Uncategorised – Page 3 – Upper Room Media Blogs

Afraid To Be Free

By Fr Antonios Kaldas,

Originally seen on Fr Antonios Kaldas blog site, 8 October 2012

Most people take it for granted that each of us is free to choose in life. But some philosophers, such as Jean-Paul Sartre, claim that most people do not really want to be free. Choices have real consequences, and freedom brings with it responsibility. People do not want to be held responsible for the consequences of their actions. What if I make the wrong decision? What if the consequences are bad? I don’t want to be held to blame! I don’t want to feel guilty. And so, people seek ways to shift the responsibility on to someone or something else, whether they know they are doing this or not.

One famous way of doing this is “the devil made me do it”. But a more subtle way of shifting responsibility is to lay it upon God, or upon His representatives on earth. Sartre points out that when a person adopts a faith, they surrender some of their freedom. They surrender the freedom to decide for themselves what is right and wrong, for by subscribing to their faith’s moral code, that decision is taken out of their hands. Of course, each person is still free to choose whether to obey their faith’s moral code or not – they are still quite free and quite responsible in that sense, but they are no longer responsible for the content of the moral code itself.

Now I do not see this as a bad thing in itself. We humans are, after all, quite fallible, and we have a disturbing tendency to try to cheat to make life comfortable for ourselves. If there is a genuinely objective right and wrong in the world (as most people would agree there is), then we are much more likely to find it when God tells us what it is than when are left to work it out for ourselves. We are just far too prone to seeing things in ways that are convenient to us instead of seeing them as they really are.

But there is a variation on this that can be quite harmful and can do a lot of damage. That is, when we confuse the Truth of God for the teachings of men. All men are fallible, whoever they are. Jesus Himself criticised the scribes and Pharisees for teaching the precepts of men as if they were the commandments of God. Perhaps this too is a responsibility that each of us has, to do our best to distinguish between those moral laws that are of human origin and those that are divine. As a priest, it is incumbent upon me also to specify clearly to people when I am “quoting God” and when I am speaking off my own bat. There is a big difference between me encouraging someone to forgive someone who has hurt them and me encouraging someone to make a particular career choice I think suits them.

It is a sin to surrender your freedom to another human being. Just as we cannot say, “the devil made me do it”, neither will the excuse, “but I was just following orders” carry any weight. Few people today would excuse the foot soldiers responsible for carrying out the atrocities of Nazi Germany or Bosnia because they were “just following orders”. And yet, we humans appear to have a disturbing need to obey even the worst of orders. The famous experiments of Stanley Milgram last century are testimony to that horrible reality about us.

Yet this disturbing tendency seems to crop up in all aspects of life. For example, many employees are daily tested as to whether they will follow orders and do things they know or at least suspect deep down to be immoral. Students in a school playground are daily tested as to whether they will just follow the crowd or the popular kids instead of standing up for what they know to be right.

And it happens in Churches too. How many people in the Catholic Church were aware or suspicious of the terrible child abuse that is only now being gradually uncovered? Why did so many otherwise decent, compassionate and honest people remain silent about it? Quite simply, because they were told to, whether overtly or implicitly, by the hierarchy of the Church. And they surrendered their responsibility to these leaders. As a result of this silence, the abuse continued for far longer and spread far further than it should have.

There are practical reasons for accepting responsibility. Pastor Martin Niemoller was imprisoned for taking personal responsibility for speaking out against the Hitler regime. His chilling words illustrate one of these reasons:

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out – because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out – because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out – because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me – and there was no one left to speak for me.

As Christians, we cannot live alone. We do not have the luxury of saying, ‘it’s fine, so long as I am alright’. As the Desert Father said, ‘our life and death is with our brothers’. Anything that hurts another human being hurts me, for we all share the same image of God. As Christians, we are our brother’s and sister’s keepers. This is what divine love means. This is the love modelled by Jesus ‘who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross’ (Philippians 2:6-8).

