Orthodox Truth

Friday of the 10th Week of St. Luke

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Today’s daily Gospel reading is Luke 19: 12 -28.

The Lord said, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us. And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds. And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities. And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds. And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities. And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin: For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow. And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow: Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury? And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds. (And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.) For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him. But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me. And when he had thus spoken, he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem.

This parable of the Lord summarizes all history between the First and Second Coming of Christ.   The nobleman who goes into a far country to receive a kingdom is Christ, Who ascends to His Father, and Who will return at the end of time to judge the living and the dead. By sending the Holy Spirit and beginning the economy of the New Testament Church, He gives “pounds,” that is, all the gifts of grace which constitute the life of the Church, to His faithful followers, who are expected to multiply what they have received through faith and good works. The enemies of the returning king are those who oppose Christ and the Church, who will be dreadfully punished at the time of the Second Coming.

We are among the faithful followers, who have received our “pounds,” our gifts of grace. These gifts are indescribably great, coming from the Infinite God by means of His uncreated energies. Having received them, we are supposed to put them to work for the Lord, to bring ourselves and other souls into His Kingdom, as any good workman is expected to use the assets his employer gives him – tools, training, materials – to enrich his employer. How can we go about this?

One chief reason that we do not multiply our “pounds” is that we forget that we have them. Therefore a good first step is to take inventory of our “assets,” and to thank God for them. If we were conscious always of the gifts of nature and of grace that He has lavished on us, we would be constantly grateful as well as hopeful, and with both courage and humility we would set out each day to do His holy will. We should periodically sit down and enumerate all of these gifts, perhaps even writing them down to make this point to ourselves, and glorify and thank God for them.

It is very easy, indeed the “default position” of our fallen nature, for us unconsciously to ascribe both our good qualities and our good works to ourselves.   This is another chief reason we do not grow in grace, do not multiply the “pounds.” Therefore, a second necessary step is to acknowledge that without the Lord we would have nothing, indeed be nothing, and without His help we can do nothing. We must immerse ourselves in humility.

A third step is to seek to know and to do His holy will each day.   Yes, we have these “assets,” but we need the wisdom to know how to use them, for a third obstacle we have to using our gifts is lack of discretion.   Each day, let us set out saying, “O Lord, enable me to know and to do Thy holy will. I am blinded both by my own lack of understanding and by the distractions of the world. Enlighten my mind and my heart at every moment, so that in all that I do, I act in accordance with Thy holy will and for Thy glory.”

A cautionary word: The Lord does indeed work in us and through us, but most often He does not let us see it, lest we would lose our salvation because of pride. We must be content to trust that He is doing His work in us and through us, and wait in hope to be revealed on the Day of Judgment as His good and faithful servants.

Let us, then, set out this day and every day to multiply the gifts that our gracious Lord has given us!   Let us be grateful, immerse ourselves in humility, and pray for enlightenment. Let us live in hope and trust in His mercy, desiring fervently to hear His blessed words: “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter thou into the joy of Thy Lord.”

Working for the Lord

Posted on December 11, 2020 by Father Steven Allen

28 November OS 2020 – Friday of the 10th Week of St. Luke, Holy Righteous Martyr Stephen the New, Holy Martyr Irenarchos

Today’s daily Gospel reading is Luke 19: 12 -28.

The Lord said, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us. And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds. And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities. And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds. And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities. And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin: For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow. And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow: Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury? And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds. (And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.) For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him. But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me. And when he had thus spoken, he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem.

This parable of the Lord summarizes all history between the First and Second Coming of Christ.   The nobleman who goes into a far country to receive a kingdom is Christ, Who ascends to His Father, and Who will return at the end of time to judge the living and the dead. By sending the Holy Spirit and beginning the economy of the New Testament Church, He gives “pounds,” that is, all the gifts of grace which constitute the life of the Church, to His faithful followers, who are expected to multiply what they have received through faith and good works. The enemies of the returning king are those who oppose Christ and the Church, who will be dreadfully punished at the time of the Second Coming.

We are among the faithful followers, who have received our “pounds,” our gifts of grace. These gifts are indescribably great, coming from the Infinite God by means of His uncreated energies. Having received them, we are supposed to put them to work for the Lord, to bring ourselves and other souls into His Kingdom, as any good workman is expected to use the assets his employer gives him – tools, training, materials – to enrich his employer. How can we go about this?

