Author: ramez

Focus Quotes: Be Humble

Be Humble, or you’ll stumble

focus quote

If you would be simple-hearted like the Apostles, would not conceal your human shortcomings, would not pretend to be especially pious, if you would walk free from hypocrisy, then that is the path. While it is easy, not everyone can find it or understand it. This path is the shortest way to salvation and attracts the grace of God. Unpretentiousness, guilelessness, frankness of soul – this is what is pleasing to the Lord, Who is lowly of heart. Except ye become like children, ye shall not enter into the Kingdom of God (Matt. 18:13).”

Elder Leonid of Optina

“If you deprecate yourself in order to be honored, the Lord will expose you… And if you censure yourself aiming at truth, the Lord will make his creatures open in front of you the door of his glory of which He speaks from eternity, and they would glorify you and glorify the Creator, because in truth you would be to His image and His resemblance.”

Saint Isaac the Syrian

Readings: Be Humble

Be Humble, or you’ll stumble

New Testament Passage

But He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.” And she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour. – Matthew 15:27-28

Discussion Questions

  1. Using the passage as a guide, what are some differences between humility and self-depreciation? Hint: “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less” – Clive Staples Lewis
  2. “It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise Than for a man to hear the song of fools.” Eccl. 7:5 – What are some practical steps to receiving rebuke constructively?

Old Testament Passage

“Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.

So the women sang as they danced, and said: “Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands.” Then Saul was very angry, and the saying displeased him; and he said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed only thousands. Now what more can he have but the kingdom?” So Saul eyed David from that day forward.” – 1 Samuel 17:45-47, 18:7-9.

Discussion Questions

  1. Compare qualities displayed by David and Saul in the passage. What did David have that Saul lacked?
  2. What are the consequences of not having humility?
  3. It was once said that as soon as you start thinking you are humble, you have lost it. What practical steps then, can we take to grow and nurture the fruit of humility?

Trial and Temptation

Trial and Temptation

By Monica

Original post by Becoming Fully Alive blogsite, 17 Oct 2017

The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the LORD’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.” Exodus 16:3

The Greek word ‘peirasmos’ means both a trial and a temptation. The fathers of the church used them interchangeably and I am beginning to understand why.

When everything turns out to be nothing like you expected, it is much easier to despair, to fall into self- pity, and to ignore God, in favour of getting lost in a never- ending introspection.

When it feels like I’m stumbling around in the dark wilderness and the thistles are scratching at my feet, when even walking becomes difficult and the narrow road just seems too hard. Like Gomer, who cried out for the old oil and drink she once had, and the Israelites who cried out for the meat of Egypt.

I was tempted to take a sip of the soothing ointment of the world, that I know to be poison.

‘I will go after my lovers, who give me my food and my water, my wool and my linen, my olive oil and my drink.’ Hosea 2:5

Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” Exodus 14:12

For the first time, I am realising why in the midst of Job and his friends talking about suffering and God, Job stands and promises to make a covenant with his eyes not to look upon a woman. For as many times I had read Job, I had never noticed how misplaced that seemed… until it was too familiar to ignore.

Maybe I was never listening when they said in times of tribulation, you must be even more vigilant for temptation.

Distracted by the walls of my city crumbling, my own house has been left unguarded.

‘Your own vineyard you have not kept’. Songs of Solomon 1:6

Oh heart you have forgotten that the only real danger in this world is sin.

“For I have not stopped saying and I will not stop saying that there is only one thing truly distressing, and that is sin. Everything else is dust and smoke.” St John Chrysostom

Maybe it’s one of the devil’s favourite games to keep us wrapped up in our own problems that we forget to ask… When I am squeezed, what is coming out? When I am squeezed… I am no longer deceived. Sweet lemonade or bitter lemon?

