St Peters Orthodox Church

Today's Gospel reading from St. Luke 18 shares the testimony of Christ our God healing the blind man, Bartimaeus, near Jericho. As our Lord approaches Jericho, Bartimaeus cries out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me." Some in the crowd tried to quiet him, so he cried out even louder, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me." Bartimaeus would not let this moment go wasted where the only One who could heal was passing by. We must learn something so important from Bartimaeus. The prayer he prayed was is known as the Jesus Prayer. Today we examine both this prayer and the disposition of this blessed man who needed Christ's help and mercy. It is the authentic cry for mercy from the heart of God's children that attracts our Lord; a very real need that He is delighted to fulfill.

In agriculture, we know that the success or failure of a harvest is largely dependent on the health of the soil into which seeds are planted. Our Lord Jesus Christ uses this very truth when He tells the Parable of the Sower in the Gospel of St. Luke 8. Jesus sows seeds of His life and salvation. But He mentions three types of soil that prevented the seed from blossoming to life and growing the intended harvest. Today, as we continue in our weeks of preparation for Great Lent, we inspect the soil of our soul. What is it in us that stands in the way of the seed planted by Christ growing into the harvest of His life and salvation within our soul? It is time for us to seek the Lord so that we may join ourselves to Him in cultivating healthy soil within our soul.

Three to four years after Pentecost, the Apostle St. Peter left Jerusalem to go to Antioch. There he would oversee churches of that region for seven years. St. Peter was the first Bishop and Patriarch of the Antioch as he sat upon the "cathedra", the chair, in Antioch. Today we remember the Icon that the chair is to us and what it reveals to us. But as we are in the weeks of preparation for Great Lent, we look at the life of St. Peter to see true Christian repentance; the repentance that brings us to the mercy and restoration of Christ our God.

In the Gospel of St. Matthew 20, we hear Jesus tell the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard. Jesus tells us that the landowner comes to those in 11th hour and asks, "Why do you stand here idle all day?" And he calls them to labor in the vineyard. All who are in Christ are called to labor in His vineyard to produce a great harvest. But what is this labor? We are not called to labor so that we earn our salvation. No, our labor is both a labor within our own souls; a constant movement toward Christ and to cast away all things that stand in the way of our relationship with Him. So, here in the 11th hour, why do we stand in the vineyard idle all day?

In our Gospel reading from St. Matthew 13, Jesus tells the parable of the wheat and the tares. It is a parable teaching us about the last days, the days from Christ's Incarnation until He comes again at His 2nd coming. And it also reveals an eschatological reality, a revelation of that 2nd coming and what Christ will do. Our focus today is learning what Christ through His Church has taught about living in this last age as wheat among the tares of this world.

Today is the Feast of the Presentation of Christ to the Temple/The Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary. On this day, according to God's Law, Joseph and Mary present Christ to the priest in the Temple. There, Simeon who was told he would not die until He had seen the Lord's Christ, takes Jesus into His arms. In that moment, Simeon held in His arms the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. What a wonder this is to consider. That which was invisible could now be seen. And He Who was untouchable could not be touched and touch humanity. From the Incarnation forward, God has come to be experienced and known by all.

Jesus first miracle was the miraculous transformation of water into wine in the jars of clay at the wedding feast in Cana. The Early Church Fathers teach us that this miracle done in the presence of His disciples showed the reason for the Incarnation. That we, the jars of clay as St. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4, are so completely transformed within by the healing work of Christ that we become earthen vessels distributing the blessedness of Christ to every soul around us.

Last week we considered this truth: by the wisdom and power of Christ, the Church has become the continuing Epiphany of God to mankind for the salvation of souls. How is this possible? How does God manifest Himself through us? Today we consider these two questions.

As we are in the Octave of Epiphany, we remember that Epiphany means the revelation or manifestation of God to man; in this case through the Christ child. St. Paul teaches something profound in Ephesians 3 when he says that the manifold wisdom of God is now made known through the Church. By God's wisdom, from Pentecost to the end of this age, we are the continuing Epiphany of God to this world and to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places. What an incredible thought. So how shall we live in order that God's will be done through us. We present ourselves to God and we offer ourselves to God. There we see Him and know Him and are transformed into His likeness for the world to see.

The Feast of the Circumcision of our Lord celebrates the 8th day of our Lord's life. On that day He is obedient to the Law of Moses in being circumcised. It is also on that day that the father was to give the child a name. Joseph gives Him the Name that is above all other names. He names Him Jesus in obedience to God through the message of an angel. Circumcision is fulfilled by Baptism in the new and eternal covenant. When we are Baptized, we are both washed clean and given a new name. Our new name is an adopted child of God.