One chief reason that we do not multiply our “pounds” is that we forget that we have them. Therefore a good first step is to take inventory of our “assets,” and to thank God for them. If we were conscious always of the gifts of nature and of grace that He has lavished on us, we would be constantly grateful as well as hopeful, and with both courage and humility we would set out each day to do His holy will. We should periodically sit down and enumerate all of these gifts, perhaps even writing them down to make this point to ourselves, and glorify and thank God for them.

It is very easy, indeed the “default position” of our fallen nature, for us unconsciously to ascribe both our good qualities and our good works to ourselves.   This is another chief reason we do not grow in grace, do not multiply the “pounds.” Therefore, a second necessary step is to acknowledge that without the Lord we would have nothing, indeed be nothing, and without His help we can do nothing. We must immerse ourselves in humility.

A third step is to seek to know and to do His holy will each day.   Yes, we have these “assets,” but we need the wisdom to know how to use them, for a third obstacle we have to using our gifts is lack of discretion.   Each day, let us set out saying, “O Lord, enable me to know and to do Thy holy will. I am blinded both by my own lack of understanding and by the distractions of the world. Enlighten my mind and my heart at every moment, so that in all that I do, I act in accordance with Thy holy will and for Thy glory.”

A cautionary word: The Lord does indeed work in us and through us, but most often He does not let us see it, lest we would lose our salvation because of pride. We must be content to trust that He is doing His work in us and through us, and wait in hope to be revealed on the Day of Judgment as His good and faithful servants.

Let us, then, set out this day and every day to multiply the gifts that our gracious Lord has given us!   Let us be grateful, immerse ourselves in humility, and pray for enlightenment. Let us live in hope and trust in His mercy, desiring fervently to hear His blessed words: “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter thou into the joy of Thy Lord.”

Monday of the 10th Week of Luke 

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Today’s Gospel reading is Luke 17: 20 – 25

At that time, when Jesus was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it. And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them. For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day. But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation.

St. Theophan the Recluse reminds us that we must follow Our Lord in His suffering and be rejected by our own generation, if we hope to inherit the Kingdom of God:  

Having said that the Son of Man will appear in his day like lightning, instantly illuminating everything under heaven, the Lord added: But first must He suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation. The word order here makes it apparent that this “must suffer” should precede the Lord’s appearance in glory. Thus, the whole time until that day is the time of the Lord’s suffering. He suffered in His person at one known time; after that His sufferings continue in believers—suffering as they are born, their upbringing in the spirit and protection from actions of the enemy, both inner and outer—for the Lord’s union with His own is not just mental or moral, but living. Everything that touches them is accepted by Him as well, as the head. Therefore, it is impossible not to see that the Lord indeed suffers much. The most painful sorrows are the falls of believers; even more painful for Him is when they fall away from the faith. But these are the final wounds; as continuously wounding arrows are the sorrows, temptations, and wavering faith of unbelief. Words and writings that exude unbelief are kindled arrows of the evil one. Nowadays, the evil one has led many blacksmiths to forge such arrows. The hearts of believers ache when they are struck by them and see others being struck. The Lord aches too. But the day of the Lord’s glory will appear—then all the secret darkness will be revealed, and those who have suffered will rejoice with the Lord. Until that time we must endure and pray. – Thoughts for Each Day of the Year, pp. 260-261

Many indeed have fallen away and will fall away before the Lord’s glory appears at the end of time.   How do we avoid falling ourselves?   We are so weak, and we have seen many others who, we thought, were stronger, smarter, and more religious than ourselves, wandering off the path of salvation gradually into delusion or leaping off the cliff suddenly into total apostasy, and we begin to think that their fate must come inevitably upon ourselves also; after all, we are not as good as they, much less better.  And, as St. Theophan says, our hearts ache when struck by the arrows of the temptation to unbelief.   They ache both with sorrow over those who have fallen, and they ache with the pain of our own loneliness and self-doubt in the midst of so much mental warfare against us, waged both visibly by the world and invisibly by the demons.   

Apologetic arguments for Orthodoxy are certainly available to us, and we should have constant recourse to study, preferably before being tempted and certainly when suffering in the midst of temptation.   But what is equally important to study, or, rather, forms an absolute pre-condition for fruitful study, is heartfelt love for Christ and loyalty to His Person, as our Creator, Redeemer, and Friend, as the Bridegroom of our souls.  He is the best Friend we have ever had or ever can have; yet we treat Him so often as an abstraction, an article of belief required of me if I am to maintain a worldview I am currently comfortable with but which is open to revision if I find something more psychologically satisfying.   He becomes a currently necessary intellectual support for my current choices instead of the Master of my life.  