I am realising that for years I was saying words, words that were so easy to say. But now I am being called to live. To put into practice the endless preaching. In time, perhaps I will learn to say with Moses that these words are ‘not just idle for you, they are life’ (Deuteronomy 32:47)and by them I will cross over into the Jordan. I will cross over to new heights I know He wants to take me.

In the meantime, I am struggling through the labour pains, I am so anxious to give birth to something beautiful, but I must learn to wait patiently and know that in an INSTANT, God is able to do exceedingly abundantly more than I could pray and ask for.

“Stop beseeching this or that person for help, and running after shadows – for this is what human assistance amounts to – instead ceaselessly beseech God whom you serve simply to give a nod and in a moment of time everything is brought into proper order” St John Chrysostom

Now if, while a man is walking in the path of righteousness, and is making his way toward God… he encounters in this path some afflictions of this sort, he must not turn aside from his way. Rather, he should accept whatever it is joyously, without scrutiny, and give thanks to God, because God has sent him this gift. That is to say, because he has been deemed worthy to fall into temptation for His sake, and to become a partaker of the sufferings of the prophets and the apostles, and of the rest of the saints who endured tribulations for the sake of God’s path, whether from men, from demons, or from the body. For without the bidding of God it is impossible that tribulations should be permitted to arise; but they occur so as to be for a man the cause of righteousness -St Isaac the Syrian

For it is not God’s good pleasures that those whom He loves should live in ease while they are in the flesh -St Isaac the Syrian

Original blog found at- https://becomingfullyalive.com/trial-and-temptation/

Renewed in Love

Renewed in Love

An anonymous poem

As we walk through life’s valley in the shadow of death,
We look around seeking light to penetrate into its depth,
As we struggle, persevere, lift our eyes to the cleft,
Seeking hope, life, deliverance that’s impervious to theft

When we find ourselves consumed by our daily trouble,
As life’s happenings build up to burst our fragile bubble,
We try to grit our teeth, pushing through our struggle,
Ignoring the only One able to deliver us from this self-made muddle

Neglecting Him we try to resort to our own efforts and means,
Thinking of strategies and ways our minds earnest and keen,
Forgetting His mighty hand and workings that are hidden, unseen,
Working this trouble all for good from behind the visible scenes

Believing all is for good can be doubted, misunderstood,
Crossing our mind a natural question often humbly could,
And so we turn to His word as our source of nourishing food,
Where we will feast on holy examples which the Bible gracefully exudes

When we look at Abraham, his life’s efforts and toil,
Called to leave his country home and familiar soil,
His faith tested through fire, simmered up to the boil,
And yet God rewarded him because he was loyal

Next up we have Isaac who was always obedient,
Who thought not bringing a ram was quite inconvenient,
Who humbly submitted himself, although not expedient,
And so God blessed in a way that he had not seen yet

Now in Jacob we have one who seems awfully real,
One who wrestled with God and experienced his feel,
Although challenges abounded late in Jacob’s ordeal,
God was working all for good for his children to meal

Three examples we see of the patriarchs of old,
Whose experiences with God give hope to the fold,
That God can deliver all who draw near Him and hold,
Working all things for good to those love Him bold

Restless

Transcribed St Luke’s sermon by Fr Daniel Fanous  

The gospel that we read today is a short Gospel placed between 2 of the most remarkable events that occur in the Gospels.

  1. The multiplication miracle 
  2. Christ talking about the Eucharist and how we should eat His body and blood

So, this Gospel is sandwiched between these two events, and if not read in this context it won’t make too much sense. Once the people have seen the multiplication miracle, they remember Moses when he gave the manna when they were starving. As a result, they try to make Jesus King. It then says that once they did so that Jesus departed alone to the mountain. Afterwards, the disciples waited till later that evening to start crossing the sea of Galilee, and after having rowed 4 miles(7km) they saw that Jesus came walking to them saying to them “it is I, do not be afraid”. 

