Pigs and Priorities

In today’s gospel reading, we hear the account of a healing of two possessed men. The scriptures record that Jesus and His disciples crossed the Sea of Galilee to the country of the Gadarenes. Jesus was met by two men that were possessed by demons. Both cried out when they saw Jesus, acknowledging Him as the Son of God. The possessing spirits begged Jesus that if He cast them out they could enter the herd of pigs feeding nearby. Jesus commanded the spirits to depart, and the herd of swine ran down into the sea and drowned. The keepers of the pigs panicked and fled to the city to inform the inhabitants what had transpired. Many people came out of the town to where Jesus was and demanded that He leave their region.

At the center of the story is the miracle that transformed the pathetic demon-possessed men into physically and spiritually healthy individuals again. Jesus reveals that the healing of suffering is a primary mission of the Son of God in this world. The greatest contrast in this miraculous event is between the demon possessed men who are saved from the torments of the evil one and the “respectable” people of the town, who want Jesus to leave their coasts.

It is important to understand that the tending of pigs was considered unclean by Mosaic law. So the townsfolk were not angry that Jesus healed the two men; they were angry because Jesus interfered with their profitable business of raising pigs. When Jesus cast the demons into the herd of swine, He tested the values and priorities of the townspeople. When the crowds demanded that Jesus leave their region, they revealed that they valued their profitable pigs more than their suffering neighbors.

Like the townspeople of Gadara, Jesus also tests our priorities, although likely in more subtle ways. How do we respond to opportunities or challenges to help somebody in dire need that would require a true sacrifice of our time and/or finances? Like the townspeople of Gadara, our response demonstrates our priorities. When presented with such a challenge, do we rise to the occasion or do we ask Jesus to leave us alone because we consider our pigs to be more valuable?

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Fourth Sunday After Pentecost

In today’s gospel we heard about how a centurion, a Roman officer, came to the Lord to beseech healing of his beloved servant, who was seriously ill. The Lord replied, “I will come to you and heal your servant,” and the officer said to Him: “My lord, I give orders to my soldiers, and they carry out. You just order and the illness will leave him. ” Such was his belief in the healing power of the Savior. The Lord was surprised by his faith and said to him: “Go, it will be according to your faith.” And while the centurion was going home, his servant was healed.

Every time the Gospel tells that someone addresses the Lord, we can call it a prayer, because prayer is an appeal to the Lord. Very often those who sought the Lord’s help were people that were suffering, sick, or burdened with griefs or ailments; but also there were people who addressed Him in prayer for others.

The Lord performed his first miracle in Cana of Galilee at the request of His Mother. The Virgin Mary asked Him to help friends or relatives when they ran out of wine at a wedding. And we can say that this was the Mother of God’s first intercessory prayer for others. And remember how his friends dismantled the roof and let the paralytic on his stretcher down to the Lord, asking the Lord to heal him. And it is said in the Gospel that “Jesus, seeing their faith” healed him. Also, let us remember the Syrian woman, who begged Our Lord to heal her daughter.

It is very important to pay attention to these prayers for others. The prayers were not focusing on one’s own misfortunes, needs, illnesses, but on the needs, troubles, and illnesses of another person. Intercessory prayer has great power, because in praying for others, our self-love recedes and our kind attitude towards other people comes to the forefront. Therefore, prayer for others is often higher, more dear to the Lord, than prayer for oneself.

Of course, one may ask why is it helpful that someone intercede for us when we can pray for ourselves? Because when one offers a prayer for another in heartfelt love and humility, the intercessor transcends to the throne of God, concomitantly raising the person for whom is being prayed.

Each of you who has prayed for your friends and relatives knows what a great strength is prayer. Sometimes you can feel it when they pray for you. Every day when we stand before the Lord, we firstly pray for His will, and secondly, we pray for others, because there is no greater love than that which passes through prayer. And if we pray for each other, we are closely connected by the grace of God.

And if you see that it is impossible to assuage another’s trouble with a deed or a word, then always remember that intercessory prayer is a firm and reliable support. Pray warmly and fervently for those who are dear to you, and you will see that your prayer will manifest the power of God. If we pray for our loved ones, God will always be with us. The Lord Himself said: “Where two or three are gathered in My name, I am among them.” Pray for your friends and loved ones, and you will know God’s love.

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Sermon on the Mount

The gospel appointed for this Sunday in the Byzantine Rite is an excerpt from what is commonly known as the Sermon on the Mount. The reason for this designation is that Jesus “went up on a mountain” to deliver this message. The Sermon on the Mount is the longest continuous section of Jesus speaking found in the New Testament. Tradition identifies the location of this sermon to be a large hill known as Karn Hattin, located near Capernaum along the Sea of Galilee.

Jesus’ teachings during the Sermon on the Mount represent the major ideals of the Christian life, describing what a believer’s life should be like in faith, thoughts, words, and actions. In His sermon, Jesus taught that discipleship is not merely adherence to a set of legal precepts, but rather it is an all-encompassing conversion and commitment of every aspect of one’s life. Jesus’ teaching was a novel and radical paradigm shift from the established religious practice of the day.

Although society has changed a great deal since the time of Jesus, the fundamental message of the Sermon on the Mount remains relevant. The core message centers on a person’s priorities. A life of authentic discipleship is characterized by one that prioritizes pursuit of God as primary. To live in accordance with the precepts of Jesus’ teaching means that one adopts values, behaviors, and priorities that manifest faithfulness to God and compassion for others, rather than the rugged individualism and rampant consumerism prevalent in modern Western societies.