So when we are struck by the arrows of wavering faith, the first step is not to open a book of apologetic theology, but to renew our loyalty to the Lord.   We need to get down on our knees, open the Prayer Book to the Akathist to Our Lord Jesus Christ, and say it aloud, slowly, with a great struggle for attention.  We need to open the Gospel and read it aloud, slowly, with a great struggle for attention, not seeking specific articulated solutions to imagined conundrums but seeking rather the conversion of our hearts to being wounded with love for the Man depicted therein.  

Only after such a softening of the heart, only after compunction has wounded our souls with the life-creating wound of joy-giving sorrow for our sins, that replaces the deadly wound of gloom and confusion caused by wavering faith – only then should we engage in intellectual study and the examination of arguments for and against this and that. Otherwise we shall wander all our lives long in the labyrinth of the fallen reason as it chews on itself, cannibalizing its inner resources until the hour of death comes, and its self-chosen auto-demolition is revealed in all its horror at the gate of hell.  

O dearest Lord, Who suffered all things for us, come to us in this holy season and grant us the insatiable longing for Thy presence in our hearts!   O Lord Thou Sun of Righteousness, enlighten our darkness in the midst of this present world of confusion.  Make our minds clear, our wills firm, and our hearts warm with Thy love.  Amen.  

Saturday of the 9th Week of Luke 

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Today’s Gospel reading is Luke 9: 57 – 62 

And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.  Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.  And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

St. Theophan the Recluse interprets the Lord’s words for us in this way:  The disposition of the inner man must be transformed, not only his outward behavior.   The detachment He calls us to must detach the love of the heart from the world and direct it entirely to God.   

   “No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” That is, he who thinks to be saved while glancing back at what he should abandon for the sake of his salvation, is not being saved, is not walking, is not directed toward the Kingdom of God. It is necessary to destroy once and for all everything that is not compatible with the work of salvation. Those who think to be saved see this themselves, but they always put off parting with certain attachments until tomorrow… To suddenly break with everything is too great a sacrifice. They want to give things up in a leisurely fashion, to not stand out in front of others—but they almost always fail. They introduce salvific routines, while the dispositions of their heart remain as before. At first the incongruity is very sharp: but “tomorrow,” and their promises of change shut the mouth of their conscience. In such a manner, with everything tomorrow— always tomorrow—the conscience grows tired of saying the same thing over and over, and at last, falls silent. Here thoughts start to come that things can be left this way. These thoughts strengthen, and then are established forever. An exterior which is outwardly proper is formed, with inner improperness. This is a whited sepulchre before the eyes of God. The worst thing is that the conversion of this sort of person is as difficult as the conversion of those who have become hardened in open sins, if not more difficult… Meanwhile, this person thinks that everything is fine. – from Thoughts for Each Day of the Year,  p. 259

There are several places in the Gospel at which the Lord calls men to a radical conversion that demands leaving absolutely everyone and everything behind in order not only to believe in Him but also to dedicate every waking hour to the work of the apostolic ministry.  Not all disciples are called to this ministry;  as St. Paul teaches us, there are “gifts differing” (Romans 12: 6ff), and each Christian must find his place in the variegated, hierarchical, and finely tuned ensemble of inexhaustibly different personalities that is the Church.  But the inner disposition to which we are all called is the same, which is the continuous sense of the presence of God, godly fear in this presence, and the unwavering desire to please Him at all times, in every circumstance, albeit in a way appropriate to our station in life.   

The twisted religiosity that St. Theophan describes in his commentary today is not that of a nominal Christian, but that of one who is knowledgeable and consciously committed.  The saint is addressing us, the churchgoing sort of people who read the sort of books that saints write; he is not talking to the “cultural Christians” who just show up for name’s day and Slava parties, baptisms, weddings, and funerals.  The latter crowd are really lost.  But we can be lost too, by doing the dangerous thing the saint describes:  erecting a comfortable routine of religious behavior that we set up as a wall between us and real conversion.  You know how that works:  “All right, God:  I say x prayers, I confess and commune x times per year, and I give x to the Church, and I do x good works.  Now leave me alone!”  

Fortunately for us, God does not leave us alone:  He keeps inspiring in the heart a loneliness, an ache, a feeling of incompleteness and dissatisfaction with our worldly mediocrity, a desire to be set afire by the flame of the divine eros.  On the other hand, as St. Theophan points out, we can at some point harden our hearts so utterly as to be lost forever.   And this can happen in this life, even before death.  Heaven and hell both start here.   

