erroneous, independent use of his life, cuts himself away from his Creator, he no longer reflects the image and likeness of God. The Prodigal Son illustrates this point. When the Prodigal took his share of the inheritance from his father and went to a far country, he fell into the depths of sin and despair, even resorting to the feeding of pigs, whose food he would have gladly eaten in order to sustain himself. Such is the nature of a life from which God is absent. But the parable also speaks of the Prodigal’s recovery: “But when he came to himself,…he said…I will arise and go to my father…” (Luke: 15-17). Having seen the nature of life which is separated from God, the Prodigal realizes he has not been all he was “called” to be. He “comes to himself” and wants to return to a life which reflects God’s image. What, Then Does the Church Expect From Us? The Church can expect from us nothing more or nothing less than that which her Head, Jesus Christ, has commanded: “You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt. 5:48). If this seems to be asking too much, remember that for the man who lives with God, all things are possible. Living with God means living the life of the Church. It means regular reception of the food of eternal life, the Holy Communion; it means a life of prayer, watchfulness, fasting, Scripture reading and study; it means a life filled with the love of fellow man; it means using one’s talents to their utmost and sharing of one’s good fortune. Discuss this article © Copyright 2007 by pravmir.com Top of Page Our Faith Lifes of Saints New Russian Martyrs Analytical articles Sermons My Way to Orthodoxy Parish Library Family life Children " s page History of Christianity Spiritual music Service Orthodoxy in the World |
| Bulgarian Orthodox Church receives relics of Saint Luke of Crimea On October 21, 2016 Bulgarian Orthodox Church received relics of St. Luke (Luka Voyno Yasenetsky), Archbishop of Crimea and Sympheropol, confessor and wonderworker (1877-1961). Photo: http://pemptousia.com/ Shortly after the glorification of St. Seraphim of Sofia and receiving relics from St. Seraphim of Sarov, Bulgarian believers have the honour to receive also a blessing from the serving and healing hands of Saint Luke whom they have known well and piously venerated for years. The reliquary was brought to Sofia by Russian Bishop Anthony of Bogorodsky who is visiting Bulgaria for the first time. In his greetings to the Bulgarian faithful, he said that this precious gift, a piece of the relics of the 20th century saint, further strengthens the traditional close relations between the Russian and Bulgarian Local Orthodox Churches. Photo: http://pemptousia.com/ Church services for the traditional order of the translation of relics from temple to temple started from the Sofia Synodal palace, proceeding to the Russian St. Nicholas church with a paraklesis and akatist followed by a litany from St. Marina " s church to the Sofia cathedral church of St. Kyriakia, and on October 22 departed to Plovdiv where they will be placed in their future location, the metropolitan church of St. Marina. The local tradition of venerating St. Luke came from Greece and Russia in 1995-2000 before his canonization, and little by little reached the present glorious moment of receiving a piece of the saint " s relics. From now on such extraordinary blessings from St. Luke the Surgeon as the present sending of his relics are expected to result in the gradual growth of his Church veneration and to enhance the process of glorification of 20th century Bulgarian saints. Edited by OrthoChristian.com Pemptousia 24 октября 2016 г. Подпишитесь на рассылку Православие.Ru Рассылка выходит два раза в неделю: Смотри также Комментарии Мы в соцсетях Подпишитесь на нашу рассылку |
| Patriarchate of Moscow " s publishing house releases liturgical Holy Gospel/Православие.Ru Patriarchate of Moscow " s publishing house releases liturgical Holy Gospel Moscow, March 23, 2014 The publication continues the series of new Church Slavonic books with computer typesetting. It is based on the text of the liturgical Gospel, which was printed in 1905 by the Moscow Synodal Printing House, reports Tserkovny Vestnik ( " Church Bulletin " ). The structure of the book corresponds to the traditional editions of altar Gospels. The large print of the Gospel " s main text is easy to read. Advantages of computer formatting allowed for the placement of text on the pages conveniently and beautifully. The church calendar, which includes the order of Gospel readings, feasts and saints throughout the year, is supplemented with names of the saints, who have been canonized in recent years, with Gospel readings appointed for their feast-days. A list of Gospel readings for the general services to the New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Church in the 20th century is added to the section, where common Gospel readings according to categories of saints are indicated. The Gospel is printed in the traditional Church Slavonic script (Triodion) in two colors. The book comes in a durable hardcover format. The text is richly adorned with elegant bloomers, ornate letterings and ornaments. The size of the new edition (14х20х5 centimeters) allows it be used also as a lesser altar Gospel. 