Whether we like it or not, we are free. It was God who created us free. Free to help or ignore others in need. Free to stand silently while atrocities and injustices are perpetrated, or to speak against them, whatever the cost. And yes, we can try to surrender this freedom to make life a little less scary for ourselves, but the price for such a surrender is high, O so high! It is nothing less than our very humanity itself.

Original blog available at- http://www.frantonios.org.au/2012/10/08/afraid-to-be-free/

Unconditional Self-Worth

Unconditional Self-Worth

By Lilyan Andrews

Original post by Lilyan Andrews at Lilies and Thorns blog site, August 28, 2020

Self-Worth Definition: A sense of one’s own value as a human being.

You might be wondering what is the difference between self-worth and self-esteem. I’d like to share this great Ted Talk with you all about self-worth. The speaker defines the difference as the following:

“Self Esteem is derived from our abilities, accomplishments, social positions and things we believe we can achieve. We can bolster our self-esteem by improving our skills or performance, and our self-esteem goes up and down depending on how we are doing in various aspects in our lives. In contrast, unconditional self-worth is distinct from our abilities and accomplishments. It’s not about comparing ourselves to others. It’s not something we can have more or less of. Unconditional self-worth is the sense that you deserve to be alive, to be loved and cared for, to take up space.”

Unconditional self-worth is not tied to anything you have done or have not done, it’s not based on any condition. It is not founded on your social standing, your career, your marital status, your good or bad deeds, your purity, etc. Your self-worth is knowing that you are a daughter of the King of kings. Period.

You are worthy because you are a child of God! Worthy of an extremely rewarding and fulfilling life that leads you to eternal glory.

You might be thinking that you’re not worthy because of your past mistakes or imperfections. I have news for you: no one is perfect, we are all sinners. St. Paul even says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). All our past, current, and future sins did not stop Christ from dying for us. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8). We are so valuable, that it was none other than the precious blood of Christ that was able to redeem us. If the almighty God Himself sees a worth in us and loves us to the point of death, then how dare we not see that worth in ourselves?!

I’ll be the first to admit that sometimes I lose sight of my self-worth when I sin over and over again. Especially when I was younger and thought that my self-worth was equivalent to my purity. So every time I fell into temptation and defied my purity I felt like I was worthless. Maybe it was an idea I got from cultural teachings, but it was an incorrect teaching indeed. God’s love for me is never affected by my sins. No matter what I have done, He always wants me to repent and turn back to Him. Don’t be so worried over your “reputation” or what people think of you. God’s grace has a beautiful and mysterious way of covering up your flaws and allowing people to see the good in you. I wish I could give you exact examples of how He has done this in my life, but that would be too personal for this blog, so just trust me on this one.

Next time you question your self-worth, remember how valuable you are as a child of God. Remember that you are only human, and humans sin and make mistakes, but that never takes away from your worth or disqualifies you from being His child. It’s only when you reject Him and His Holy Spirit that you detach yourselves from the source of life and lose sight of your true worth.

If we really understood our self-worth it would help us fight our demons. Especially the temptation of looking for love and validation from the wrong people. How many times do we find ourselves in an unhealthy relationship because we are looking for attention and trying to bandage the deep wounds we have of thinking we are not good enough? Ladies, this is such a dangerous thing we have to be careful not to fall into. (This post has more on this temptation).

I know how hard it can be in this day in age to see how valuable and worthy we really are. When the world is bombarding us with messages of how thin we need to look and how perfect we need to act, it can be challenging to see beyond that. We’re mistaken if we tie our self-worth to anything outwardly.

Our God is a God of hearts and He sees beyond the surface. “For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7). So instead of spending so much time obsessing over our physical attributes, let’s focus on our hearts.There is a great book I read a long time ago that talks about how the heart matters more than anything else in all creation, and the beauty behind how God designed women. Check out “Captivating: Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman’s Soul” by John and Stasi Eldredge if you are looking for a deeper understanding on this subject.

Girls, you have to know that you are enough! Repeat that as many times as you need to in order to engrave it in your mind. “I am enough!” You don’t need to add anything to yourself to be good enough. Of course you should still pursue your dreams and goals, but whether you achieve them or not, you are still enough. Adia Gooden says in the Ted Talk, “Cultivate unconditional self-worth by shedding the belief that you are not good enough.”

