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.
Tuesday, 1 May 2012
Tuesday, 24 April 2012
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?
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,
But even then they said,
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.
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.
Sunday, 15 April 2012
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
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
Monday, 9 April 2012
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.
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.
Tuesday, 27 March 2012
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
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
Saturday, 17 March 2012
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?
Ver. 29.
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,
Ver. 30.
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,
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.
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.
Monday, 12 March 2012
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.
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.
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