Let us remember when we feel broken, when we feel helpless, that even the greatest saints have gone through the same experience; learn from them and never despair – by Anthony (Bloom) of Surozh

Today we are keeping the memory of St Anthony of Egypt. In the lives of saints we usually single out those passages that are to their glory, that show their greatness, their holiness, all that we should emulate. But from time to time, in the life of a saint we find an event that taught him something important and conveys something of importance also to us. Read more here

 

“When our Lord reached thirty years from His physical birth, He began His teaching and work of salvation. He Himself signified this ‘beginning of the beginning’ by His Baptism in the Jordan River. St Cyril of Jerusalem says: ‘The beginning of the world is water; the beginning of the Gospel is the Jordan.’ At the time of the Baptism of the Lord in water, the mystery was declared to the world — the mystery that was prophesied in the Old Testament; the mystery that was known only in fables in ancient Egypt and India — the mystery of the Divine Holy Trinity. The Father was revealed to the sense of hearing, the Spirit was revealed to the sense of sight, and the Son was revealed to the sense of touch. The Father spoke His witness about the Son, the Son was baptized in the water, and the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove hovered above the water. When John the Baptist bore witness to Christ, saying: Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world, and when John immersed and baptized the Lord in the Jordan, the mission of Christ in the world and the path of our salvation were shown. That is to say, the Lord took upon Himself the sins of mankind and died under them (immersion) and rose again (the coming out of the water); and we must die to the old sinful man and rise again as cleansed, renewed, and regenerated. Here is the Savior and here is the path to salvation. The Feast of Theophany is also called the Feast of Illumination. The event in the Jordan River illuminates us by manifesting God to us as Trinity, consubstantial and undivided. That is one way that we are illumined. And the second way is that every one of us through baptism in water is illumined, because we become adopted by the Father of Lights through the work of the Son and the power of the Holy Spirit. May our eyes always be illumined by the light of Christ, and today let’s receive this gift with humility and obedience, and so let’s live as true children of the Light. Amen!”

From ‘The Prologue from Ohrid: Lives of Saints’ by St Nikolai Velimirovich, Bishop of Zica, Serbia (+1956)

 

His Eminence Metropolitan Gerasimos

Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,

The year 2020 will be remembered as the year when everything changed. In an instant this past March, we began to live differently, to work differently, to send our children to school differently, and to worship and participate in the life of the Church differently. We also saw our nation gripped with social and political controversy, economic hardships and uncertainties, and environmental destruction.

However, what has not changed, what is not different, is that at Christmas we will welcome the same news that the Angels proclaimed to the shepherds centuries ago: “Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:10-12).

As we hear and contemplate the story of the Nativity of Jesus Christ in the Divine Services for  Christmas, notice how few details are offered about the birth of Christ itself. The Scriptures state very simply that Mary gave birth to her Son. There is no elaboration. What we do hear, however, is the reaction to the event. The heavenly hosts sing praises (Luke 2:14). Shepherds go to Bethlehem (Luke 2:16). Magi travel with gifts (Matthew 2:11). Joseph protects the child from Herod’s plot to kill Jesus (Matthew 2:14). And Mary ponders all the events in her heart (Luke 2:19). It is all as if the authors of the Gospel want us to consider our reaction to the event.

The event of Christ’s birth is a great paradox. God Himself becomes man. As Saint Gregory the Theologian writes, “He who is comes into being, and the uncreated is created, and the uncontained is contained.” (Oration 38). When we open our hearts and minds and begin to wrestle with this mystery, our first reaction, our first response becomes offering praise to Almighty God and bringing the gift of our self and placing it before the babe born in Bethlehem. We offer our praise to “God in the highest” (Luke 2:24) in the worship services of our Church, on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We encounter Christ Himself in the Holy Eucharist.

Encountering the newborn Christ transformed permanently the lives of the shepherds, the Magi, and of course Joseph and Mary. But what about us? Once we have sung our carols and hymns, decorated our homes and given our gifts, what lasting effects will this Christmas have on us? This is the second response we can have to the Good News. Our transformation begins to come about though our response to the needs of the world that surround us are great. Our lives have been upended this year because of the pandemic, providing us with many opportunities to show our Christian love in meaningful and substantial ways. Our parishes offer many opportunities for you to share your many gifts with others. What could be better than working together as an Orthodox Christians to serve our neighbor in response to the Good News that the Savior has come into the world?