The next morning, the few thousand people who were on the other side of Galilee got in boats and crossed the sea. When they get there they see that there’s only one boat, then they remembered that Jesus wasn’t on that boat. So they were confused as to how He got there, so they asked him a question (which is the centre of this Gospel); “Rabbi, when did you come here?” Basically asking in a nice way, How did you possibly come here?!

Jesus answers and says, “Most assuredly I say to you, you seek me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.”

But notice that they have forgotten something. They just wanted to make Him king of Israel and now they’ve forgotten. Just yesterday, He had performed a miracle that had convinced them utterly that this Man should be the King of Israel, the Messiah, the Redeemer, the one sent to deliver Israel. And then within hours they’ve completely forgotten. So Christ tells them, You’re only following, not because you saw the signs, but because I fed you.

St John Chrysostom, one of the early church fathers, says, “they forgot about making Him king, that’s how fickle humanity is. Now they just want more food.”

This is the story not only of these few thousand people but of all humanity. This is our entire lives, we chase after satisfaction without looking to the one who satisfies. That is the nature of all lust and desire, you keep chasing it but not seeing that it’s a sign of something else, it points to someone else, it points to a higher union.Every desire, if not looked at our own hearts, is an attempt to be satisfied. Whether its lust, sex, food, pride or vanity. All of these are a yearning to be satisfied, and all of these sins are a state of restlessness, agitation, an attempt to be satisfied but you can’t quite get there. 

St Augustine was somebody who did this for some time. But even when he did try to seek a respectable marriage and left all these women he’s been with and even left his concubine/lover he says that he tried to chase women after women to find satisfaction but he just couldn’t. In his confessions he writes the most stunning line;

“Our hearts were created for God, and so they remain restless until they rest in Him.”Restless being a state of anxiety, agitation and annoyance. 

This is specifically our hearts;  We are in a state of agitation, seeking a higher union, but we just don’t see this. There’s this infinite hole in our hearts and we try to fill it with finite things, things that are limited and cannot satisfy. Then we wonder why we remain anxious, unsatisfied, yearning and addicted. Because what were trying to do is satisfy ourselves infinitely with something that is limited. That is why we must have mercy on those who separate themselves from God, those who sin, those who behave agitatedly. Because this happens in trying to fulfill their desires that are not corrupt or evil, they’re just weak. They’re searching for the one who gives the sign, but they’re stuck on the sign, and they keep going back to the sign, not understanding it and just trying to be satisfied by the sign alone. They forgot to seek God and just try to still that infinite restlessness until they rest in God;

“Most assuredly I say to you, you seek me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.”

Jesus’ words are a response to the agitation of these people; they are a response to us. We have chased the sign and have forgotten the one to whom the sign points to. 

St Augustine says a beautiful line; “How many seek Jesus for no other objective than to gain some kind of temporal benefit?” One has a business that they need help in so they ask for the intercessions of the clergy. Another is oppressed by one that is more superior to them and so they seek God for help to have influence on someone to whom he himself has little influence. Each person wants something.The Church is filled with people like this.

Jesus is scarcely sought after for His own sake.

Even Christ infers that we seek Him not for Him but for something else. And all of these things are signs; something that points to something else. And yet, we can’t see that, were just stuck on the sign. What we think are our goals- Satisfying lust, pride, ambition, glory and love- are in fact just pointers. 

It’s almost as if you make a journey to Niagara Falls. And as you’re walking you see a sign pointing in the direction towards the falls. Then you start taking photos with the sign, you stare at it, you spend time around it and then you go home. Inside you know that there’s something left unsatisfied from the day. Was that what I was really aiming for?

Is that what we were really created for?

This is how we remain unsatisfied and restless. Yet were not sure why. We want something but we don’t even know what. I’ll never forget that when I was a young medical student I was in surgery with one of the top urologists in Australia, and he said to me, ‘Ive chased my entire life to because the number 1 urologist in the number 1 hospital in Australia. I chased it until I became the head of the department, and now I’m 50 years old and I’ve stopped. Yet I can’t stop thinking, what am I doing?’ He was in a state of agitation, always yearning, but not too sure what for. These things leave us empty and don’t actually achieve what they’re mean to achieve. 

