Lazarus, come forth!

Let us discuss the story of Lazurus whom our Lord raised from the dead and how it affects us.

We read -  Then they took away the stone  from the place  where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up  His  eyes and said,  “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.  And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.” Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice,  “Lazarus, come forth!” And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them,  “Loose him, and let him go.” (John 11:41-44 NKJV)

Were we not all dead in our sin before Jesus Christ called us forth from the darkness into the light? Lazarus was dead in a tomb, representing our state before heeding to the calling of Christ. As Lazarus was physically dead we too were spiritually dead and it was Christ who searched for us and called us from the darkness. We read - “What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying?  And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. (Matthew 18:12, 13 NKJV) As Lazarus was called by Christ he heeded to His voice and came forth from darkness, so too, it is up to us to heed His voice and come forth from darkness and death into new life.

And what of Christ's words "Loose him, and let him go" is this not what Christ commands satan once we step into the shining light of Christ? "Loose him\her" He commands the enemy and begrudgingly the adversary lets us go. As Lazarus was given new life, we too, are given new life and it is then up to us to thank, follow and worship the Lord for His marvellous dispensation toward us. Lest we fall into a trap and remember not the glorious calling in which we were called and fall back into error, we read - New American Standard Bible (©1995) John 5:14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, "Behold, you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you." So it is imperative that we strive to keep the faith that has been given to us, by which we were called by the Lord to come forth from the darkness. 

Father and Son, Love is sacrificial

As a new dad of about a week, I can only now begin to understand the sacrifice that our Lord God the Father made by sending His only begotten Son to die on our behalf.

We read in John 3:16

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

When my son is crying because he is hungry, I actually feel his pain and begin to feel hurt when I see him looking for food, I can only imagine the pain I would feel if, God forbid, he came down with a cold. How then did God our Father feel whilst watching His beloved Son take a punishment fit for us sinners? I can only imagine the hurt our Father felt watching Jesus hang upon the Cross, but this should make us even more thankful for the sacrifice that our Lord God took upon Himself to defeat sin, death and satan.

Love is sacrificial, true love that flows from the goodness of God is not selfish but rather it "does not seek its own" as the blessed St Paul states. As parents all over the world make sacrifices for their children because of love, we as Christians should seek this love from God to convey it to the rest of humanity. The hurt we feel for for our children we should feel for strangers who have fallen on hard times or are being persecuted, mistreated or abused. Although God loves His Son Jesus Christ, He loves the world so much that He died for us while we were still sinners, we read in Romans 5 -

 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ For one will hardly die for a wicked man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. ⁸ But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. ⁹ Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. ¹⁰ For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. ¹¹ And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

Jesus Christ suffered on our behalf even though we are completely undeserving due to our sinful nature, but He offers us repentance and forgiveness by His Holy and life giving Cross, where he paid the price of shedding every last drop of blood in order to reverse the transgressions of Adam.

This is the epitome of sacrificial love and we should pray, fast and give alms so that the Lord God will see our hearts and begin to dwell within us, and His love will burn the thorns and thistles that attempt to choke our faith. By sacrificing time, money, effort and energy to assist those who do not deserve our love, those who we do not know and possibly despise us, we are following in the footsteps of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Amen

Visit us on facebook

Peace be with you, please visit us on facebook for more inspiring works on the Holy Orthodox Faith.

http://www.facebook.com/groups/sspeterandpaul/

I have been writing and posting up Church Father quotes regarding the faith on the Saints Peter and Paul facebook page. Please visit us!

I will also continue to blog here, it has been a little hectic as we are expecting our first child very shortly, your prayers are greatly appreciated.

God bless.

Shepherd and the sheep

The Lord Jesus likens Himself many times in scripture to a sheep herder or shepherd, in fact we are constantly referred to as His flock or sheep, which signifies many things that we will expound upon.

The Lord Jesus uses the expression 'Shepherd' as a metaphor to bring to light certain truths about Himself and us. A sheep herder would take great care of his flock ensuring their safety by protecting them against predators, and as Jesus is our Shepherd He too protects us from predators, namely wolves. Sheep for the most part are unaware of the dangers that surround them and can do little to protect themselves, our Lord also knows that we are unaware of the invisible spiritual dangers that surround us and He realizes that without a shepherd, much like the sheep, we would be unable to protect ourselves from the enemy.

Furthermore, we must consider the context of the Lord's words, a sheep herder would consider each sheep as valuable as the other due to the monetary return a sheep would bring to the herder. The Lord Jesus also considers each and every sheep that belong to His flock as an extremely valuable and worthy individual that can bring glory to the Shepherd through the good deeds we wrought to both those who are inside and outside the flock.

Considering that a shepherd is ultimately a servant who ensures that the sheep are cared for, fed and stay within sight of the shepherd, it becomes evident what Christ was articulating when stating the following -

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. (John 10:11-15 NKJV)

Although the Lord Jesus is the King of kings, Lord of lords, true God of true God and the Creator of the cosmos, He humbled Himself to the point of servitude literally becoming a shepherd in order to find His sheep who strayed from the flock to bring them back to the sheepfold. Jesus stood amongst wolves and did not waiver, they struck Him but He did not flee, He voluntarily gave His life to save His flock and by so doing He has conquered sin and death forever with an everlasting victory, and because of such an act of love and servitude those who are of the sheepfold and stray not away from the flock will always be in the arms of the loving Shepherd.

Jesus also makes clear that He is not merely a shepherd but that He is the good Shepherd because it was only Jesus who could redeem us and repair the broken image of man, no other prophet, king or judge could redeem us and reconcile us with the living God.

St John Chrysostom states -

A great matter, beloved, a great matter it is to preside over a Church: a matter needing wisdom and courage as great as that of which Christ speaks, that a man should lay down his life for the sheep, and never leave them deserted or naked; that he should stand against the wolf nobly. For in this the shepherd differs from the hireling; the one always looks to his own safety, caring not for the sheep; the other always seeks that of the sheep, neglecting his own.

Beloved, Jesus did not consider himself when being led like a lamb to the slaughter, like a true good shepherd He considered His sheep before He considered Himself, all praise and glory be to His name, let us also become servants and shepherds bringing lost sheep back to the sheepfold being the Church so that they too can be lead by the good Shepherd, Jesus the Christ.