Let us all pray for each other and encourage each other to get to know Him more, because that’s the only way we get to understand our true self-worth. See yourself through His eyes! Work on seeing and believing you are worthy, unconditionally.

(c) Lilyan Andrews. Unconditional Self-Worth by Lilyan Andrews. Lilies and Thorns Blog site. Available at https://www.liliesandthorns.com/post/unconditional-self-worth

Upside Down Kingdom

By Monica

Originally seen on Becoming Fully Alive blog site, March 21, 2016

‘Do you fast? Give me proof of it by your works. If you see a poor man take pity on him…’ St John Chrysostom
As Orthodox believers are called to practice what we believe. If Orthodoxy means the ‘correct belief’ than Orthopraxy means ‘correct practice.’ This correct practice involves preaching by using our hands to serve. It means clearing the stench of economic division with the air of reconciliation. It means doing more than theorising. It means acknowledging the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit in the Church, and walking humbly – and boldly – into the thick darkness, so that we might proclaim freedom to the captives, and demand justice for the oppressed.

The thing about social justice is that it’s not “elsewhere,” it is here and it is a part of us. It is healing the wounds that we have created in the body of Christ. It is breaking every barrier that stops us being gathered together into the arms of Christ.

“How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!” (Luke 13:34)

Would you do honour to Christ’s body? Neglect Him not when naked; do not while here you honour Him with silken garments, neglect Him perishing without of cold and nakedness. For He that said, “This is my body,” and by His word confirmed the fact, This same said, “You saw me hungered, and fed me not;” and, “Inasmuch as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me (Matthew 25:42- 45).” For this indeed needs not coverings, but a pure soul; but that requires much attention.
-St. John Chrysostom Homily 50 on Matthew

In the story of Lazarus and the rich man (Luke 16:19-31), the rich man saw poverty and suffering around him, but he chose apathy. Maybe, he, like the priest who passed by the man in the story of the good Samaritan, was on his way to church or some service. Busying himself, he forgets to act justly. He forgets he is made for justice. Maybe in serving at the table of the Lord, we have forgotten to serve the table of the poor.

“When His table indeed is full of golden cups, but He perishes with hunger? First fill Him, being a hungered, and then abundantly deck out His table also. Do you make Him a cup of gold, while you give Him not a cup of cold water? And what is the profit? Do you furnish His table with cloths bespangled with gold, while to Himself you afford not even the necessary covering? And what good comes of it? For tell me, should you see one at a loss for necessary food, and omit appeasing his hunger, while you first overlaid his table with silver; would he indeed thank you, and not rather be indignant?” -St John Chrysostom, Homily 50 Matthew

The thing about social justice is that it is forgotten. We forget that working towards social justice is what it means to celebrate the liturgy on the streets.
When seeking the kingdom of heaven, let us remember that in the parable of the pearl, the pearl was not found in the clouds but amongst the dirt, hidden under rocks and soil (Matthew 13: 45-46). It takes getting your hands dirty to get it out; hidden behind the poor, the broken, the marginalised.

Do you desire greatness this lent, and in your spiritual life?

Jesus redefined it:

“he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves. For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as the One who serves.” (Luke 22:26-27)

We serve a God of an upside-down Kingdom where the meek will inherit, where those who serve are greater than those who sit on thrones, there is strength through weakness, exaltation through humility, receiving through giving, freedom from servitude.