Sisters and brothers in the Lord, this will be a Christmas like no other in recent memory. We see the tragic stories about the effects of the pandemic on so many. We are being encouraged to celebrate only with those in our households. There are no Christmas pageants of children telling the story of the birth of Christ. But, we may still greet one another with phone calls and video gatherings. We may still sing the hymns of the Nativity and the beautiful Christmas carols of our culture. This year, bring the sights and the sounds of Christmas into your home, and celebrate the Nativity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ with joyful and grateful hearts.

Christ is Born! Glorify Him! Χριστός γεννάται, Δοξάσατε!

On this day, the Sunday before the Nativity of Christ, we have been enjoined by our holy and God-bearing Fathers to commemorate all those who from the beginning of time were well-pleasing to
God, according to the genealogy, as the Evangelist Luke enumerated in historical order; and also the Prophets and Prophetesses.

We commemorate Adam and Eve, the first fashioned. We commemorate the righteous Abel, the son of Adam. We commemorate the righteous Seth, the son of Adam. We commemorate the righteous Enosh, the son of Seth. We commemorate the righteous Cainan, the son of Enosh. We commemorate the righteous Mahalalel, the son of Cainan. We commemorate the righteous Jared, the son of Mahalalel. We commemorate the righteous Enoch, the son of Jared. We commemorate the righteous Methuselah, the son of Enoch. We commemorate the righteous Lamech, the son of Methuselah. We commemorate the righteous Noah, the son of Lamech. We commemorate the righteous Shem, the son of Noah.  We commemorate the righteous Japheth, the son of Noah. We commemorate the righteous Arphaxad, the son of Shem. We commemorate the righteous Cainan, the son of Arphaxad. We commemorate the righteous Shelah, the son of Cainan. We commemorate the righteous Eber, from whom the Jews were called Hebrews. We commemorate the righteous Peleg, the son of Eber. We commemorate Reu, the son of Peleg. We commemorate the righteous Serug, the son of Reu. We commemorate the righteous Nahor, the son of Serug. We commemorate the righteous Terah, the son of Nahor.

We commemorate the righteous Patriarch Abraham, the son of Terah. We commemorate the Patriarch Isaac, the son of Abraham. We commemorate the Patriarch Jacob, the son of Isaac. We commemorate the Patriarch Reuben, the son of Jacob. We commemorate the Patriarch Simeon, the son of Jacob. We commemorate the Patriarch Levi, the son of Jacob. We commemorate the Patriarch Judah, the son of Jacob, from whose tribe Christ was born. We commemorate the Patriarch Zebulun, the son of Jacob, whose tribe was by the sea. We commemorate the Patriarch Issachar, the son of Jacob, whose tribe cultivated the earth. We commemorate the Patriarch Dan, the son of Jacob, whose tribe was the tribe of Judges. We commemorate the Patriarch Gad, the son of Jacob, whose tribe is plundered and plundering. We commemorate the Patriarch Asher, the son of Jacob, whose tribe was wealthy in wheatlands. We commemorate the Patriarch Naphtali, the son of Jacob, whose tribe became a great multitude. We commemorate the Patriarch Joseph, the son of Jacob, whose tribe was right glorious and illustrious. We commemorate the Patriarch Benjamin, the son of Jacob, whose tribe, though once fierce, became gentle. We commemorate Perez and Zerah, the twins, the sons of Judah the Patriarch.

