Redeeming The Time

Exegesis of a Doxastikon (theological hymn of praise about the Theotokos and the incarnation) for the feast of the Annunciation, which was sung on the Eve of the Saturday of Lazarus. This hymn links the two feasts, and all the great feasts. It is the "mystery hidden from before time began," and explains exactly what the incarnation accomplished. We never think of the Theotokos without the incarnation, and what the incarnation consisted of and what it accomplished - sinful man can become a god! We explain this audacious, but scriptural transformation - from a deceived man, a failure, to a god. This hymn is one of the best examples, but still only one of hundreds which explain the incarnation and salvation to the faithful who read the services and are zealous to hear the hymns, interrupting their daily routines in order to hear about the bread from heaven.

A synthesis of the two Gospels read today (Mark 10:32-45 and then Luke 7:36-50), and two saints very similar in essence, although different in external life: Mary of Egypt, and Nectarios of Aegina. In proving their similarity, we discuss the sin of "stony insensibility," and that we MUST suffer if we are to be true Christians (and what this suffering ALWAYS must entail, regardless of whether we suffer in any "physical" or other ways, such as the martyrs, St. Mary and St. Nectarios did). We also discuss humility, and being a servant, as illustrated in the amazing life of St. Nectarios, and the comparison of St. Mary with the woman "who was a sinner," who truly loved our Lord. The crux of the similarity between these two saints, and all who love God is the enigmatic saying of our Lord: "Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little." Here, two kinds of love are described, and we must possess both, if we are to truly be Christians.

The epistle for St John Climacus, from Ephesians 5:9-19, is intended to describe the things the holy do and the attainments they accomplish, and in the context of the Great Fast, it is also a superb summation of the purpose of Great Lent, and the difference between a Saint and a regular person. Since all Saints have common features, somehow, stories about St. Nectarios of Aegina get worked into the exegesis of the selection, and also advice about how to live circumspectly, in our modern world, which is very hostile to quietness and reflection.

On the Sunday of the Adoration of the Precious Cross, we hear the words: "Whosoever will come after me..." These words presuppose that we know our purpose, and have made a free decision to order our life in a certain way. In this world, such a decision is rare. Those who make this decision (and only those) understand the following life-giving command: "let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." Such a person understands what "denial" is. The world does not understand. Worldly Christians do not understand. Only a Christian who has decided to follow Christ, and continues to "decide" understands this "denial." It is recognizing what is bad, and not doing it, and the taking up of the Cross is obedience to the commandments, with all of one's strength. Mark 8:34-9:1

Life is a continual struggle over obstacles, most of which are from ourselves. We must react to the grace God gives us. Most of this reaction is apparently mundane things. We must know what is most important in our life. Reacting to the grace of God is just doing the next right thing. Mark 2:1-12

The encounter between Nathaniel and Jesus is read on the Sunday of Orthodoxy. Why? To know this we must describe a little bit about this Sunday and why icons are important and theologically correct, and the various "senses" of scripture - the theological, allegorical, instructional, practical and, especially the moral sense. If we do not know the moral sense of scripture, we have no profit. We explore the "moral sense" of the question "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" and the encouraging answer: "Come and see." Great Lent is the time when we struggle to obey this command, with great expectation. John 1:43-51

Why do we read this Gospel on the threshold of Great Lent? Why do we have Great Lent? What should be our goal? This Gospel is a type on "Instruction Manual" for Great Lent. There are three lessons. They incorporate fasting, forgiveness, and treasure. Why do we fast? Why MUST we forgive? The answers may not be so obvious to some. Matthew 6:14-21

Exegesis of Romans 13:11-14, with emphasis of its application to the struggle and JOY of Great Lent. Some people say: "Oh no, Great Lent is coming!" This is not the opinion of the Apostle Paul, or the church. In Great Lent we should feel more alive. It is a time of God entering into our hearts a little more than other times of the year, because of our greater focus and struggle. Expect God to visit you during Great Lent, and to change in some way. We learn to regard ourselves correctly, to not think of ourselves too highly.

The parable of the Publican and the Pharisee. Life is simple. If you know a few simple things, and do them, you will be saved. A description of the complex ways of sin, modeled by the verbosity and judgment of the Pharisee, and the simplicity of righteousness, as shown by the publican.