The way to avoid this terrible inner death is the struggle for continual – and, ultimately, continuous –  inner prayer of the mind and heart, which alone converts the inner man and detaches him from the world.  This is a divine gift, of course, beyond our power, but the good news is that the Lord wants to give it to us.  There is an excerpt from another of St. Theophan’s writings that Hegumen Chariton of Valaam quotes in his collection, The Art of Prayer, which I believe I have quoted before, but it bears repeating:  

Gather yourself together in the heart, and there practice secret meditation.  By this means, with the help of God’s grace, the spirit of zeal will be maintained in its true character – burning sometimes less and sometimes more brightly.  Secret meditation sets our feet on the path of inner prayer, which is the most direct way to salvation.  We may leave all else and turn only to this work, and all will be well.  Conversely, if we fulfill all other duties and neglect this one task we shall bear no fruit.  – The Art of Prayer, pp. 77-78

Let us take these wise words to heart and dedicate a portion of every day to what the saint terms “secret meditation,” that is, the repetition of a short prayer or verse, with the struggle for attention, asking the Lord for the grace of true inner prayer.   We must be detached from this world at some point, whether we like it or not, for we are all going to die.   Better to begin living in Paradise now, through prayer, by our own free will and God’s grace, than to love this world with all our heart and find it suddenly wrenched away from us, against our will, by sudden misfortune or an unprepared death.   

Let us not look back but forward, to the Kingdom of God. 

Wednesday of the Ninth Week of Luke

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The reading from the Holy Gospel today is Luke 15: 1-10.

At that time, there drew near unto Jesus all the publicans and sinners for to hear him. And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them. And he spake this parable unto them, saying, What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance. Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost. Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.

St. Theophan the Recluse takes our Lord’s words in the Gospel today both to comfort and to warn us. He comforts us by reminding us how God Himself, the Almighty and All-Wise, is doing everything He can at every moment for our salvation, and he warns us by reminding us that, if we keep putting off repentance…then, one day, at a time we know not, it shall be too late, and we shall not even notice that we have lost our souls:

…The Lord seeks a sinner by guiding him to repentance. He arranges everything around him so that the sinner comes to his senses and, seeing the abyss into which he has been rushing, returns. All the circumstances of life are directed in this way – all encounters with moments of sorrow and joy, even words and glances. And the inner actions of God through the conscience and the other righteous feelings that lie in the heart never cease. How much is done to convert sinners to the path of virtue, yet sinners still remain sinners! The enemy covers them in darkness, and they think that everything is all right, and all will pass. If anxieties arise, they say, “Tomorrow I’ll stop,” but they remain in their current state. Thus day after day passes; indifference to their salvation grows and grows. A bit more and it will pass over into being hardened in sin. Who knows whether conversion will come? – Thoughts for Each Day of the Year, p. 257

There is a constant paradox running throughout the entire New Testament: Salvation is easy – “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.” “Everyone who calls upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved.” “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Salvation is hard – “The kingdom of heaven is taken by violence.” “Strait is the gate and narrow the way that leadeth to salvation, and few find it.” “Work out your salvation in fear and trembling.”

Salvation is easy. Salvation is hard. Both are true.

Salvation is easy, because it is the work of God Himself, Who is All-Wise, All-Good, and All-Loving, and, moreover, is All-Powerful. His infinite and perfect wisdom is not only truth but also enables our weak minds to know His truth. His infinite and perfect goodness is not only the true good but also strengthens our weak wills to fulfill His commandments. His perfect, boundless, and eternal love is not only worthy of all love in return, but it also inspires our hearts with an unquenchable desire to behold the beauty of His countenance. He desires our salvation infinitely more than we do, and He has done, is doing, and will do everything for us. He is everything to us.

Salvation is hard, because God, desiring our free friendship, allows us to make it so if we so choose. Our first parents made it hard for all of us by the ancestral sin. And, despite the fact that Christ has overcome their sin in Himself and has given us every grace to overcome it in ourselves, we go on making it hard for ourselves, because we choose not to pay attention to what God has done for us, what He is doing for us, and what He shall most certainly do for us in the future and in eternity, if only we let Him. We choose to imprison ourselves in a dark cave, the incomprehensible blindness of fallen human nature.

“Today, if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts,” says David in the Psalms. Today, this moment, let us violently extract our minds from their infantile fascination with the vain and absurd epiphenomena of man’s vain strivings and lift them up above, where Christ sits at the right hand of God. Do something, anything: Read a psalm, say a prayer rope, take a walk and bless the Lord for His glorious creation. Kneel in repentance and cry to God to awaken you from the deadly state of insensibility, which the Fathers teach us is more dangerous even than great and obvious sins. He awaits you with love. Run to Him with all daring trust in His mercy.

How delightful! To be with God. What are we waiting for?