Is this not the fast that I have chosen:
To loosen the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the heavy burdens,
To let the oppressed go free,
And that you break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry.
Isaiah 58:6

O Lord Jesus,
Let your upside-down kingdom come
Help us fast from injustice
Keep our eyes wide open to suffering
Help us flee from apathy

This post is dedicated to a friend in Jordan

Original blog available at- https://becomingfullyalive.com/upside-down-kingdom/

19 Covid-19 Blessings

By Fr Antonios Kaldas

Originally seen on Fr Antonios Kaldas blog site, 24 March 2020

The coronavirus pandemic has hit, and our lives have changed dramatically; possibly in some ways, permanently. The dark side of the pandemic no doubt fills your screens and devices for large chunks of the day, so here, I want to highlight the brighter side. “Every cloud has a silver lining” is a hackneyed cliché, yet no less true for that. And of course, the Christian lives according to the foundational principle that good is always ultimately stronger than evil. We find this principle all over the Bible—here is a small sample:

Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy,
for though I have fallen, yet will I arise,
because even if I should sit in darkness,
the Lord will be a light to me (Micah 7:8).

And we know that all things work together
for good to those who love God (Romans 8:28).

Not that I speak in regard to need,
for I have learned in whatever state I am,
to be content:
I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound.
Everywhere and in all things I have learned
both to be full and to be hungry,
both to abound and to suffer need.
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:11–13).

You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4).

What matters in life is not that bad things happen to us. What really matters is what we make of the things that happen to us, good or bad. It was bad that Christ was crucified, but He turned it into the most stunning act of self-sacrificial love by humbly accepting it and even praying for the ones who put Him to death, and then defeating death by His resurrection. Merely complaining about our troubles diminishes us as human beings and makes us passive victims. Accepting the situation and using it to transform ourselves for the better makes us victors, just like Christ.