Live the Holy Scriptures

It is prudent and beneficial that as Christians we make ourselves familiar with the Holy Scriptures by regularly reading and meditating on them. By so doing we are exposed to the wonderful fear and reverence that the patriarchs and apostles of the faith held for God and in His Son Jesus Christ. Furthermore, we become acquainted with the Lord by reading and relating to His mercy for sinners, His justice for sin, His love of a sinner, His hate for sin, His compassion towards the oppressed and His anger toward the oppressor. We further learn that God's love for humanity is not only a set of words, principles or beliefs, but rather that He took action and became like us so that we could become like Him.

What I am inferring is that many falsely believe that reading scripture and even memorising scripture is a pathway for salvation, but simply knowing what is written within the Holy Bible is not sufficient in and of its own to save a soul. This reading must be coupled with a willingness to become what sacred scripture teaches, it is prudent to learn what humility is but it is far more excellent to become humble, it is beneficial to know that we must 'Love thy neighbour' it is far more excellent to feed the hungry. God did not simply speak of His love for humanity whilst resting comfortably in the glories of Heaven, He rather became as one of us in order to free us from sin, death and satan because of His love. By so doing, God has purposefully portrayed to us how we ought to be.

But if reading the Bible and coming to church isn't enough then what are we to do? In Second Peter 1:1-4 we read -

1Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: 2Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 3seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. 4For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust

As stated by the blessed Apostle, we must become partakers of the divine nature by not only knowing and understanding sacred scripture but by living it through constant vigil, prayer, fasting, alms giving and practising all manner of righteous virtues in order to receive the grace of God that are His energies, and which will transform your heart, soul and mind. The Grace of God will purify and illuminate you so that you no longer live for yourself but count yourself as dust considering all others before you. This only occurs through action, lip service is not desired by God, He looks into the heart and desires to dwell there and we must ensure that the temple of God (your body) remains clean and holy. We read in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 -

¹⁹ Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? ²⁰ For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.

Woe to us when we desecrate our body whilst the Spirit of the Most High God resides within us, and Praise His name for His mercies and His constant calling for repentance. Let us desire more than biblical knowledge, but let us yearn to acquire wisdom that stems directly from God, let us thirst for the love that is God so that we can love our fellow man and let us hunger for righteousness by destroying our passions and being regenerated by the presence of the Lord within us.

Let us not only read scripture but let us live it, breath it and be it. We must all be a walking, living image of the gospel by the grace of God so that through our light we can bring men to repentance through the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Living in faith

What does it entail and what benefit does one gain by living a life of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ? Are we living in the faith to simply receive such benefits? For if this is the sole reason of our faith then it is prudent to note that such a faith is futile. It is no small matter that the Christians of old suffered severe persecution, such that would make the hardest of men reflect on how such persecutions were carried out by our fellow human beings. By such sufferings these men and women have reaped eternal benefits by rejecting worldly and material benefits that some may view as 'blessings' from God, such was their rejection that they gave their very lives to attain a crown of glory.

It may also be prudent to state that a Christian may not partake in the benefits that faith in the Lord Jesus will bring unless suffering precedes such a benefit. Consider the words of Jesus "if anyone desires to come after Me, let Him deny himself, and take up His cross daily and follow me" Luke 9:23, but what does it imply "to pick up His cross daily" it implies carrying a great burden, it implies struggles over the flesh and over life and the worldly pleasures that please the senses. It also implies that to follow the Lord in faith will cause us to grow weary due to the endless temptations and trials that we will undoubtedly encounter along our journey. If we desire Him who loves us then we must be willing to suffer and put an end to the love of our self. We must kill our desires by resisting all forms of evil and sin, rather than falling a victim to such desires we should beseech the Lord through prayer, fasting and weeping so that He may assist us whilst carrying our cross. If our life as Christians consist of abundant benefits then we must ask ourselves, are we living a life of faith in the Lord Jesus, or are we living a secular life hidden behind a curtain of cliches? Oh wretched men that we are! We speak so eloquently about the Lord but our focus is on wealth, cars and property, our lips confess one thing but our hearts another and we deceive ourselves into believing that such blessings come from the Lord.

Desire those blessings that will allow you to empty your heart so that there is room for the Lord to dwell within, desire trials and sufferings always beseeching the Lord to assist you. How can we claim to be sanctified if we are yet living in our sins? Does a pig not lay in its filth completely satisfied in filling itself with waste? How then if we continue to live with a depraved heart can we claim to be sanctified? But be ever watchful, as the Lord states that "no one knows the day nor the hour" and "He will come like a thief in the night", keep yourself protected by prayer, fasting and giving of alms, reading scripture and always ensure that the Body and Blood of our Lord is taken regularly as by so doing He will "abide in you and you in He". Before benefits through faith are provided, suffering must occur, the Lord Himself suffered before being glorified with the Father so that through His sufferings we may suffer and be glorified with Him. Amen.

Apologies

I have been quite busy as of late and I apologise for not updating the blog, please pray for me earnesty that the Lord allow some time for me to work on this ministry. God willing the blog will be updated in the next few days, may the Lord keep you all safe and bless you with His divine grace.

The Holy week part 4

What have we seen, what marvels have our eyes looked upon and what wonders have altered our minds and renewed our hearts? The Christ, creator of Heaven and Earth is hung on a Cross along with common thieves, likened to a common thief but despised by those in the world even more so. Darkness abounds on earth as the sun has hidden itself in shame, darkness is parading unashamedly in the spiritual realm believing it has ridden the world of the Son, but darkness is labelled as such because it cannot see, although it resides in the spiritual realm it can by no means comprehend the light.

Hung on a Cross, naked and humiliated, through much agony and anguish our Lord still manages to inspire and guide us onto a virtuous path, as if to say that being hung on the Cross isn't sufficient a lesson in humility, He astonishes those who ridicule Him by murmuring "Father forgive them, they know not what they do" Luke 23:34. Left desolate and ashamed, He portrays true virtue and displays sincere love by asking His Father to forgive them this most grievous of sin. "Father forgive them, they know not what they do", what is it that these men and women know not? Isn't it clear that their actions condemn them? Although they are physically responsible for the events unfolding, our Lord is able to see that there is in fact more to the story and this is why He utters "they know not what they do".