St John Chrysostom says from the perspective of Christ; 

“I fed your bodies so that after this you may seek the food that endures, which nourishes the soul. But you run right back to the food that is temporal. Therfore you do not understand that I lead you, not to this imperfect food, but to that which nourishes not the body but the soul.”

This material satisfaction is supposed to point us to Him, it Is in itself good, there’s nothing bad with is. Love, intimacy, fear; all of these things are good but they’re only signs pointing to Him. Even today on Valentine’s Day, we should never forget the words of St Paul; 

“But I speak of a greater mystery, that of Christ and the church.”

Even our marriages and our love points to Christ and the church, the laying down of His life for the church and the churches response to that. 

So let us then lift up our eyes to Christ, the one to whom our hearts were created for. The one whom our hearts are restless for, so that we can say with St Augustine “our hearts are restless until they rest in You.” 

What’s remarkable is that at the end of that passage in St Augustine’s confession he ends with this conclusion;

“Through Your own merciful dealings with me my Lord and God, tell me what You are to me, say to my soul ‘I am your salvation’, say it so that I can hear it. My heart is listening Lord. Open the ears of my heart and say to my soul, ‘I am your salvation.’ Let me run towards this voice and cease hold of You. Do not hide Your face from me, let me die so that I may see it, for not to see it would be death to me indeed.”

Not seeing the Lord is death. 

Glory be to God forevermore, Amen

Our Greatest Error

Our Greatest Error

By Bethany Kaldas

‘Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning,
For in You do I trust;
Cause me to know the way in which I should walk,
For I lift up my soul to You.’

Psalm 143:8

What do you think the greatest pitfall of Christians today is? That’s probably too broad a question, but try to think about it. Is it that we’re too insulated? Or perhaps we’re becoming too secular? Or that we are compromising our morals and traditions too much—or not enough?

Admit it, modern Christians have their problems. We’re confused by the world we live in, and it can be difficult to see what’s a genuine problem and what is simply a sign of growth. But there is one mistake we make all too frequently that I think has gone neglected in the face of the flashier problems in modern Christianity. It’s a subject we tend to mention a lot—but I don’t think it’s something we live. It’s the foundation of every Sundayschool answer ever, and yet, how many of us actually believe it, if we’re really being honest with ourselves?

It is my humble opinion that our greatest error as Christians is not that we are not yet perfect in virtue, but that we all too often forget that God actually loves us. I speak of myself first, of course.

It’s a surprisingly easy thing to forget when the world seems constantly to tell us otherwise. When people snap at you at work, when nobody seems to appreciate your efforts, when you feel unwelcome in your own home or discover that people you once thought were friends or at least trusted companions did not feel the same way about you. When the world rejects you, it’s easy to start rejecting yourself and believe that you simply don’t meet the standards of love.

‘I kept running around it in large or small circles, always looking for someone or something able to convince me of my Belovedness.
Self-rejection is the greatest enemy of the spiritual life because it contradicts the sacred voice that calls us the “Beloved”. Being the Beloved expresses the core truth of our existence.’

Henri J.M. Nouwen, Life of the Beloved

It’s important to realise that, now more than ever, our society is basically founded on dissatisfaction—dissatisfaction with what you have, where you are, and—worst of all, perhaps—who you are. The world will tell you you’re not good enough—but not because it knows anything about you. It says this because it wants something from you. In this sense, the world will only ever take from you—it will never give anything back. It will drain you and drain, more and more, until there is very little of you left. The world fills your head with voices that tell you that if you just do one more thing you’ll finally feel loved. But it never delivers. It only gets worse.