Saturday of the 8th Week of Luke

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The reading from the Holy Gospel today is Luke 9: 37-43.

At that time, it came to pass, that on the next day, when they were come down from the hill, much people met Jesus. And, behold, a man of the company cried out, saying, Master, I beseech thee, look upon my son: for he is mine only child. And, lo, a spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out; and it teareth him that he foameth again, and bruising him hardly departeth from him. And I besought thy disciples to cast him out; and they could not. And Jesus answering said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you, and suffer you? Bring thy son hither. And as he was yet a coming, the devil threw him down, and tare him. And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the child, and delivered him again to his father. And they were all amazed at the mighty power of God. 

The “hill” in this passage is Mount Tabor, and “they” are the Lord with Peter, James and John. They have just come down from the mountain after the Lord’s Transfiguration.   The apostles’ joy at beholding the Lord in glory before their very eyes had caused Peter to ask if they could not perhaps pitch little tents for Christ to dwell there with Moses and Elias, and all of them could just stay there for a bit: “Lord, it is good for us to be here.”  This, however, was not to be, for Christ had yet to go forth and complete His awesome exploit for our salvation.   They had had to descend the mountain.

When they come down, immediately they find distressing evidence that fallen man does indeed need a Savior: a boy possessed by an evil spirit.   The Lord does quite easily, with but a word, what the disciples could not, delivering the child from the devil and giving him back again, healed and whole, to his father.   He verifies by divine power the words of the Father heard on the mountain: “This is my beloved Son.”

We do not understand our real situation unless we fully comprehend and accept the reality that this world we live in is fallen. It is occupied by billions of sinful men whom we can see,  who, apart from divine intervention, would keep doing evil willy-nilly till the end of time off their own bat, with no encouragement to do so whatsoever.  This world is also occupied by multitudes of malignant spirits whom we cannot see,  who far outnumber the men and are far more powerful than they, constantly aggravating each man’s tendency to sin in a thousand artful ways, occupying men’s minds and even their bodies.   Out of His mercy and love for man, the Lord closed the spiritual eyes of our first parents after the Fall, and subsequently those of all their descendants, so that we cannot see these horrible creatures. But there they are.

This realization should, to put it mildly, give us a sober outlook on life. It puts all of our Orthodox customs and practices into the only context in which they make sense: this short earthly life as an arena for spiritual combat. When understood fully, it confronts us with The Choice: God or the devil, heaven or hell.   There is no Third Way, no separate peace. No one is allowed to sit this one out.

The Good News is that the billions of devils are outnumbered by One – the Almighty God Who created them and holds them in unbreakable chains, subject to His sovereign will. This One loves us, and He has done, is doing, and will do everything for our salvation.   We have only to believe in Him as He desires to be believed in, worship Him as He desires to be worshipped, and serve Him as He desires to be served.   This belief, this worship, and this way of life constitute what we call Orthodoxy.   They are the invincible armor and irresistible weapons that enable us to overcome the World, the Flesh and the Devil. By the infinite power of the infinite God, Who also sends His holy angels to give us good thoughts, strengthen our wills for the good, and defeat the demons, we can deflect anything the bad guys throw at us.

Soon we shall begin the holy fast for the Lord’s Nativity.   What a wonderful and simple weapon the Lord through Holy Church has given us: to deny ourselves in this very basic, very simple way, and so in simple and humble obedience acquire His grace to overcome our invisible foes. In both St. Matthew’s and St. Mark’s account of the exorcism related above by St. Luke, the Lord afterwards explains to the disciples that “this kind” (i.e., this type of creature, a demon) cannot be cast out except by prayer and fasting. When we fast, we are joining ourselves to the Lord Himself, Who as a man really and truly fasted while on earth. When we pray, we are uniting ourselves to Christ, Who as a man really and truly prayed to His heavenly Father.   What an immeasurable honor – to do as the God-Man did!   What invincible weapons – those wielded by the God-Man Himself!   With Him, we cannot fail.

Let us “serve the Lord with fear and rejoice in Him with trembling (Ps. 2).” We live in godly fear until the end of our earthly pilgrimage, and we simultaneously rejoice, living in hope of our eventual victory.   May the Lord, Who revealed our true destiny in His Transfiguration, give us the grace to serve Him in prayer and fasting this Nativity Fast and all the days of this temporal life, so that we may tabernacle with Him on the summit of the heavenly Sion, where our vision of His beauty will have no end.