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Candles In Worship – Part III

Since ancient times at hierarchical (bishop) services, special candle-holders have been used. The faithful reverently bow their heads when blessed by the Bishop with the dikeri (representing the two natures of Christ) and the trikeri (representing the Holy Trinity). Candles are also lit during the celebration of the Holy Eucharist (Liturgy/Mass).

Holy Baptism is celebrated with the priest fully vested and all the candles lit. Three candles are lit before the baptismal font as a sign that the Baptism is accomplished in the Name of the Holy Trinity; and the person to be baptized (if an adult) and the sponsors hold lit candles in their hands during the procession around the font as an expression of joy at the entry of a new member into the Church of Christ.

At the betrothal ceremony, the priest hands the couple lit candles before they enter the church to receive the Sacrament of Matrimony, throughout which they hold the lit candles as a symbol of their profound love for each other and of their desire to live with the blessing of the Church.

At the Sacrament of Holy Unction, seven candles are lit around the vessel of Holy Oil as a sign of the grace-bestowing action of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. And when the body of a deceased person is brought in the church, four candles are placed about the coffin to form a cross to show that the deceased was a Christian. During the funeral service, as well as memorial services, the faithful stand with lit candles as a sign that the deceased’s soul has left this world and entered into the Unwaning Light of God, the Kingdom of Heaven.

During the Vespers portion of the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, the priest blesses the congregation with a lit candle and censer, proclaiming: “The Light of Christ illumines all!” On the Eve of the Nativity of Christ and the Theophany, a lit candle is placed before the festal Icon in the middle of the church to remind us of the birth and appearance on earth of Christ Our Savior, the Giver of Light. At all Divine Liturgies, lit candles are carried in procession at various parts of the service.

Thus candles and lampadas are lit at all church services with a wide variety of spiritual and symbolic meanings; for it is God Who said, “Let light shine out of darkness, [and] Who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (1 Cor. 4:6). So too, lit candles in the church are also an expression of the worshippers’ adoration and love for God, their voluntary sacrifices, and their joy of the spiritual triumph of the Church. The candles, by their burning, remind one of the Unwaning Light which in the Kingdom of Heaven makes glad the souls of the righteous who have pleased God.

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Candles In Worship – Part II

The early teachers of the Church also witnessed to the spiritual significance of candles. In the 2nd Century, Tertullian wrote:

“We never hold a service without candles, yet we use them not just to dispel night’s gloom; we also hold our services in daylight but in order to represent by this Christ, the Uncreated Light, without Whom we would in broad daylight wander as if lost in darkness” [ Works, 3rd ed., Kiev, 1915, p.76].

The Blessed Jerome wrote in the 4th Century:

“In all the Eastern Churches, candles are lit even in the daytime when one is to read the Gospels, in truth not to dispel the darkness, but as a sign of joy…in order under that factual light to feel that Light of which we read in the Psalms (119:105): ‘Thy word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path'” [Works, part IV, 2nd ed., Kiev, 1900, pp.301-302].

St. Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusalem, wrote in the 7th Century:

“Lampadas and candles represent the Eternal Light, and also the light which shines from the righteous” [Writings of the Holy Fathers…, St. Petersburg, 1855, Vol. I, p.270].

The Holy Fathers of the 7th Ecumenical Council decreed that in the Orthodox Catholic Church, the holy Icons and Relics, the Cross of Christ, and the Holy Gospel were to be honored by censing and by the lighting of candles; and the Blessed Simeon of Thessalonica (15th Century) wrote that candles are also lit before the Icons of the Saints, for the sake of their good deeds that shine in this world.

The faithful light candles before the icons as a sign of their faith and hope in God’s help that is always sent to all who entreat with faith and prayers. The candle is also a symbol of our burning and grateful love for God.

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Candles in Worship- Part I

Candles and icon lamps (lampadas) have a special symbolic meaning in the Christian Church, and candles play a significant role in Orthodox-Catholic Christian liturgical services. In the Old Testament, when the first temple of God was built on earth, the tabernacle services were held in it with lamps as the Lord Himself ordained (Exodus 40:5, 25). Following the example of the Old Testament worship, the lighting of candles and of lampadas was without fail included in the New Testament Church’s services.

The Acts of the Apostles mentions the lighting of lamps during the services in the time of the Apostles. Thus, in Troas, where Christ’s followers used to gather on the first day of the week (Sunday) to break bread, that is, to celebrate the Eucharist, there were many lights in the upper chamber (Acts 20:8). This reference to the large number of lamps signifies that they were not used simply for lighting, but for their spiritual significance, as well.

The early Christian ritual of carrying a lamp into the evening service led to the present-day order of Vespers with its processional entrance and the singing of the ancient hymn, O Jesus Christ, the Joyful Light…, which expresses the Christian teaching of spiritual light that illumines humanity in recognizing Christ as the Source of the grace-bestowing light. The order of the morning service of Matins is also linked to the theme of the Uncreated Light of Christ, manifested in His Incarnation and Resurrection.

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Father’s Day Blessings

“Blessed indeed is the man who hears many gentle voices call him father!” – Lydia M. Child

May God grant many blessed and healthy years to all fathers, grandfathers, godfathers, and spiritual fathers!

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