‘Those same voices are not unfamiliar to me. They are always there and, always, they reach into those inner places where I question my own goodness and doubt my self-worth. They suggest that I am not going to be loved without my having earned it through determined efforts and hard work. They want me to prove to myself and others that I am worth being loved, and they keep pushing me to do everything possible to gain acceptance. They deny loudly that love is a totally free gift. I leave home every time I lose faith in the voice that calls me the Beloved and follow the voices that offer a great variety of ways to win the love I so much desire.’

Henri J.M. Nouwen, Return of the Prodigal Son

We do too much to try and prove that we are worth something—many sins are founded in our insecurity that we are not beautiful, we are not worthy of affection or time or admiration, that we are not lovable.

But the world does not know you, it does not care about you, it will never love you, no matter what you do. So why do we expect it to give us any assurance, any security?

‘Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.’

1 John 3:1

The reality of God’s love for us is not just something we tell children to comfort them. It is not something we tell ourselves for the sake of comfort, either. The love of God is not there to make you comfortable (in fact, in this world, it might have the opposite effect). God’s love for us is the foundation of Christian life, it is the reason for anything and everything we believe in. And when I say this, I am not referring to some general blanket of love thrown over the world by some impersonal force of divine love. Divine love is never impersonal.

‘He died not for men, but for each man. If each man had been the only man made, He would have done no less.’

C. S. Lewis

‘You may fear that the Lord has passed you by, but it is not so: he who counts the stars, and calls them by their names, is in no danger of forgetting his own children. He knows your case as thoroughly as if you were the only creature he ever made, or the only saint he ever loved. Approach him and be at peace.’

Charles Spurgeon

But forgetting that God loves you has consequences that go beyond your own well-being.

‘We love Him because He first loved us.’

1 John 4:19

Loving God at all is only possible when you realise that God has loved you first. From before your birth, from the beginning of time, the Creator of the universe—the One who made countless galaxies, dazzling cascades, glistening mountain peaks and vast oceans—still thought that His world was incomplete without you in it. We have no love in and of ourselves—we are too weak for this—our love for God can only ever be a small offshoot of the unfathomable love He has for us, the same love that whispers to you in every breeze, ‘It is My joy that you are here.’

‘This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.’

John 15:12

And if we are unable to love God without acknowledging His love for us, then how could we ever love others? There is an indescribable beauty to that moment—that moment when you realise that God’s love for you—an infinitely powerful and unique love—frees you from all those insecurities and doubts and resentments that hindered your love for your neighbour. Because realising that God loves you—and loves you the most—does not in any way minimise His love for those around you. And those whom God loves, we too can love. We can show them, too, that they are children of the Most High, beautiful, unique and priceless in the eyes of the One who brought them forth from the dust. But to be able to show this wonderful truth to others, we must first believe it about ourselves.

‘When we claim and constantly reclaim the truth of being the chosen ones, we soon discover within ourselves a deep desire to reveal to others their own chosenness. Instead of making us feel that we are better, more precious or valuable than others, our awareness of being chosen opens our eyes to the chosenness of others. That is the great joy of being chosen: the discovery that others are chosen as well. In the house of God there are many mansions. There is a place for everyone – a unique, special place. Once we deeply trust that we ourselves are precious in God’s eyes, we are able to recognize the preciousness of others and their unique places in God’s heart.’

Henri J.M. Nouwen, Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World

God’s love for you—you specifically—is infinite, endless, unique and perfect and always, always there, calling for you, longing for you. He will follow you to all those dark and lonely places you go to hide. He is not playing hard to get. He is not waiting for you to become perfect, or even good. He is longing for you. He is calling you out of the shadows and into His love.

Will you follow His voice?

‘Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.’

Psalm 139:7-10

Being different

St Luke’s transcribed sermon by David Nada

Coming into the new year, we approach Christmas and the birth of our Lord. The church in her wisdom- during this time- gives for us the gospel of the birth of Saint John the Baptist. 