Jesus being perfect God and perfect Man was aware that every evil being that dwelt within the spiritual realm were influencing these people whose eyes were blinded and ears were shut.  Jesus in His humanity was suffering incomprehensibly, His Divinity was fully aware, alive and functioning (from everlasting to everlasting) and ultimately His loving compassion for those being led astray by satan was the motive for His request to the Father.

Woe unto us if we cannot forgive those for the slightest of offences, consider that when Christ spoke "forgive them Father, they know not what they do" that His request was also on our behalf and for our benefit, for we too, openly put Christ to shame with our many sins and transgression. For each of us was responsible for Christ's crucifixion, as we read in Romans 5 -

6For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7For one will hardly die for a wicked man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. 8But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Therefore consider the implications of your actions should you not forgive those who offend you, considering that we were partakers of the injustice which occurred at Golgotha. It is written that only those who forgive shall receive forgiveness from the Father (Matthew 6:15) so be quick to reconcile with one another so that our Lord does not come at a time where hate is found dwelling in your heart. The Lord, with very few words, taught us that works of righteousness must overcome all darkness, all evil, all bitterness, all envy and all works of wickedness.

We will continue with the theme of the Holy Week God willing within the next week.

God bless.

The Holy Week Part 3

Jesus, the King of kings, Lord of lords and creator of the entire cosmos was being spat upon, tortured and the worst was yet to come. Following on from our discussion concerning the Holy week, we will now attempt to expound on the events that changed the entire world via an act that portrayed the vehement love and mercy of our creator in the most humble and profound way.

A week prior to Jesus finding Himself amongst those crying "crucify Him" these same people were singing "Hosanna", it is said that a herd mentality is rather persuasive and this mentality was reflected in the attitudes of these people in the most abysmal way. Jesus was staring at those who only a week ago were worshipping Him and now they wanted to see Him dead, the hurt He must have experienced at this moment would have been overwhelming for most people, He loved them so much but they despised Him.

Pilate, we read, saw no fault in Him and trying to appease the crowd asked if they wanted Jesus or Barabbas to be released as per a custom that Pilate had initiated (Matthew 27:15) and they yelled out to Pilate to have Barabbas released. There is a deep spiritual significance behind this choice, Barabbas translates to Son of the Father and as we are aware Jesus was also known as the Son of the Father. God utilised a man whose name was of a similar nature to that of His own Son so that the Jews could make a conscious choice as to who they would ultimately serve, God or man. St John Chrysostom writes the following -

He then was unmanly and weak; but the chief priests wicked and criminal. For since he had found out a device, namely, the law of the feast requiring him to release a condemned person, what do they contrive in opposition to that? They persuaded the multitude, it is said, that they should ask Barabbas.

2. See how much care he takes for them to relieve them from blame, and how much diligence they employed, so as not to leave to themselves so much as a shadow of an excuse. For which was right? To let go the acknowledged criminal, or Him about whose guilt there was a question? For, if in the case of acknowledged offenders it was fit there should be a liberation, much more in those of whom there was a doubt. For surely this man did not seem to them worse than acknowledged murderers. For on this account, it is not merely said they had a robber; but one noted, that is, who was infamous in wickedness, who had perpetrated countless murders. But nevertheless even him did they prefer to the Saviour of the world, and neither did they reverence the season because it was holy, nor the laws of humanity, nor any other thing of the kind, but envy had once for all blinded them. And besides their own wickedness, they corrupt the people also, that for deceiving them too they might suffer the most extreme punishment.

Since therefore they ask for the other, he says, What shall I do then with the Christ, in this way desiring to put them to the blush, by giving them the power to choose, that at least out of shame they might ask for Him, and the whole should be of their bountifulness. For though to say, He had not done wrong, made them more contentious, yet to require that He should be saved out of humanity, carries with it persuasion and entreaty that cannot be gainsaid.
But even then they said, Crucify Him. But he said, why, what evil has He done? But they cried out exceedingly, let Him be crucified. But he, when he saw that he profited nothing, washed his hands, saying, I am innocent. Why then did you deliver Him up? Why did you not rescue Him, as the centurion did Paul. Acts xxi For that man too was aware that he would please the Jews; and a sedition had taken place on his account, and a tumult, nevertheless he stood firm against all. But not so this man, but he was extremely unmanly and weak, and all were corrupt together. For neither did this man stand firm against the multitude, nor the multitude against the Jews, and in every way their excuse was taken away. For they cried out exceedingly, that is, cried out the more, Let Him be crucified. For they desired not only to put Him to death, but also that it should be on a charge of wickedness, and though the judge was contradicting them, they continued to cry out the same thing

As the crowds continued to stir up Pilate, he washed his hands from the blood that was to be spilt and ordered Jesus to be scourged and crucified. We read in Isaiah 53:5 "But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed". An ancient prophecy written almost 700 years prior to this event taking place was being fulfilled as the entire creation looked upon what sinful man was handing to its Creator.

During the time that Jesus was being tortured by the Roman soldiers, He was also mocked, spat upon and beaten like a common criminal. He was handed over to the heathen to receive His punishment and truly it was a travesty of justice unlike anything known in the history of civilisation. The soldiers whipped Him, beat Him and insulted Him by placing a crown of thorns on His head and bowing before Him, we read in Matthew 27:27 - 31 -

27Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole Roman cohort around Him. 28They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. 29And after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand; and they knelt down before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 30They spat on Him, and took the reed and began to beat Him on the head. 31After they had mocked Him, they took the scarlet robe off Him and put His own garments back on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him.

Jesus, forced to carry His cross after suffering an extremely torturous night and morning was led away to be crucified, a slow and painful death that restricted His breathing and caused excruciating pain to be felt through the nerves due to the nails being driven into His wrists and feet. His arms were spread out and He was naked upon the Cross, so ashamed was the sun that it hid itself (Matthew 27:45) from the tragedy which was unfolding. Jesus, before breathing His last, asked the Father to forgive those who were responsible for these events, He promised a thief that He would be in paradise with Him and He entrusted His Holy mother into the hands of the disciple John. He also spoke the words "it is finished".

We shall continue with the theme of the Holy week as there is much to discuss regarding these events and those leading up to the resurrection.