We commemorate Hezron, the son of Perez. We commemorate Ram, the son of Hezron. We commemorate Amminadab, the son of Ram. We commemorate Nahshon, the son of Amminadab. We commemorate Salmon, the son of Nahshon. We commemorate Boaz, the son of Salmon. We commemorate Obed, the son of Boaz by Ruth. We commemorate Jesse, the son of Obed. We commemorate David the King, the son of Jesse. We commemorate Solomon the King, the son of David. We commemorate Rehoboam the King, the son of Solomon. We commemorate Abijah the King, the son of Rehoboam. We commemorate Asa the King, the son of Abijah. We commemorate Jehoshaphat the King, the son of Asa. We commemorate Joram the King, the son of Jehoshaphat.
We commemorate Uzziah the King, the son of Joram. We commemorate Jotham the King, the son of Uzziah. We commemorate Ahaz the King, the son of Jotham. We commemorate Hezekiah the King, the son of Ahaz. We commemorate Manasseh the King, the son of Hezekiah. We commemorate Amon the King, the son of Manasseh. We commemorate Josiah the King son of Amon. We commemorate Jeconiah the King, the son of Josiah. We commemorate Shealtiel, the son of Jeconiah. We commemorate Zerubbabel, who again raised up the Temple in Jerusalem when it had been burned. We commemorate Abiud, the son of Zerubbabel. We commemorate Eliakim, the son of Abiud. We commemorate Azor, the son of Eliakim. We commemorate Zadok, the son of Azor.
We commemorate Achim, the son of Zadok. We commemorate Eliud, the son of Achim. We commemorate Eleazar, the son of Eliud. We commemorate Matthan, the son of Eleazar. We commemorate Jacob, the son of Matthan. We commemorate Joseph the Betrothed, the son of Jacob.

We commemorate the righteous Melchizedek. We commemorate the righteous Job. We commemorate the Prophet Moses, and Hur and Aaron the Priests. We commemorate Joshua the son of Nun. We commemorate the holy Prophet Samuel. We commemorate the Prophet Nathan.  We commemorate the holy Prophet Daniel. We commemorate the holy Three Servants.

We commemorate the righteous Sarah, the wife of Abraham. We commemorate the righteous Rebecca, the wife of Isaac. We commemorate the righteous Leah, the first wife of Jacob. We commemorate the righteous Rachel, the second wife of Jacob. We commemorate the righteous Asenath, the wife of Joseph the All-comely. We commemorate the righteous Miriam, the sister of Moses. We commemorate the righteous Deborah, who judged Israel. We commemorate the righteous Ruth. We commemorate the righteous Widow of Zarephath, unto whom Elijah was sent. We commemorate the righteous Shunammite Woman, the gave hospitality to Elisha. We commemorate the righteous Judith, who slew Holofernes. We commemorate the righteous Esther, who delivered Israel from death. We commemorate the righteous Hannah, the mother of Samuel the Prophet. We commemorate the righteous Susanna.

By their holy intercessions, O God, have mercy on us and save us! Amen.

 

At the heart of our holy days, or feast days, festivals & banquets -to use a term from today’s Gospel (Luke 14: 16-24)- is joy; joy and gratitude for how God cares for us, and for what he’s revealed and achieved through his faithful holy ones.

These festive events help raise our eyes and minds above the everyday cares that bind us to earth, allowing us instead to enjoy and celebrate heavenly things.

For Orthodox Christians, keeping a feast day, i.e. Christmas, Pascha, etc., means to have a special opportunity to express and share joy. And we know that whenever we can share our joy with each other, rejoicing together as a family and community of faith, then our joy becomes fuller and more complete. It’s by cheerfully, joyfully and deliberately celebrating the good things of God together as his children, that we not only strengthen the spiritual ties that bind us, but unite ourselves with heaven itself, where there’s continual rejoicing and an unending feast.

Now especially is the season of joy. This is the season that we remember how beautiful our Faith is, how humble our faith, and how humble our Lord is who brings heaven down to earth for us. It’s the season we remember how much God loves, and how much he is willing to do in order for this love of his to reach into your heart & fill it with the warmth of his grace. We can respond cheerfully and offer our gratitude joyfully.

May God continue to show his mercy to us as we truly rejoice in the Lord this Christmas season. May we learn to count everything he’s done as a priceless treasure, placing it and keeping it at the center of our life and always appreciating ever more and more, growing in gratitude from week to week and year to year. Yes, may we always appreciate his care for us, his eternal and loving embrace that we experience in his Church.