So, in that spirit, here are 19 blessings we might derive from the curse of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Practical Love.
The suspension of many of your normal activities is actually an opportunity to show self-sacrificial love for the vulnerable, the weak, the sick, and the elderly in a very practical way. Do you have elderly neighbours? Please take every precaution around them, but see if they need anything. Share supplies with them, or at least share a smile and the knowledge that someone cares. Ring someone who is lonely and help them feel a little less alone. Who else around you could do with a little love?
Learn to live again.
The Roman politician and philosopher Seneca once wrote, “While we’re waiting to live, life passes us by”(Letters to Lucilius, I.1). Don’t wait to live anymore. Actually live, now, in the present. Go for walks in a park. Ride your bike around. Look at sunrises and sunsets. Work in the garden. Rediscover the beauty of nature.
Reconnect.
Especially with those at home. Lately, even if they’re in the same room, families are often in very different electronic worlds. Rediscover the comfort of conversation. Share ideas and experiences, hopes and fears. Feel again that you are not alone. And if you live alone, connect with others by phone or internet. Listen to their voices and see their facial expressions. When we look upon another’s face, we look upon the face of Christ.
Exercise, cook, eat well.
If you have more time on your hands, use some of it to look after the gift of the body that God gave you. Take the time to prepare a healthy meal instead of junk food. Share the cooking experience with the loving God who created the food you are preparing and gave you the senses with which to appreciate and enjoy it. You don’t need a gym to do push ups and sit ups. Who needs weights when you can lift your pet dog (always obtain the dog’s permission first).
Catch up.
Instead of sitting around binge-watching, get up and look around the house. Get all those jobs done that you’ve been putting off forever. The great desert fathers all understood the emotional, physical, and spiritual value of manual labour. Work up a sweat, and enjoy the satisfaction of achieving something, however small. And what about all those books you’ve been to get around to reading one day. That day has finally come!
Learn something.
Use this time to enrich your life and become a more interesting, well-rounded person. Take an online course in water painting or playing the guitar or quantum physics. Read some Plato. Carve a wren out of a bar of soap. Write a poem. Be creative. The world is an interesting place.
See life differently.
We pause our usual lives against the background of a potentially fatal disease. This is a time to appreciate how fleeting life is and all the things in it we normally think so permanent. Gain a more eternal perspective.
Gratitude.
The suspension of public liturgies and access to Holy Communion starkly makes you realise just what a huge blessing unrestricted access is. When we read of Churches being closed in centuries past it seems so far away, but now we know ourselves just what that feels like. And if you happen to still be alive and mostly healthy, appreciate just how fragile that gift of health is and thankful for it every moment. Having personally once experienced two weeks of unremitting agonising pain from a kidney stone and its consequences, I can never again do something as simple as go to the bathroom without profound gratitude. Every day, God showers a thousand times more good things upon us than the few bad things He allows, but you often don’t appreciate what you have until you lose it.
A More Sacramental Life.
Being deprived of liturgy is forcing us all to understand the nature of the sacraments—and the Eucharist in particular—much better. In brief, the Eucharistic Liturgy doesn’t finish when the priest says, “Go in peace…” In fact, he adds, “The Lord be with you.” There’s a reason. You’re not leaving the building alone—you are carrying Christ out into the world. You are now the Body of Christ—His hands and His lips, doing His work and speaking His words. No suspension of prayers at Church stops us from continuing this very important part of the liturgy.
Quiet Time.
Remember how often you thought, I wish I had more time to pray and read my Bible? Guess what … Now you have time to really I mean, real focus and relationship without distraction, without hurry. Savour the presence of God.
(Re)Discover Your Bible.
As the man Jesus is the Word of God in human flesh, the Bible is the Word of God in human language. Nothing can stop you from opening your heart and becoming one with Him through this written Word. And if you find it hard to benefit from reading, dig out (or purchase) that cool book you heard about that will help you engage with your Bible more fully (my suggestion: “Scripture in Tradition” by John Breck).
Reflection and re-evaluation of our direction in life.
Do I have to do all the things I’ve been doing / own all the things I own / go to all the places I go to / say all the words I say? What really matters?
Serenity.
We all needed desperately to slow down. Now you have to. Make the most of it. Spend some time in the garden looking at the flowers and the little birdies. Warm yourself in the sunlight. Lie on your back at night and watch the stars twinkle at you across the vastness of empty space. Remember that you are part of big, beautiful universe suffused with the love of its Creator. Oh, and make sure you leave your smart phone behind when you do this.
Being and Doing.
While all these activities are useful, we all need some time where we stop doing stuff. Learn the value of being rather than always being invested in doing. Spend some time simply being part of the beautiful natural world all around us, or better still, simply being in the presence of the God in whom “we live and move and have our being”. As the St John Saba said, “Silence the lips that the heart may speak. Silence the heart that the Spirit may speak”.
The world is recovering.
Studies are showing that pollution has fallen dramatically across the world (maybe we should always live like this?) People have been forced to realise that we can all live quite happily with less. Governments have miraculously found huge amounts of money to make people’s lives better. Now isn’t that interesting…
Unity.
So many trends across the world recently have tended to divide people from each other and turn them into enemies to some degree. Now, even the most selfish of people is making sacrifices to save others (and themselves of course). Disease does not recognise national borders, nor does it discriminate according to race. We are slowly realising that we are all in this together, that whatever hurts one of us hurts us all, and that we need each other.
Bringing out the good in people.
Sure, there have been some awful cases of selfish behaviour, but there has also been some startlingly noble behaviour too. It is said that a crisis does not mould your character, it reveals it. But I think that our choices now do also mould that character which has been revealed. We are all works in progress. Now is the time to seek what is best and most noble in you and nurture and express it, and consciously make it your character.
Truth matters again.
A kind of unreality was growing among us in recent years. Fewer and fewer people cared about reality, preferring instead to live in their own little bubble world of convenience. But now reality is biting, and biting hard. You cannot dismiss this pandemic as a conspiracy or a beat up. You cannot invent reasons why you don’t have to follow the rules that are keeping people safe. This is a crash course in the dire consequences of not seeking truth.
Humour.
Difficult times often bring out the creativity and humour in people that was buried under humdrum responsibilities and busyness. Humour reminds us that God created us to be happy, and creates bonds between us as human beings. My final plea from the heart: please laugh at your dad’s dad jokes. It’s in the 10 Commandments. Look it up.

No doubt, there are many other blessings to be found, if we care to look for them. This horrible pandemic has the potential to churn out many blessings. And to a large extent, that is going to depend on how each one of us deals with it.

Original blog available at- http://www.frantonios.org.au/2020/03/24/19-covid-19-blessings/#more-913

Have you not always practiced love?

by Francella Brown

Originally seen at Phoebe Farag’s Mikhail blog, Being in Community

To my friends. My sweet friends.