Amen.

The Holy Week Part 2

Continuing on with the theme of the Holy week, we will now discuss the events that changed the world and displayed the great love, mercy and grace that God bestowed upon all humanity.

Subsequent to Jesus being handed over to His enemies, Jesus was led to the Sanhedrin in chains bound up like a common criminal. The sheer magnificence of this event should immediately be evident to us all, here we have the Creator, King of glory and the indescribably powerful Son of God bound up in chains, being mocked and beaten by the very same people whom were previously promised eternal glory and salvation. He was being spat on (in a Semitic context this is possibly more degrading than being beaten), beaten and humiliated in front of people whom He knit together whilst they were in their mothers womb. The immense act of humility and self restraint displayed by Jesus should always be a reminder in such times where our ego and pride tend to determine our course of action,

Being confronted by the elders, Jesus was questioned and no fault could initially be found in Him, that is until He was asked "are you the Messiah, the Son of the living God?" Then in an apparent act of self-righteousness the Pharisees began to tear their clothes and scream "blasphemy!", we read in Matthew 26 -

⁵⁷ Those who had seized Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were gathered together. ⁵⁸ But Peter was following Him at a distance as far as the courtyard of the high priest, and entered in, and sat down with the officers to see the outcome.
⁵⁹ Now the chief priests and the whole Council kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus, so that they might put Him to death. ⁶⁰ They did not find any, even though many false witnesses came forward. But later on two came forward, ⁶¹ and said, “This man stated, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and to rebuild it in three days.’” ⁶² The high priest stood up and said to Him, “Do You not answer? What is it that these men are testifying against You?” ⁶³ But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest said to Him, “I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God.” ⁶⁴ Jesus said to him, “You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you will see THE SON OF MAN SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF POWER, and COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN.”
⁶⁵ Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, you have now heard the blasphemy; ⁶⁶ what do you think?” They answered, “He deserves death!”
⁶⁷ Then they spat in His face and beat Him with their fists; and others slapped Him, ⁶⁸ and said, “Prophesy to us, You Christ; who is the one who hit You?”

Again, what hypocrisy, what sheer arrogance displayed by those very same people whom God had continually tried to teach that "God desires mercy", was mercy displayed here? Did the pharisees attempt to stop the beatings? No, they condoned it and scoffed at Him.

We also see that Jesus was left alone, many of the disciples promised to die with Him, but with divine foresight we read what Jesus previously stated in Matthew 26:31 -

Then Jesus said to them, "You will all fall away because of Me this night, for it is written, 'I WILL STRIKE DOWN THE SHEPHERD, AND THE SHEEP OF THE FLOCK SHALL BE SCATTERED.'

Simon Peter, the 'brave' disciple was warming himself at a fire with those who accused Jesus, three times he was questioned were you not with Him also?" three times he denied his Messiah, three times he turned his back on Jesus, three times he saved himself, three times he failed to deny himself, three times did the apostle to whom the keys were given to forget that Jesus raised the dead to life, three times did Peter forget his own words “Even though all may fall away because of You, I will never fall away”. Peter, it seemed, was concerned about keeping warm and ensuring that he would not be entangled in the brutality on display.

Jesus, we then read, was taken to Pilate to receive judgement, again the spiritual significance of this event is worthy of discussion. So distant were the hearts of the 'chosen' people from God that they delivered Him to foreigners, symbolising that they wanted nothing to do with their Lord, symbolising that they wilfully chose to reject the Messiah because He failed to fit their presuppositions of Him. Their mind's were fixated on worldly aspects of the faith, they were spiritually blind and could not recognise Him nor the prophecies concerning Him, so they cast Him out of the vineyard, we read in Luke 20 -

   9And He began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and rented it out to vine-growers, and went on a journey for a long time. 10“At the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers, so that they would give him some of the produce of the vineyard; but the vine-growers beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11“And he proceeded to send another slave; and they beat him also and treated him shamefully and sent him away empty-handed. 12“And he proceeded to send a third; and this one also they wounded and cast out. 13“The owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ 14“But when the vine-growers saw him, they reasoned with one another, saying, ‘This is the heir; let us kill him so that the inheritance will be ours.’ 15“So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What, then, will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16“He will come and destroy these vine-growers and will give the vineyard to others.” When they heard it, they said, “May it never be!”

May it never be indeed, this is exactly what they did as foretold by our Lord and Savior, many instances previously occured in Israel's past where prophets were treated scornfully and with contempt, finally God sent His Son in an attempt to soften their hearts and lead them to a life of repentance.

We will continue on with this series of the Holy week, and we shall discuss the spiritual significance of the other events that ultimately lead to our salvation.

Amen

Easter - The Holy week

This week is of great significance, for Christians and non-christians alike, please allow me to explain myself. Christ's atoning sacrifice that reversed sin, conquered death and satan was for the whole world, those who choose to accept the sacrifice that Christ took upon Himself, will be heirs and children of God, those who reject it will receive condemnation. Yes, this week is significant to all but especially to us who will experience sorrow and joy, sorrow for the remembrance of the barbaric torture and death of our Lord, and joy for the remembrance of His glorious Resurrection.

During this week our Lord made His great entrance into the Holy City, Jerusalem, it is written in Matthew 21 -

 ⁶ The disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them, ⁷ and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their coats on them; and He sat on ^[b]the coats. ⁸ Most of the crowd ^(E)spread their coats in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road. ⁹ The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting,
   “Hosanna to the ^(F)Son of David;
^(G)BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD;
Hosanna ^(H)in the highest!”
 ¹⁰ When He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, “Who is this?” ¹¹ And the crowds were saying, “This is ^(I)the prophet Jesus, from ^(J)Nazareth in Galilee.”

Subsequent to the glorious entry of the Lord, which fulfilled Old Testament prophecies, our Lord exchange several words with the Pharisees and Sadducees as they tried to find fault with Him so that they may arrest Him and put an end to His teachings. But as we read, the wisdom of our Lord was superior in every way and they could not resist Him, they were left silent.

As so many Jewish people were listening to His preaching the elders (Pharisees and Sadducees) became increasingly angered, these people loved the high life, the greetings in the market place, the respect from men and Jesus taught the people the exact opposite. They were indignant as He taught humility, love for the enemy, respect for the poor and widow.