It was the job of Saint John the Baptist to prepare the way for Christ.  I think it’s a really important time in the year that we get to hear and see this gospel. When I read the gospel for today’s liturgy there was a verse that stuck out to me which didn’t usually stick out, and that was verse 61; 

“his mother answered and said, ‘no he shall be called John’, but they said to her, ‘there is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.’ So then they made signs to his father that he would what he would have him called.”

The very first thing that stuck out to me there was that even from birth and even from naming, St John’s life was different. He was called to be different. The usual tradition at the time was to call your son after his father or someone in the family. But from the begging of his life, Saint John was called to be different. If you see what his purpose of his life was- which was to carry the light of Christ and to prepare the way for Christ- then this is a calling for all of us. We are all called to be different and I think sometimes being different can be quite scary in our day and age. 

And recently someone who came up to me had just finished their HSC and they said to me, ‘I want to study law and business but should I study medicine because that in itself is a Christ-like profession in that you’re constantly helping people and healing people.’ This made me realize that in every action that we do -regardless if it’s the action that we do at work or with the people around us- we have an opportunity to be different. There is obviously an assumption that in jobs in business that it’s like it’s a dog eat dog world and you have to be stepping over people to kind of get your way, but that’s because It is not normal to do things that are Christian and it’s not normal to turn the other cheek. 

I really wanted to focus today on this concept of being different as something that we as Christians should really take pride in that we should really take pride in being able to stand out and to be the salt of the earth. We give the world its flavour. We give the world its light. So, then that brings me on to the second verse in this in this gospel, which really caught my attention, which is what is the result of being different? In verse 76 to 79 of today’s Gospel, we read;

“And you child would be called the Prophet of the Highest for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the remission of their sins through the tender mercy of our God with which the day-spring from on high has visited us to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

I think is very clear that there’s a lot of sadness and darkness in the world around us. Never in the history of humanity have we had the same rates of depression, the same rates of suicide, the wars that we see around us, the social injustices. There is a lot of darkness in the world. So, we may take great pride in things which we’ve worked hard for in our life, and rightly so in terms of our work and our families. But really, there is great work to be done and the harvest truly is great, to be different, to be a light unto the world. To show people the love of Christ, which is a radical love that changes lives. We see that more so in Christ’s life than anyone else. It was Christ who when he sat with the tax collectors and the adulterers they said, why are you doing that? That is not normal. It was Christ who walked hours and hours in the middle of the sun to see the Samaritan woman. It was Christ to constantly went out of his way to show the world that to be a light you have to be different. And if we look at this kind of motif of ‘the light’, we see the Old-Testament-equivalent is the ‘minora’ or the ‘lampstand’, that we read of in Exodus. Exodus 25 Christ God gives very clear instructions on how to build this light, and it’s extremely specific. I think what it calls to is that all of us are in different walks of life. All of us are placed in different parts of life and different workplace, in different family environments, in different countries, and in different cities, and in every single place we are called to be this light. 

So, there is kind of three parts to this; there is why, how, and what.

1.     Why am I called to lead this life? 

Father Tadros Yacoub Malaty says that “The light sorry the light given by this ‘manora’ in the dark tent would have been a powerful symbol of God’s light and holiness in our dark and sinful world.” So that is the why, if we are to draw people to Christ if you are to give people the gift that is the peace and love of Christ that we are all able to partake of in communion; the why is to share this light with others to not just keep it to ourselves. 

So, it’s very easy to say ‘okay, we need to be different, we need to be a light on the world. I need to be the salt of the world’, but;

2.     How do I become light if I feel like I’m dark inside, or if I feel like I’m full of sin to think of who am I to bring people or what am I? 

It’s quite a hard question to answer, how do I become a light? I think we’re very blessed in this time as we approach the nativity that the how is very clear, that the how is said in a very simple verse;

“draw near to Me and I will draw a near to you.” 