Friday of the 8th Week of St. Luke

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The reading from the Holy Gospel today is Luke 13: 31-35

At that time, the same day there came certain of the Pharisees, saying unto him, Get thee out, and depart hence: for Herod will kill thee. And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected. Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

The Pharisees imagined they could frighten the God-Man with the threat of Herod’s evil intentions, but they were mistaken.   He announces calmly that He knows that He will be killed, and that it will happen in Jerusalem, the city that always murdered the prophets.   He also announces that, until this happens, He will continue to “walk,” that is, to carry out His mission of teaching, preaching, healing, casting out devils, and raising the dead – His mission to inaugurate the Kingdom of God.   He is in complete control of the situation, and He is going to His voluntary Passion to fulfill the will of the Father, to fulfill God’s providential plan for our salvation from before the ages.

Today we may feel that matters are out of our control, involving both the Church’s situation and society in general, in many ways that affect our lives directly.  This chaos, however, is limited and temporary – a trial we must pass through, our Golgotha.   We must “set our face towards Jerusalem” as the Lord did (And it came to pass, when the time was come that He should be received up, He steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem – Luke 9:51) – we must voluntarily join ourselves to Him in His Passion.   And, as we resolve to endure whatever the Lord allows for our salvation, we must resolve with equal determination to go about our mission as well, to do the Lord’s work, the Church’s mission.

How does one acquire courage to carry on when the outlook is grim?   Here are three considerations:

Perspective – From God’s point of view – sub specie aeternitatis (from the perspective of eternity) – the entire history of this whole world, much less one’s lifetime, is the blink of an eye.   He is the King of the Ages, the Sovereign of History. All is unfolding according to His plan for our salvation, which He desires infinitely more than we do.   We have only to do our part in history; we have no responsibility for controlling history.   He will arrange everything for our true good.

Consolation in Prayer – When external circumstances are at their worst is precisely the time when consolation in prayer is greatest, if we are faithful to prayer and wholeheartedly resolve to grow closer to God in our trials.   Many Orthodox Christians who suffered in the communist hell of the 20th century testified that ultimately their time in prison, living in the utmost humiliation and deprivation, became the happiest time of their lives, precisely because it was at this time that they experienced what prayer really is and what a human being is really made for – most intimate union with the Lord, Who becomes everything to us when we have lost everything else.   We cannot conceive of the unspeakable consolation such people experienced…but we may have the opportunity to do so in future.   Let us begin now to deepen our life of prayer!  The next time we are anxious over the future course of events, let us turn to a favorite book on prayer and spiritual life that has motivated us in the past, rather than to this or that website to read the latest spin on the absurd epiphenomena of man’s vain strivings.

Love for Others – Typically fear for the future is mixed with self-pity.   Let us forget ourselves and act determinedly each day for the true good of those for whom we are in varying degrees responsible.   A man becomes a good soldier only when he counts his own life as nothing, when he thinks himself already a dead man.   Let us be good soldiers in the Church Militant, counting our lives as nothing, determined to lay down our lives for our friends, in order to practice that love than which there is no greater.   With this option clearly open to us, how can we say that our lives are out of control?

The duty is ours; the consequences are God’s.    Let us set our faces serenely to go to Jerusalem, and on the way, each day, seek simply to know and to do His will.

Wednesday of the 8th Week of Luke

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The reading from the Holy Gospel today is Luke 12: 48-59

The Lord said, For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more. I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I if it be already kindled? But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished! Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division: For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And he said also to the people, When ye see a cloud rise out of the west, straightway ye say, There cometh a shower; and so it is. And when ye see the south wind blow, ye say, There will be heat; and it cometh to pass. Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that ye do not discern this time? Yea, and why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right? When thou goest with thine adversary to the magistrate, as thou art in the way, give diligence that thou mayest be delivered from him; lest he hale thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and the officer cast thee into prison. I tell thee, thou shalt not depart thence, till thou hast paid the very last mite.

Most of us have experienced at least somewhat of the conflict which the Lord here foretold: we endure uneasy, strained, or even broken relationships with family and friends because we have chosen to follow our conscience in regards to the Orthodox Faith regardless of the earthly consequences. When this happens not once but several times, perhaps many times, we can certainly start to feel worn out, alone, and discouraged, and may be tempted to think, “What’s the use? It’s time to throw in the towel.”

It helps greatly, however, as Christ Himself says, to “…discern this time.”   It does not require that one be a clairvoyant elder or a theologian to see that the times we live in are times of extreme spiritual deception coupled with social disintegration of unprecedented scale and rapidity.   When everyone around us is bending to the demonic winds that are blowing, and we do not, they are bound to think us uncongenial.   Their discomfort in our presence, however, does not amount to an argument for the validity of their choices.