Jesus was then betrayed by Judas Iscariot and I would like to spend a little bit of time on this issue, particularly, why was Jesus betrayed? Well biblical manuscripts don't tell us the specifics of Judas' motives, but a case could be made based on the erroneous held beliefs that the Messiah would establish an earthly kingdom and when Judas saw that this was not Jesus' intentions, he thought about himself and decided to make a quick buck by betraying Him. What was He betrayed for though? It is very possible that Judas knew the Pharisees wanted to seize Christ and that they couldn't do so whilst His followers were with Him as it would of caused an eruption, therefore Judas betrayed Christ by simply leading the soldiers to His whereabouts whilst most of His disciples were not present. Judas revealed Christ's whereabouts and led them to Him so that they could capture Him by 'stealth', as it is written in Matthew 26:4 "and they plotted together to seize Jesus by stealth and kill Him."

Judas' betrayal of Jesus occurs frequently, we all betray Jesus by turning our back on Him, fleeing into the night (darkness) and sinning against Him. What should make us different is realising our sin and through continual repentance, absolution by a Priest, by partaking in the Holy Eucharist and asking mercy from God to restore His Spirit within us.

We will delve into the Crucifixion and Resurrection of our Lord in another post this week God willing.

Do not be afraid

Our Lord stated that there will be wars and rumours of wars but to not be terrified. Yet we are so consumed by conspiracy theories, masonry, Illuminati etc etc that we lose focus on those issues which are truly important. Are we afraid that these groups control the world and society as we know it and may cause us harm? If our answer is yes, then we need to re-evaluate our faith, for we are not to be of the world, we are to live in the world but our focus is to be on Christ, His love and the glory that is to be revealed. Why do we pay attention to these conspiracies? Didn't the Lord in many parables state that we should be working by feeding the hungry, clothing the poor, visiting the sick and those in prison? Basically we should focus our attention solely on living as a Christian in a manner that is pleasing to the Lord, praying, fasting and being a beacon of light to those who are in darkness.

Satan will use any methodology possible to take our focus away from Christ, which will ultimately ensure that all our energies are being put to work in fruitlessness. Satan has used the book of revelations to confuse people and to use people to lead others astray. People are infatuated, even obsessed with focusing their energies on trying to decipher signs, hand shakes, symbols etc that relate to those who are perceived as being the "elite". But as faithful members of the Church of the East, should we really be spending all our energies on such idleness? We all know the answer to this question, but let us look at what the Bible says about conspiracies - Isaiah 8 12 - 13

 ¹² “You are not to say, ‘It is a conspiracy!’
In regard to all that this people call a conspiracy,
And you are not to fear what they fear or be in dread of it.
¹³ “It is the LORD of hosts whom you should regard as holy.
And He shall be your fear,
And He shall be your dread.

We are to fear the Lord and Him alone, Our Lord Jesus also states that we should only fear He who can destroy both the body and soul (Matthew 10:28). We should not fear those who can maim and kill the body because as Christians who have placed their faith in Christ Jesus, our hope is not in this world as we are citizens of heaven having been purchased by the blood of the lamb, and we are here on a temporary 'working' visa living our lives in humility and subjection to God and servitude to our fellow man.

Our time here is short, too short to worry ourselves to the point of apostasy by forgetting the core of our faith and concentrating on end times and the hope of deciphering signs that are taking place on earth. Give yourself wholly over to God, sacrifice yourself and this also includes your inquisitiveness and curiosity regarding conspiracy theories that are rife on the Internet.

Amen

I know Jesus, His body and blood dwell in me, Part 4 b.

We last meditated on the subject of faith and deeds and how they must be coupled together in order to bear fruit for the Lord, Jesus Christ explicitly states on many occasions that judgement will be based on the deeds of men. We shall now delve into St. Paul's and St. James' letters concerning faith and deeds.

It seems at first glance that the letter of St. James is contrary to the words expressed in the writings of St. Paul. Where St. James expounds on the importance of faith and works, St. Paul teaches that it is no longer works that please God, but rather it is purely by faith that we attain perfection. Let us delve into the passages written by St. Paul so that we can come to an understanding of his words as taught by the Holy Church.

We read in Romans 3:21-26

 ²¹ But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, ²² even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; ²⁵ whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; ²⁶ for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
 ²⁷ Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. ²⁸ For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. ²⁹ Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, ³⁰ since indeed God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith is one.

St. Paul is going to great lengths to convey the simple message that faith in Christ is superior to the works of the law, which is the law given during the times of the old covenant. The blessed Apostle is not stating that good deeds are nullified, but rather the works of the law, the sacrificial system, which included sacrificing irrational animals is no longer a means of salvation, but rather our faith in Jesus the perfect sacrifice is now the only means of salvation, "I am the way the truth and life' our Lord boldly declares.

St John of Chrysostom expounds on this point to a degree that I will never be capable of doing, the blessed Saint writes -

When he had shown that by faith they were superior to the Jews, then he goes on with great confidence to discourse upon it also, and what seemed therein to annoy he again heals up. For these two things were what confused the Jews; one, if it were possible for men, who with works were not saved, to be saved without them, and another, if it were just for the uncircumcised to enjoy the same blessings with those, who had during so long a period been nurtured in the Law; which last confused them more by far than the former. And on this ground having proved the former, he goes on to the other next, which perplexed the Jews so far, that they even complained on account of this position against Peter after they believed. What does he say then? Therefore we conclude, that by faith a man is justified. He does not say, a Jew, or one under the Law, but after leading forth his discourse into a large room, and opening the doors of faith to the world, he says a man, the name common to our race. And then having taken occasion from this, he meets an objection not set down. For since it was likely that the Jews, upon hearing that faith justifies every man, would take it ill and feel offended, he goes on,
Ver. 29. Is He the God of the Jews only?
As if he said, On what foot does it then seem to you amiss that every man should be saved? Is God partial? So showing from this, that in wishing to flout the Gentiles, they are rather offering an insult to God's glory, if, that is, they would not allow Him to be the God of all. But if He is of all, then He takes care of all; and if He care for all, then He saves all alike by faith. And this is why he says, Is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also. For He is not partial as the fables of the Gentiles are, but common to all, and One. And this is why he goes on,
Ver. 30. Seeing it is one God.
That is, the same is the Master of both these and those. But if you tell me of the ancient state of things, then too the dealings of Providence were shared by both, although in diverse ways. For as to you was given the written law, so to them was the natural; and they came short in nothing, if, that is, only they were willing, but were even able to surpass you. And so he proceeds, with an allusion to this very thing, Who shall justify the circumcision by faith, and the uncircumcision through faith, so reminding them of what he said before about uncircumcision and circumcision, whereby he showed that there was no difference. But if then there was no difference, much less is there any now. And this accordingly he now establishes upon still clearer grounds, and so demonstrates, that either of them stand alike in need of faith.