Naming was very important both among the Hebrew people of the Old Covenant as well as those in the secular world outside of God's covenant. The Name reveals the identity of a person. The Name of Jesus literally means deliverer and Savior. Here at the turn of both the calendar year and near the beginning of the liturgical year, the Name of Jesus is set before us. Will we receive the revelation of Who He really is into our lives? Those who do so will find transformation throughout their lives.

When the world was in darkness, Christ our God leaped down from His throne and came to us. He leaped down so that we may rise up. St. Paul, in Galatians 4, tells us that by His coming to us we have become adopted sons and daughters of God. We have been brought through Christ into a family order here on earth established by God to heal and transform all of us. As we live in that order, we become the nature of the God Who ordered it all. Today we look at the virtue of God's humility. We grow in this virtue of humility as we live life in this blessed family. And, the practice of this virtue changes us as we become the love of our Heavenly Father.

We say as a foundational point of the Christian faith, "God became man and dwelled among us." But do take moments to consider the realities of what it truly means that God became man. At ever point of His life, from His conception to His death, He entered into every suffering of fallen mankind. He willed Himself to suffer our entire existence that He might relieve us of our sufferings from the fall of man. Tonight, at the First Mass of Christmas, we ask God to reveal to us just how far He lowered Himself so that we may be raised up.

From our Introit in the Mass this day, "Let the earth open and bring forth a Savior. O Lord, raise up, we pray Thee Thy power, and with great might succor us." That word succor means this, "Lord, come with your strength to aid we who are so weak and in need. Come and help us." The Prophet Isaiah in chapter 40 says that this help and strength comes to those who wait upon the Lord. But what does it mean to wait upon the Lord? It does not mean that, in time, we wait for a God who is distant from our moments to come from afar to us to help us. It means, that He has already joined Himself to us and His strength is ever-present.

The Mass for the Third Sunday of Advent is given the title rejoice. It is a day to remember the great works of Christ our God on our behalf. And, as we do, it is a day for our souls to be lightened and lifted as we offer thanksgiving to our God. Praise, thanksgiving to God, is most certainly a spiritual discipline; one through which Christ our God reveals Himself to us and lets us know just how close He is to us at all times. Today we consider how the discipline of rejoicing in God is a path for our soul to open and encounter Him. Every encounter with God, ever Divine revelation of Himself to us is indeed a path to experience true joy.

Saints Joachim & Anna lived their entire adult life bearing the shame of barrenness as they could not conceive a child. Daily they asked God to grant them mercy by providing them a child. God gave them beyond what they could ever ask or imagine. He not only gave them a child, but their child would be the Mother of Christ our God. They were given mercy beyond all hope as St. Anna became pregnant at such an old age. We are all given mercy and being granted salvation beyond all hope.

We often think that our greatest problem is that we are filled with sin which is the source of our addictions, idolatries, and disorders. While sin is a problem that creates a great deal of suffering in our lives, it is not the problem. The problem is that our lives are not filled with Christ. Today we go back to the basics of salvation. We need mercy and healing. Jesus has come to grant both and is the only One Who can do so. If we would only live a life that allows Christ to fill it. All things, then, would be made new.

Today is the Sunday Next Before Advent, the one week we prepare to enter into this blessed season. In Advent, we prepare for the coming of Christ both at His birth and at His second and final coming where every soul will be brought before Him. It seems appropriate that we consider the nature of the One Who comes to delivers us. What is the heart of our Savior toward all of us who are oppressed by the results of the fall of mankind? If we saw clearly Christ's disposition toward us, we would run to Him for our healing, renewal, and relief.

Advent is a season of preparation. But what is Christian preparation? Today we see the truth that everything our Lord has called us to do in order to prepare ourselves for His coming is truly the preparation of the soul to open itself to the Divine experience of Christ our God.

How distracted we get by the non-eternal things of this world when joys beyond compare are there to be had by all in Christ our God and His Kingdom now manifest to us in the earth. The contentment to our discontent lies only in one place; making our dwelling place under His wings where we find our refuge. Today we are reminded that when we take our eyes off of Christ, we descend into the madness of the world and manifest our own brokenness therein. But when we pursue Christ and make Him that dwelling place, we ascend by His Divine grace where to see Him and come to know Him. And as we do, we manifest Christ and His Kingdom in the world around us.