Dry your eyes. Lift your chin. Fix your face. Shake your guilt.

Thank you for thinking about me and asking if I’m ok.

But why the guilt in your voice? Haven’t you always loved me? Haven’t you always supported me? Haven’t you always fed me? Haven’t you always treated me with respect? Haven’t you always called me your sister and loved me as such? Who convinced you that this isnt true?

Not God. Not me.

Sweet friends. Dry your eyes. Lift your chin. Fix your face. Shake your guilt.

Who lied to you and told you that you were the problem? Who’s bullying you into posting hashtags and shouting slogans? Who’s trying to make you repent of sins you’ve never committed?

Not God. Not me.

Sweet friends. Dry your eyes. Lift your chin. Fix your face. Shake your guilt.

Who’s guilt tripping you into making public declarations of where your loyalties lie, as if your life isn’t declaration enough? Who’s convincing you that you’re someone you’re not?

Have you not always practiced love? Have you not always set the standard? Have you not always been you? Who dares to dispute that?

Not God. Not me.

Sweet friends. We wouldn’t be friends if these things weren’t true.

And there wouldn’t be a single problem in the world if everyone was like you.

So when you call me and ask me, ‘What should I do?’

The answer is simple: Keep being you.

Dear friends,
I’m ok.
Are you ok, too?

(c) Pheobe Farag Mikhail (June 26, 2020) – Being in Community. Have you not always practiced love by Francella Brown. Original blog – https://beingincommunity.com/have-you-not-always-practiced-love/

Social Justice: The Secret To A Fulfilled Life

Social Justice: The Secret To A Fulfilled Life

By Dalia Fam

Original post by goCoptic blog site (July 3, 2020)

I have discovered a secret. Throughout our 13 years living in Zambia, we have experienced many short-term mission trips from all over the world. We have witnessed many lives transformed from mission trips. But, when they go back home they lose the same passion they had in Africa. Why? Can you only have zeal for mission in Africa? NO!

Missionaries lose their zeal because, unlike their mission trip, they stop practicing social justice daily.

Social justice is a way of life. It is found in every aspect of our life – from the way we spend, to the way we teach our children, and to the way we prepare our food.

Social Justice includes if we “clothed the naked, given your bread to the hungry, door open to every stranger, been a parent to the orphan, [and] made the suffering of every helpless person your own.” – St. Basil the Great, On Social Justice

Social justice is a mission that every Christian and Church must do, not only in Africa. This blog post will discuss the biblical, patristic and modern-day examples of social justice in our Faith. We pray this inspires you to do social justice as a way of life!

Biblical Understanding of Social Justice

Justice in the Old Testament is a common theme and it forms the basis of God’s holiness. Therefore, when we participate in social justice, we partake of this holiness. The Old Testament also includes many examples, such as Elijah, of faithful men and women who defend the poor and powerless.

The ultimate example of social justice was Jesus Christ. He starts His mission proclaiming His desire to bring justice to those in need and to the oppressed (Isaiah 61:1-2). He helped the destitute, poor, and marginalized. He went out of His way to the outcast woman at the well. He sat with sinners. He taught justice in that whatever we do for the sick, imprisoned, and stranger, we do it for Him.

Even in His death, the cross of Christ reconciled all and was the essence of His declaration of justice. The apostles continued to live out Christ’s mission of social justice through healing the sick, caring for the widows, and sharing their possessions to anyone in need.

St. John taught “How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?” – 1 John 3:17

We should follow these holy examples that lived before us to spur us into social justice action!

Patristic Understanding of Social Justice

The Early Church Fathers knew the importance of the daily spiritual practice of social justice. The closer the Fathers drew to God, the more they loved man and wanted to help those most in need. They knew social justice was not optional but a spiritual practice like praying and fasting. They knew it was the necessary path to true communion with God.

St. Gregory of Nazianzus, wrote, “As long as there is time, let us visit Christ, serve Christ, feed Christ, clothe Christ, offer hospitality to Christ, honor Christ.”