It is quite obvious that St. Paul is speaking in regards to the grace of God being poured out to those who did not receive the covenant of the law and that faith in God through His only Begotten Son is superior in every way to the works of the law. For the new covenant, which is the shedding of the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, is perfect and by His life, death and Resurrection He fulfilled the law so that all who have faith in Him may be justified by Him.

In no way, shape or form is the Apostle nullifying good deeds, how could he? For the Lord Jesus Himself, as expounded upon in part 4 a. of the series, will judge us according to our deeds and the management of our talents. St. James makes it abundantly clear in his epistle regarding the intimate connection of faith and deeds, let us examine a few verses from his epistle.

We read in James 2:14-26

 ¹⁴ What use is it,my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? ¹⁵ If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, ¹⁶ and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? ¹⁷ Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.
 ¹⁸ But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” ¹⁹ You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. ²⁰ But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? ²¹Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? ²² You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; ²³ and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS,” and he was called the friend of God. ²⁴ You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. ²⁵ In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? ²⁶ For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

St. James' teaching is what the Holy Church places its emphasis on that faith without works is useless, for if the demons believe and shudder what use will faith alone be for us on the day of judgement. Detractors of the Apostolic faith may object and state that works without faith is also incomplete, which we would answer Amen. Our works alone do not save us, but we have never made such a claim nor does any Apostolic church dogmatically claim works alone.

Brothers and Sisters, do not fall into idleness and think within yourselves that your belief in God is enough to save your soul. There must be a renewing of the mind when we come to repentance and a change in our perspective towards how we live our lives, no longer do we live a life of decadence and pleasure but rather we are to be selfless and found working in the harvest. Feed the poor and hungry, visit those who are sick and alone, comfort the mourners and work for the benefit of the Holy Church.

Our faith in God must not be taken for granted, but rather servitude and worship must be at the forefront of our minds and hearts at all times, "Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” as commanded by our Lord in Matthew 26:41. We do not know when we will  be called for and on the day of judgement how terrible will it be if we here the words "depart from me, i never knew you", therefore let us allows be found working, giving and serving rather than being waited upon and receiving.

Amen.

I know Jesus, His body and blood dwell in me, Part 4 a.

Continuing with our series, we last learnt that the Qurbana Qadisha (Holy Eucharist) is an essential element in the quest of salvation. We will now discuss the importance of faith and deeds and how one of these attributes, in and of themselves, cannot please God but that they must be coupled together by the grace of God.

Prior to the reformation the dichotomy of faith alone vs faith and deeds was a non sequitur, it required no discussion as all Apostolic Churches were in concurrence. However, an obscure German monk by the name of Martin Luther rebelled against the Roman Catholic Church (which incidentally opened the door to modern and post modern thinking) and unbeknown to him, started an avalanche of heretical sects, churches and doctrines that continue to splinter due to the rebellious nature of such individuals. Martin Luther went so far as to add the word 'alone' after the words 'by faith', he also labelled the book of James (an Apostle of the Lord) "a book of straw" as its message contradicted Martin Luther's theological innovation.

All salvation is made possible only through the grace of God, without God's grace our faith and deeds would be futile, without God's grace Jesus Christ would have not offered Himself up on the altar (cross) for our salvation, without God's grace we would be dead in our sin.

It is true that in order to please the Lord we must have faith in Him, from this statement the question arises, what is faith? As always, sacred scripture provides the answer, in Hebrews 11 we read -

 ¹ Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. ² For by it the men of old gained approval.

Faith, as the Apostle Paul states is the "conviction of things not seen" and although we have not seen God face to face, we have faith in His existence and we feel a conviction through the Holy Spirit given to us through baptism regarding the existence of our Lord and the hope of things to come. It is through this faith that we confess His name and offer up our worship to Him, it is through this faith that we love God with all our being and our neighbour as ourselves and it is through this faith that we pick up our crosses and follow our Lord Jesus Christ.

Our faith must be pure and child-like as stated by our Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 18:3 -

³ and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

A simple wholehearted faith is what God desires, we see that those who are considered of low stature in society come to Church and portray this faith, they have no questions, they have no doubts but display pure reverence and sincerity that is akin to the trust a child shows to his or her parents. We must strive to attain this faith, which is simplistic in nature. Our faith must be grounded upon the 'rock' of salvation and should our faith be built upon Him through His Holy Church and the "winds and waves" batter against us, we shall remain standing. The question arises, what is the faith that is grounded upon the rock? We read in Matthew 7:24 -

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock"

Jesus states unequivocally that in order to build our faith upon Him (the rock) we must act on His words, not just hear them, not simply believe or agree with them, but to actually act on them. Jesus Christ our Lord is basically conveying a message that the Holy Church has accepted for 2000 years, faith and deeds go hand-in-hand and faith without works is futile. Let us examine how important our faith and deeds are in order to attain salvation and enter the kingdom of heaven, we read in Matthew 25 -

   ³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; ³⁶ naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ ³⁷ Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? ³⁸ And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? ³⁹ When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ ⁴⁰ The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’
   ⁴¹ “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; ⁴² for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; ⁴³ I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ ⁴⁴ Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ ⁴⁵ Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ ⁴⁶ These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

This passage is profound and it would be wise to try to ascertain what is being said, Jesus separates the sheep (believers) from the goats (non believers) based on the deeds they commit to Christ. When we feed or clothe or give someone a drink who is in need, we are actually inadvertently feeding or clothing or giving drink to Christ! The stranger we give assistance to is akin to assisting Christ, and let us not forget that the poor and the foolish of the world are those who will inherit the kingdom. Thus it will be on the basis of our deeds that we will be judged, in fact there is no where written that states you will be judged based on faith alone. Another example of judgement based on deeds is found in Matthew 25 -