26 марта 2014 г. Предыдущий Следующий Смотри также Gospel of St. Luke translated into more Northern Siberian languages Gospel of St. Luke translated into more Northern Siberian languages The Institute for Bible Translation (IBT) published the first book in a series of Northern Diglott translations of the Gospel of Luke in the languages of the native nations of the Russian North and the Far East (Koryak, Itelmen, Chukchi, Nanai, Evenk, Even). The Gospel according to St. Luke published in the Nanai language The Gospel according to St. Luke published in the Nanai language At the request of Metropolitan Ignatius of Khabarovsk and Amur Diocese the Institute for Bible Translation IBT has released a new edition of the Gospel of Luke in Nanai language accompanied by a parallel Russian Synodal translation, reports the IBT website. Gospel of Matthew translated into Dargin language Gospel of Matthew translated into Dargin language The present publication is being issued together with the audio-recording of the translation on CD. Thus, the Dargwa (Dargin people) will have an opportunity not only to read, but also to hear the Gospel, which will ease their perception of the text. Such a multi-media publication is the first of such kind among the Dagestani projects. Комментарии © 1999-2015 Православие.Ru |
| Icon of St. Luke the Physician to be sent to International Space Station Moscow, March 16, 2017 Photo: Novospassky Monastery On March 11 in the Church of St. Romanos the Melodist, in the tomb of the Romanov boyars, the vicar of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill and deputy abbot of Moscow’s Novospassky Monastery Bishop Sava of Voskresensk blessed an icon of Holy Hierarch and Confessor Luke (Voino-Yasenetsky) the Physician of Simferopol which is to be sent to the International Space Station. The icon has since been sent to the Russian Federal Space Agency by the Institute of Biomedical Problems, and is scheduled to be sent to the space station from April till July 2017, reports the monastery’s website . The painting of the icon was complicated by the fact that for use on the space station, iconographers cannot use artificial colors. Thus the icon is covered only with an oil varnish instead of laquer. The delivery of the St. Luke icon to the International Space Station is possible thanks to the executive director of manned space programs of the state corporation “RosCosmos” (the Federal Space Agency) astronaut Sergei Konstantinovich Krikalev, who circled the earth more than 1,000 times on board Union TMA-6 in 2005 together with a copy of the miraculous Valaam Icon. The icon’s arrival and stay on the space station is timed to the 140th anniversary of St. Luke’s birth on May 9, 2017. St. Luke was a beloved bishop and physician who treated innumerable people, many of whom are still alive today. In 1946 he was awarded a first degree Stalin Prize, but was later subject to repressions, being exiled for eleven years. He was rehabilitated in April 2000, and later that same year was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church in the assembly of Russian New Martyrs and Confessors. Today St. Luke is widely venerated throughout the Orthodox world, including Russia, Ukraine, Greece, and America and beyond. 16 марта 2017 г. Подпишитесь на рассылку Православие.Ru Рассылка выходит два раза в неделю: Смотри также Комментарии Мы в соцсетях Подпишитесь на нашу рассылку |
| Предыдущий Следующий Смотри также " Our Roots are in the Russian Church " Archimandrite Luke (Murianka) " Our Roots are in the Russian Church " An interview with Fr. Luke (Murianka) Archimandrite Luke (Murianka) From September 21 to 25, 2016 the solemn celebrations took place in Moscow, dedicated to the 1000-year anniversary of Russian monastic presence on Mount Athos. Our Rector and Associate Professor of Patrology, the Very Rev. Archimandrite Luke (Murianka), was invited to take part in the celebrations, which included an academic conference, as well as a meeting of all abbots and abbesses of the Russian Church. On September 29, Deacon Andrei Psarev, a member of our faculty, interviewed Fr. Luke in the abbot’s office in Jordanville, asking him to share with our readers his impressions from this solemn event. St. Anthony of the Kiev Caves St. Anthony of the Kiev Caves Commemorated July 10/23, September 2/15, September 28/October 11 Before his departure, St. Anthony called his monks together and comforted them with the promise that he would always remain with them in spirit and would pray the Lord to bless and protect the community. He also promised that all those who stayed in the monastery in repentance and obedience to the abbot would find salvation. The saint asked that his remains be forever hidden from the eyes of men. His desire was fulfilled. He is said to have been buried in the cave where he reposed, but his relics have never been found. However, multitudes came to pray in his cave, and there, many who were sick found healing. A Monastic Leaven A Conversation with Archimandrite Pimen (Adarchenko), Superior of the Monastery in Ganina Yama in honor of the Holy Royal Martyrs A Monastic Leaven A Conversation with Archimandrite Pimen (Adarchenko), Superior of the Monastery in Ganina Yama in honor of the Holy Royal Martyrs Our guides say that very many people even change outwardly after visiting our monastery. They straighten their shoulders. Even their appearance changes! Attitudes to their own lives also change along with their perception of Russian history. Комментарии © 1999-2016 Православие.Ru |
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