These teachings guide us to practice social justice daily and should be a way of life.

Examples of Practicing Social Justice

Our Orthodox Church has many modern-day saints and missionaries who set an example for us by practicing social justice. In the fourth century, St. Verena, out of a cave in Switzerland, cared for the lepers. Even under Islamic oppression, Coptic Churches practiced social justice through caring for the orphans, widows, the poor, elderly, and the sick. Eastern Orthodox missionaries such as St. Stephen of Perm, defended Alaskan natives against traders and others that treated them harshly. Bishop Abraam, known as the “Friend of the Poor,” offered shelter, food, clothing and more to the poor. A Greek Orthodox archbishop defied culture and took a risk to stand with Martin Luther King Jr., during the civil rights era.

Conclusion

The opportunities for social justice are all around us. Not only in Africa. We have to intentionally look for these opportunities. We can care for the forgotten, the outcast, the poor, the elderly, the homeless. Anyone who has no voice. You can be their voice!

For us to be in ultimate communion with God, we need to practice social justice daily! It is the secret of a fulfilled life!

Mission Assignment: Pray and find opportunities around you for practicing social justice as a way of life.

(c) Fr Abraham and Dalia Fam. goCoptic. Original blog found at-https://gocoptic.org/social-justice-the-secret-to-a-fulfilled-life/

Unspeakable Beauty

Unspeakable Beauty

By John

Original post by Becoming Fully Alive blog site (June 25, 2015)

Someone once asked St. Pachomius to tell them of a vision he saw so that they could learn from it.

He replied:

“If you see a humble man with a pure heart, that would be greater than all the visions; because through that vision, you would see the invisible God. Do not ask for a better vision.”

If seeing just one godly man can have such a profound impact on a person, then how glorious would it be to see three godly men living in unbroken communion and mutually offering their lives to Him?

Reading through 1 Samuel, I was awed to read about three such men reflecting the beauty of the Holy Trinity. They are only mentioned in two verses, and to my knowledge they are not mentioned again in the Bible:

“…three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you, one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine. And they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you shall receive from their hands.” 1 Samuel 10:3-4

Who Are They?

The first thing that is said about these men is that they are “going up to God at Bethel.”

What a beautiful verse!

How great would it be to be described by nothing else but how focused you were on pursing God? These men were not described by their relationships, their occupation, or even where they came from (which was very traditional in those times) but they were simply described by their pursuit of God.

Bethel, which means house of God, is significant because it was one of the first places where God met with His chosen people. This is actually the same place Jacob dreamed of a ladder reaching to heaven, having angels ascending and descending on it and having the Lord standing above it. (Genesis 28:12-13)

It almost sounds like these three men are on their way to climb this ladder to ‘go up to’ God.

Living in Communion

I can imagine that these men held one another accountable and encouraged each other in Him as they made this journey up to God together. They were not wise in their own eyes and knew the power of having a companion so as not to travel alone (Ecclesiastes 4:12).

Truly did the Psalmist speak of men such as these:

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is or brothers to dwell together in unity! Psalm 133:1

It also seems as though these men of faith had all things in common. Surely there was one goat and one loaf of bread for each of them rather than one man having three goats and another having three loaves of bread to himself. Each brought what they had and made up for what the other lacked.

Furthermore, they had one spirit as they did anything together; it was never one of them doing an action individually. The following phrase makes this clear: “they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread.” They didn’t live in communion with just themselves, but from their abundance they were able to provide for the for needs of those they came into contact with. They only kept for themselves what they needed.

Thinking about how these men might have greeted those in their path I can only think they were genuine, warm, and heartfelt. They were the type of people to ask you how you were and would actually care to hear your response. They were the type of men that didn’t just say “God bless you” to people without actually being a source of blessing to them (as witnessed by their free gift of bread).

Worshiping in Spirit and Truth

These men were worshiping God the way He intended them to worship Him.