  ¹⁴ “For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them. ¹⁵ To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey. ¹⁶ Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents. ¹⁷ In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more. ¹⁸ But he who received the one talent went away, and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
   ¹⁹ “Now after a long time the master of those slaves *came and *settled accounts with them. ²⁰ The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.’ ²¹ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’
   ²² “Also the one who had received the two talents came up and said, ‘Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more talents.’ ²³ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’
   ²⁴ “And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. ²⁵ And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’
   ²⁶ “But his master answered and said to him, ‘You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. ²⁷ Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. ²⁸ Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’
   ²⁹ “For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. ³⁰Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The Lord provides us with spiritual gifts and we must make use of them, lest we find ourselves to be a wicked and lazy servant. We must be put to work for the glory of God, faith on its own is a sign of fruitlessness! Works without faith in God is useless, but coupled together we are ensuring that we continue walking upon the narrow path that leads to salvation. Do you have a talent? Can you teach, show mercy, kindness, love, humility or exhortation? Are you able to cook, clean or lend any professional assistance to the Church? If so, then put the blessings that the Lord has bestowed upon you to good use and work as one body and be of one mind with one love, always striving to do what is right in the eyes of our Lord.

As there is much more to cover with the topic of faith and works, another post will be dedicated to the letters of St.Paul and St. James with further discourse on the matter of faith and works.

God Bless.

I know Jesus, His body and blood dwell in me, Part 3

It is now time to discuss the most important sacrament of the Christian Church, the Holy Eucharist. The Holy Eucharist is the pinnacle of our faith and its importance and significance is exemplified in the Bible and in the writings of the Early Church Fathers. The Holy Eucharist cleanses, renews, rejuvenates and through faith it heals and destroys the sin that dwells within us, as it is written in Matthew 26 -

 ²⁶ While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”
 ²⁷ Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. ²⁸ This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins

Our Lord Jesus specifically states that His body and blood are broken and poured out for many and for the forgiveness of sins. Some may object and state that Jesus was speaking figuratively and that He never implied that the bread and wine were actually His body and blood, but rather that they represented His sacrifice in a symbolic sense. This could not be further from the truth and we will discover the truth by delving into the Holy Scriptures, we read in John 6 -

Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. ⁴⁸ I am the bread of life. ⁴⁹ Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. ⁵⁰ This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. ⁵¹ I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.

Jesus, whilst conversing with the Jewish authorities, explicitly stated that He is living bread and in order to live we must consume this bread. This event took place prior to the institution of the Eucharist in the above mentioned verse (Matthew 26) and therefore the Apostles would have immediately recalled these words during the last supper where Jesus states "This is My body, this is My blood". The Apostles had come to a realisation that Christ's flesh, which is to be eaten, was contained within the bread that He was distributing amongst them. To further solidify this theological aspect of the real presence of the Eucharist, we also read in John 6 -

 ⁵² Then the Jews began to argue with one another, saying, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?” ⁵³ So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. ⁵⁴ He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. ⁵⁵ For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. ⁵⁶ He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. ⁵⁷ As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. ⁵⁸ This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever.”

Jesus reiterates that without His body and blood, we have no life within us and it is through the consumption of His body and blood that eternal life is granted to us. Jesus also states that His body is true food and His blood is true drink, the plain reading of this verse is required to grasp the message that Christ was conveying, although at the time many were perplexed and many more walked away, Christ was explicit in that we must eat His flesh and drink His blood in order to live. The question that must be asked is, how do we do this? The answer is to be found in Matthew 26, Jesus makes known to the Apostles that His Body and Blood are within the bread and wine that He distributed amongst them, and this same body and blood is distributed to the faithful every Sunday throughout the Apostolic Churches across the globe. This is done in remembrance of His life, death, burial and resurrection.

St Paul discusses the significance of this Holy Sacrament and he also confirms that Christ's body and blood are present within the bread and wine -

1 Cor 10:16 "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the Blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the Body of Christ?" St. Paul continued, 1 Cor 11:27 "Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the Body and Blood of the Lord." St. Paul added, 1 Cor 11:29 "For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the Body eats and drinks judgement upon himself."

These words carry a weight of significance, we participate in the Blood and Body of Christ when we partake of the Holy Eucharist and that we are to partake of it in a worthy manner, lest we bring judgement upon ourselves. St Paul states, "we will be guilty of PROFANING the Body and Blood of the Lord", implying that there are severe consequences for those who wish to cast aside the importance of the Eucharist and partake of it in a casual manner. As Orthodox Christians we should always approach the Paten and chalice with fear and trembling knowing that the body of the creator is being distributed for our salvation, what we consume the angels in heaven dare not gaze upon.

The reverence for the Holy Sacrament was known by the early church and church fathers who were acquainted with the Apostles, St Ignatius in the first century writes -

"Consider how contrary to the mind of God are the heterodox in regard to the grace of God which has come to us. They have no regard for charity, none for the widow, the orphan, the oppressed, none for the man in prison, the hungry or the thirsty. They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer, because they do not admit that the Eucharist is the flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ, the flesh which suffered for our sins and which the Father, in His graciousness, raised from the dead."

And again the blessed Saint states -

"Come together in common, one and all without exception in charity, in one faith and in one Jesus Christ, who is of the race of David according to the flesh, the son of man, and the Son of God, so that with undivided mind you may obey the bishop and the priests, and break one Bread which is the medicine of immortality and the antidote against death, enabling us to live forever in Jesus Christ."

It is immediatley clear that heretics who denied the real presense of the body within the Eucharist were not a part of the Church that Christ established.

For us to claim that Christ dwells within us without having His body and blood co-mingling with our body and blood means that we are deceived, as we have learnt together we must have communion with our Lord in order for us to proceed from this life to the next. It is of great spiritual significance that we draw near to these mysteries with prayer and reverance for the pardon of our faults and to ensure that we do not bring condemnation upon ourselves. Our salvation is dependant upon the mysteries that our Lord and savior Jesus Christ established for our benefit.

In the next part of this series, we will discuss our ongoing commitment to Christ by discussing the topic of faith and good deeds.