In order to deal with the constant, kaleidoscopically shifting changes going on around us, you should start with the question: “Do I still believe as I have always believed?”   If the answer is “Yes,” proceed to the next question, “Am I acting according to my conscience, to the best of my ability, God helping me?”   If the answer is “Yes,” then be at peace. As the saying goes, “Either they’re crazy or I’m crazy, and I know that I am not crazy.”

When we are tempted to sentimental or humanistic solutions to theological and philosophical disagreements over what is real and what is not, we need to crucify emotions, imagination, and curiosity, fall down before the holy icons in our prayer corner, and abandon ourselves entirely to God’s Providence, placing everyone we love in His hands.   There really are no halfway solutions, and we cannot make a separate peace in order to escape the inescapable: the conflict between truth and falsehood, between good and evil, between the real and that which is pretending to be real.

There is an old Latin expression: Esse quam videri, “To be rather than to seem.” In regard to where the path to salvation lies, let us desire steadfastly reality over appearance, as the gap between the two widens daily.

Here is a suggestion: When asking God for discernment in regards to your situation in life, read the Seventeenth Kathisma (Psalm 118 in the Church’s numbering, beginning “Blessed are the blameless in the way…”), and struggle for attention while reading. May the Lord, through this holy practice, grant all of us clarity of mind and peace of heart!

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Monday of the 8th Week of St. Luke

The reading from the Holy Gospel today is Luke 12: 13-15, 22-31

And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me. And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you? And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment. Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls? And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit? If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest? Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith? And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.

We all believe the Lord’s words, of course, but at the same time words like these put us to shame – we know that we do not live them.   How do we acquire all-daring trust in the Lord to provide for us, and with this trust acquire also detachment from our money, property, and other material resources? How do we obey God’s command to work hard and take care of our families while simultaneously not worrying about what we are to eat or drink or wear?   Here are a number of suggestions:

First: Every day, dedicate your work and your financial decisions to God. Say, “O Lord, today I work for Thy glory. Guide my thoughts, decisions, and actions, so that in all that I do, and in all of my management of my family’s resources, I am acting for your glory and for the salvation of those for whom I am responsible, and not merely from worldly concerns.”

Second: Every day, pray for more faith: “O Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief!”

Third: Tithe. When any income comes in, turn right around and give one-tenth of that amount to the support of the Church. You will soon be relieved of anxiety and receive the grace of freedom from cares, and often  you will even start doing better financially (though of course this is not guaranteed, despite what the “prosperity Gospel” preachers say). The Lord frequently consoles us, even in this life, when we show more faith in Him.

Fourth: Give thanks to God for all things, especially when your affairs are not prospering.   Pray earnestly for the insight to understand how even the most difficult problems are for your salvation.

Fifth: If you have helped someone, especially if they have borrowed money from you, and they have not shown appropriate thanks, or have not paid you back, let go. Forgive and forget.   Set your heart firmly on receiving your reward from the Lord.   Pray for the grace of complete forgiveness.   If in future a relative or a brother in the Faith comes to you to borrow money – do not lend money. Give freely what you can afford to give, and absolutely do not expect repayment.   In this way your heart will be free to love your brother.

May our All-Provident and All-Wise Lord grant us the grace of freedom from cares! May our hearts be set on His Kingdom above all the things of this world, and may He lead us all alike to life everlasting.

Thursday of the 6th Week of St. Luke

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The reading from the Holy Gospel today is Luke 11: 14-23.

At that time, Jesus was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. And it came to pass, when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake; and the people wondered. But some of them said, He casteth out devils through Beelzebub the chief of the devils. And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven. But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth. If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub. And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges. But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you. When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils. He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth.

St. Theophan the Recluse explains thus:

“When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils.” This allegory explains how demonic power over souls is destroyed by the Lord. While a soul is in sin, its evil spirit possesses it, although it may not always be clearly demonstrated. The evil spirit is stronger than the soul, and this is why it does not fear an uprising on the soul’s part. It rules and tyrannizes over it without resistance. But when the Lord comes to a soul, attracted by faith and repentance, He tears apart all of Satan’s bonds, casts out the demon, and deprives it of all power over this person’s soul. While this soul serves the Lord, the demons cannot prevail over it, for the soul is strong through the Lord, Who is stronger than they are. When the soul takes a false step and roams away from the Lord, the demon again attacks and overcomes it, and for the soul, the poor thing, the last state is worse than before. This is the general, unseen order of what occurs in the spiritual world. If only the eyes of our mind were opened, we would see the worldwide battle of spirits against souls: first one side, then the other overcomes, depending upon whether the soul communes with the Lord through faith, repentance, and zeal for good works, or falls back from Him through carelessness, lack of concern, and coolness towards doing good. – Thoughts for Each Day of the Year, pp. 239-240