Pope Kyrillos instituted the idea of having a liturgy every single day. I guess the theologians have kind of studied that since have come up with this concept called theosis. The idea is that the more we partake of the body and blood of Christ, the more we have communion the more we become like Christ. So that if every day I wake up and I pray then I go to church and I have communion, then throughout my day I’m thinking of Christ, then at night before I sleep, I read my Bible and I pray, I’m constantly drawing near to Christ. 

“draw near to Me and I will draw near to you, partake of Me and I will be in you and you will be of me so that we carry that light.”

So if I want to know how to become a light to people, how do I behave so in order to uphold what we hear that sometimes you are the only gospel one gets the chance to read. In order to know how to truly be that gospel, the answer is in drawing near to Christ, in being Christ’s like so that in every action,  in every day,  in every word, and in every interaction with everyone around meI am being Christ’s like. And this can only be achieved through drawing near to Christ through consistent and constant prayer. 

I really love father Sam and father Dan who on New Year’s Eve here at Saint Luke’s instituted this idea that every month, there’s a certain action and as a church we all practice that action. That action for this specific month of January was to do one act of kindness every single day, for instance, if someone drops something at the shopping center you pick it up for them. These are kind of the Christ-like little lights which may mean nothing to you, but to the person who receives the kindness could mean everything, and has possibly changed their day, and maybe even their life.

 So then that brings us onto the what-  The why is to show people the light of Christ, the how is to draw near to Christ in prayer, in communion, in Psalms, in singing praises. And then that brings us to the what- the only what that is important to all of us is the what of love. That is the only way really to draw people in, to practice love the way that Christ taught us. To finish off this idea of what I just wanted to read Luke 6:32 to 36, which is really how to be a Christian. How to be different from the world, because these practices of love that are outlined in these verses are not normal. These are not things that the world would normally teach us. These are; 

 “But if you love those who love you what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.  And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? for even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. But love your enemies do good, lend a helping hand hoping for nothing in return and your reward will be great and you will be sons of the highest. For he is kind to the unthankful and evil. Therefore, be merciful just as your father is merciful.” 

We also read;

“Turn the other cheek, go the extra mile, give someone your cloak, and do not ask for it back.” 

These are practices that the world finds radical. These are practices that really distinguish us from everyone else. These are the practices by which we are called to be different. 

So if I want to know why- the answer is to spread the light of Christ and to be different. The how – is to draw near to Christ and he will draw near to me. The what is to show love to the world that the world does not expect that nor teach us and to do good in that way. 

The result of all this is written in today’s Gospel, which says “to guide our feet into the way of peace”; Luke 1:79.  St Cyril the Great says of this verse “The world was knocked about in the very dark mazes and in the shameful ignorance. The cloud of ignorance forbade the multitude of people from seeing the Lord Jesus the redeemer. He is the God of truth and justice. The Lord of all was manifested to the Israelites, a light to them and a son to their souls”.  

Glory be to God forever Amen. 

Prayer: Staying Connected

Staying Connected

Striving toward a life of Unceasing Prayer

Prayer

O Lord, as we raise our hearts to You who are so wondrous, help us first to think of our sins, our weaknesses, and our shortcomings and beg for mercy and forgiveness. Clear us of the corruptions that infect our hearts, remove the blindness from our mind’s eye that hides our sins, and purify us through prayer.

O Lord, we pray that we may learn how to pray in spirit and in truth. We pray that we may learn how to have Your word on our lips or in our hearts unceasingly. We pray that You may teach us discipline and perseverance that we may approach you in Your majesty and turn to You with awe in our hearts. We pray that our lives become a prayer.

O Lord, we thank you that the path to your heavenly house is always open to us. We thank You that we need only look within ourselves to find You and that this sight, this prayer, is always open to us. We thank you for Your constant giving. We pray finally, O Lord, save us!

Amen.