Learning from the bad and the good in the gospels. What is the purpose of Great Lent, and how do we go about achieving it? The story of Zacchaeus (this is our story!), along with all the other gospels on the Sundays before Great Lent teaches that we can only give a little bit of good to God, but if we give what we have (with faith, and of course, effort), he will magnify our small effort, and it will always be greater than the bad we do. We must give something. We also take note of the sin of the Pharisees and how it makes a person unable to be saved, not matter whatever good or bad they do. Luke 19:1-10

Simply put, for the Christian who has faith and EFFORT, even his small amount of good will always beat bad.

Exegesis of the Epistle Reading for the Sunday after Theophany (Ephesians 4:7-13), with emphasis on our only task in life, made possible because of baptism—becoming human. According to the words of the Apostle, "the grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ (begun at baptism) leads us to the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." This is the process of becoming fully human. In the perfect man, Jesus Christ, there is no sin or dark passions, and we will get there because we are able.

Theophany, based on the theology of St Gregory Palamas (Homily 60), and not only his theology, but the theology of the Church. An exposition of the Gospel read on Theophany, Matthew 3:13-17. The baptism of John contrasted with Christian baptism. The difference between the baptism of Christ and all the others John baptized. What did Jesus mean when he said, "Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness"? Our baptism requires many things from us. It makes us capable of all of these things. An important segue about the weakness of our age and struggle in the Christian life, and that struggle and success are not synonymous, and that we must be kind and never give up, or we will not be saved, no matter what other virtues we may have.

Purpose of Baptism: Searching for the image which had been buried by sin and the passions and restoring it and adorning it. Exegesis of a verse in the Canon for the Forefeast of Theophany. "Thou didst light Thy precious flesh like a lamp in the midst of the Jordan, O Christ, and didst search for Thine image which had been buried by sin and the passions; and finding it, Thou didst adorn it with Thy baptism, O Good One. Wherefore, we hymn Thee." (Ode 7) As we leisurely explain this hymn, we touch on the personality of the Gospel of Mark, a definition of the Gospel, the purpose of baptism, some of the scriptural allusions in this hymn, and - how do we apply it all?

A discussion about Joseph, especially a comparison of the reaction of Zacharias, Mary and Joseph to their revelation from an angel. We see the great nobility of Joseph and that he was a holy and just man, and knew prayer of the heart. A discussion about the names “Jesus” and “”Christ,” and especially “Emmanuel,” and therefore the true meaning of the Nativity of Christ, for a Christian, in his daily life, moment by moment. In this explanation, we describe mercy and a fundamental difference between Eastern and Western Theology.

Bad theology leads to bad actions. The Western conception of Jesus is as a victim, and a passive man. He was not! We must be like the Christ we worship. We must be aggressive, and even violent. We define what this aggression and violence is and give an example that should be familiar to all—prayer in the Divine Liturgy—and explain about the sole purpose of the liturgy and role of the priest and the people in the liturgy, and that neither is more important that the other. If everyone prayed in the liturgy with violence, there would be flame!

Why do we pray for the dead? Because of the Resurrection. Jesus explains this very clearly in His answer to the Jews who asked him about the woman who had 7 husbands (Luke 21:12-19). As we talked about this, the best two answers to the question "What is different between Orthodox and (fill in your Christian denomination here) came out. They involve the Resurrection and mercy. We also talked at length about what the purpose of liturgy is and the first three secret prayers the priest prays. He prays with more intensity, since he is in front of the altar, but we all must learn how to pray as these prayers. These prayers answer the common question I get: "What prayer can I pray for (fill in the blank).

There should have been TWO healings when the woman with an infirmity of 18 years was healed! The ruler of the synagogue should have been healed of his "precious opinions." Why was he not healed? What must we do to be healed? Luke 13:10-17

On feasts of the Theotokos, such as her Entrance, which we celebrate today, we read a concatenated reading from Saint Luke (Luke 10:38-42; 11:27-28). Information is USELESS unless it changes the way you live. We will talk about her great virtue: “But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part”. We MUST choose this good part to be saved, and it is actually a choice between life and death, moment by moment.

The Parable of the Good Samaritan is read just before the Nativity Fast begins, because it is a beautiful, complete description of the Incarnation, using symbolic language. It is also the answer to the question "Who is my neighbor." This parable, if we understand it, teaches us who we are, and what the Incarnation did. If this knowledge abides in our heart, we know ourselves and easily can answer the question. If a man does not know himself he CANNOT know his neighbor.