Here we have in a nutshell the Orthodox way of looking at reality: What is really going on around us is an invisible warfare for souls.   The reason we True Orthodox are so keen on preserving the confession of the Faith is that without it we do not have power from the Lord to break communion with Satan.   The primary reason society today is falling apart – or, rather, is being grotesquely chopped up and sewed back together again by possessed power-freaks, Frankenstein-style, into something horrible and unrecognizable – is not to be found in visible causes but in the invisible cause: the withdrawal of God’s grace because of apostasy. When this grace is withdrawn, the demons have full access to men’s souls, and all of the insane social developments now foisted on us with mind-numbing rapidity are simply the logical outcome of this.

People ask, “With so many bad things happening in the world, why are you True Orthodox so pre-occupied with the purity of Orthodoxy and the problem of Ecumenism?”

We answer, “You have answered your own question. It is the apostasy of the recently but now formerly Orthodox bishops which has opened the floodgates of demonic possession of the entire human race. The Church is not something ‘just for us,’ a little club where we and our family and friends can feel happy. The Church is the charity of the world, the gate of grace for the whole cosmos, the true home of every human soul, the Mother and Teacher of the Nations.   When Her presence in the world is obscured, when Her influence is denied, when Her witness is hard to find, then all men suffer, not only those called ‘Eastern Orthodox.’   She creates strong families and mighty nations, but when She is denied, first the nation and then the family dies, for dead souls cannot build up or sustain either the nation or the family. The Orthodox nations were the clean house purified from demons by the Lord, and they were a bulwark holding back Satan, but now they have invited seven worse – or rather a legion worse – to enter, and there will be hell to pay, not only in those nations but in the whole world, including America.”

That being said, we need not fear or be gloomy. Indeed, we are not allowed to be, for God is with us.   He holds the demons in chains even yet, by His sovereign might, for the sake of those who are faithful to Him. He gives the demons leave to control man only when man turns away from God.   Let us then be faithful!   Come what may, the Lord will never abandon us, if only we be loyal to Him!

We then need to recognize that life is indeed this invisible warfare, that the primary weapons are spiritual, and that we have to fight unto death.   No other approach to life has ever really made more sense than this, but today it should be starkly obvious. So what is the plan?

1. We have to start with a pure confession of Faith, unmixed with any heresy, and this is why we have to flee the lapdog bishops of the One-World establishment and place ourselves under the few truly orthodox bishops that are left.   You cannot be a real Orthodox under a heretical or apostate bishop and hierarchy. There is no precedent for this, there is no sense in this, and there is no possibility for this, apart from a miracle we have no right to demand from God. Your faith IS the same as that of the hierarchy your clergy receive their ordination from, regardless of your or your spiritual father’s private opinion. No individual “good priest” or “good parish” or “holy elder” is going to save you if your chief hierarch and synod are apostates. We are not Protestants in an invisible church. We are not congregationalists or presbyterians or monastery-groupies or elder-followers or individualists. We are members of the organic, visible, continuously existing and continuously united One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.
2. On the basis of a pure confession of Faith and membership in the real Church, we must build a life of Orthodox piety, with unremitting spiritual work on ourselves: fasting, prayer, spiritual reading, cutting out sinful behavior and sinful distractions, serious family life based on the Church calendar, the whole nine yards.   We have to devote ourselves, sacrifice ourselves, to work with the bishops and priests we have, to build parish life and monastic life as best we can in the circumstances given us. The time for the nominal Orthodox is gone. Make no mistake, the trend is undeniable in the ethnic Orthodox parishes of America: In every generation, there are fewer “customers” than in the previous generation. The people who treat the Church like a sacrament-dispensing service and social club, a pleasant enrichment of a comfortable worldly life, with picturesque rituals provided by a salaried cultic functionary to “meet my needs” are a vanishing demographic. Why bother to live like that anyway? It’s looking like we are going to have a country full of out-and-out pagans, with a few real Christians here and there. Choose which you want to be.
3. While all this is going on, always remember: We cannot rely on ourselves!   This is God’s work!   The duty is ours – the consequences are God’s.   Stay the course no matter what, and place all-daring trust in Him alone!   Be of good cheer, for the Lord has already overcome the world, and we have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

And to the angel of the church of Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. Behold, I come quickly; hold fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.

         He that hath an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches (Revelation 3:7-13).

Come, Lord Jesus