Apologies

I wish to apologise for not updating the blog recently, I have been extremely busy the last few weeks and have been unable to find the appropriate time to do so. Be sure however that it will be updated by the end of the week with part 3 of the topic "I know Jesus".

God Bless.

I know Jesus, His body and blood dwell within me, Part 2

Continuing on from the previous post where we discussed that the first step of being counted as a part of God's kingdom is ensuring that we have been baptised. This is done in faith on our behalf as infants, but for adult believers this first step must take place after a period of time where the believer is to attend Church ministries and learn about the faith of which he or she wishes to enter. The priest will then decide if the believer is ready to be baptised based on the spiritual growth and commitment of the believer.


The Apostolic Church, and in particular, our very own Church of the East, believes that the grace of our Lord centres around the sacraments, these being the physical manifestation of His grace that are given unto us for our benefit, edification and forgiveness of sins. We partake of these sacraments in order to participate in God's grace, we have also been commanded to do certain things i.e. Baptism, and as believers in God we willingly subject ourselves to the Lord and King of kings Jesus Christ in faith through the mysteries that He has bestowed upon us.


So what are the subsequent steps for a believer who joyfully wishes to worship the Lord and offer themselves as a pleasing sacrifice to do, to ensure that they are walking on the narrow path that leads to life? As is always the case, our Lord provides the answers for us!

We read in Luke 13:1-5

 ¹ Now on the same occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. ² And Jesus said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate? ³ I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. ⁴ Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? ⁵ I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

Our Lord Jesus specifically states that we are to repent, repentance is the commitment made by a believer to turn away from their life of sin and sacrifice their lusts and desires wholly to serve God almighty. It is an act of contrition and humility that enables God to work through us and cleanse us of our sin, it is not however, an act that is to be performed once for we are called to continual repentance. We will all, at one time or another, fall into sin whether knowingly, unknowingly, willingly or unwillingly, therefore we must always beseech the Lord for His forgiveness and mercy.

Repentance plays a key role in our salvation and as we read in Luke 15:11-24

¹¹ And He said, “A man had two sons. ¹² The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.’ So he divided his wealth between them. ¹³ And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living. ¹⁴ Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished. ¹⁵ So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. ¹⁶ And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him. ¹⁷ But when he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger! ¹⁸ I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight; ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.”’ ²⁰ So he got up and came to ^[f]his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. ²¹ And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ ²² But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; ²³ and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; ²⁴ for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’

The story of the prodigal son exemplifies the love that God has for us and the joy that He feels when we return to Him. Upon our return, we are not condemned nor chastised but rather the Father runs towards us and embraces us, what a wonderful Lord we have! Although we may reach a point in our lives where we feel down and out (in a spiritual sense) God is waiting for us to repent and seek for Him so that He may restore us.

Our Lord Jesus commanded us to repent and be baptised, this does not imply that a chronological order must be adhered to regarding baptism and repentance but that these are important acts that a believer must adhere to. An example of a believer being baptised without having repented is found in Acts 8:34-40

 ³⁴ The eunuch answered Philip and said, “Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself or of someone else?” ³⁵ Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him. ³⁶ As they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch *said, “Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptised?” ³⁷ And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”] ³⁸ And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptised him. ³⁹ When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch no longer saw him, but went on his way rejoicing. ⁴⁰ But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he kept preaching the gospel to all the cities until he came to Caesarea.

It is quite obvious that the eunuch did not repent or confess his sins prior to being baptised, repentance then, would be the next step of this man's spiritual commitment and journey.

Amen.

Part three will be posted up within the week and it will discuss the sacrament of the Eucharist and the absolute necessity of this central facet of Christian theology.

I know Jesus, His body and blood dwell within me, Part 1.

Have you been asked at a shopping centre or out on the street, or even at work or in a chat room on the net,  the following question, "Do you know Jesus Christ"? Many Apostolic Christians may answer, well sure I do, and then the follow up question is asked "But do you have a relationship with Him?". Many Apostolic Christians who do not enter into the Holy Church and learn about their faith may become confused when approached with this line of questioning, I hope that through the grace of Jesus the Christ, we can learn together what the real meaning of 'knowing' Jesus is.

Firstly, we should elaborate on what it actually means to know our Lord and Saviour, is this facet of evangelical theology found in scripture? Unsurprisingly there exists no definitive text that claims it is us that need to know Christ in order to be saved, rather, it is Christ who is to know us. This however does not imply that we do not have a free will, we are freely able to accept or reject the invitation made by God.

We read in Matthew 7:21-23

   ²¹ “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. ²² Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ ²³ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’

This verse stipulates that people who believed they were part of Christ's family, who believed that they were adopted sons, who would perform works in His name, who concluded that they actually knew Him were, in reality, very far from the Lord, as He states "I never knew you".

The Gospel recorded by the Apostle John depicts Christ speaking to the pharisees and His disciples regarding them knowing the Father by only knowing the Son, however this is not a scriptural proof for evangelical theology. In these passages of scripture, i.e. John 14:7 and John 8:19, Christ is specifically stating His obvious unity and oneness with the Father (some protestants deny that Jesus is God) and that we can only know who the Father is by knowing who Jesus is and that there is no other way possible to gain the kingdom of heaven and dwell in the midst of God but through Christ alone.

So how do we get to know Christ, or rather, how does Christ get to know us? Firstly it is of great importance that we are baptised, many of us within the Apostolic faith were baptised as children, this sacrament is the first step toward salvation and actually grafts us into the Kingdom of God.


We read in John 3 -

1Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; 2this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” 3Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
4Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” 5Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6“That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7“Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8“The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Unless we are born of water and spirit, says Jesus, we cannot see the kingdom of God! The sacrament of baptism is where we are buried and raised with Christ, furthermore, it is the new circumcision as St Paul states in Colossians 2:11. In the times of the old covenant God commanded that infants be circumcised at 8 days old or they were to be "cut off from the people" Genesis 17:14.

It is quite clear that Baptism is the rite of entry into the Christian faith, Christ states that we cannot enter the Kingdom of God unless we are born of water and spirit. Many demonic doctrines espoused by man since the reformation have argued that baptism is unnecessary and cannot save you from your sin, I leave them with the word's of Simon Keepah.

³⁸ Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, Acts 2;38.

I hope to post part 2 of this topic in the next few days, until then, God bless.