It’s likely that the goats they were taking with them were intended to be sacrificed – one for each of them – as a sin offering:

“or if his sin which he has committed comes to his knowledge, he shall bring as his offering a kid of the goats, a male without blemish. And he shall lay his hand on the head of the goat, and kill it at the place where they kill the burnt offering before the Lord. It is a sin offering.” (Leviticus 4:23-24)

They were not only worshipping God in their relationship with one another, with their giving of themselves physically and emotionally to others, but they were also giving God glory by living a life of repentance.

These men remind me of Melchizedek in that they also prophetically brought bread and wine to offer to God as a prefigurement of the Eucharist. They also seem to be “without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life” (Hebrews 7:3) but worship God continually.

What beautiful men!

We are all called to be like our Lord, God, Saviour, and King, Jesus Christ.

Along with that though, we are called to live in harmony and communion with one another and to be an icon of the Holy Trinity. It was the unity that these men had that made them special. Their relationship with one another was a reflection of God Himself.

These three men of faith are a beautiful example of perichoresis, which is a term used to describe how the three Persons of the Trinity are One God. Perichoresis is the divine dance of Love where there is a complete and mutual giving and receiving. It involves Persons in harmony having perfect consideration for each other.

Lord, give us to reflect Your unspeakable beauty!

Which Way To God?

Which Way To God?

By Fr Antonios Kaldas

Original post by Fr Antonios Kaldas blog site

‘They do Him wrong who take God just in one particular way. They take the way rather than God.’ Selected German Sermons, 20, p. 191, in Meister Eckhart. (1994). Meister Eckhart: Selected Writings. (O. Davies, Trans.). Penguin Books.

We seek God via various means and ways: prayer, contemplation, sorrow and repentance, rejoicing, thanksgiving, praise, solitude, community, stillness, service, and so on. Is there a right way? Is there a rule that holds for everyone? Must we all seek stillness? Or service?

These are important questions. Many have wasted years of their lives grinding slowly along a difficult way, only to come up empty-handed; or worse, resentful at the end. I see someone else progressing joyfully closer to God through solitude, but when I try to follow the same path, I find myself lonely, despondent, angry, left out, unfulfilled. Is this just the struggle required to find the precious divine treasure of God’s presence? Or (dare I contemplate the thought) is this just the wrong path for me?

Meister Eckhart’s words point out something very important here: step back a moment, and ask yourself, “what is it really that I am seeking?” There is a key difference between seeking the path to God on the one hand, and seeking God on the other. To seek the path—to insist on this path and no other—is to make an idol of the path. To seek God is to be open to any path that will get me to my destination.

We often pay great attention to what we like or dislike about a path to God. If by my nature I like the company of others, then I will naturally gravitate to paths that involve being with others, serving others, sharing with others (e.g., group activities, face to face charity work, etc.) I develop a preference for such practices and actively seek them out. I enjoy them.

There is nothing wrong with that, so far as it goes, until the path itself becomes my goal, rather than a means to the goal of God Himself. If the joy I find in the company of others is just that—the satisfaction of my social nature, then this is a path to my own satisfaction, and not to God. There is nothing wrong with satisfying a need for social interaction—just don’t kid yourself that this is a profound and powerful spiritual practice.

Remember this then: ‘intend God alone and seek Him only. Then whatever kinds of devotional practice come to you, be content with those. For your intention should be directed at God alone and at nothing else. Then what you like or dislike is all right, and you should know that to do it differently is to do it wrongly. They who desire so many ways of devotion push God under a bench. Whether it is the gift of tears or sighings or the like—none of this is God. If these come to you, all well and good. If they do not come to you, that too is all right and you should receive what God wishes you to in that moment, remaining always in humility and absence of self …’ Selected German Sermons, 20, p. 191, in Meister Eckhart. (1994). Meister Eckhart: Selected Writings. (O. Davies, Trans.). Penguin Books.

What does it mean to seek God alone? Does it mean to neglect or look down on other people and things? Not at all! It means to find God in other people and things. We cannot gaze upon God directly, we can in our current state only gaze upon God through the things He has made: people and things. The mistake is not that I pay attention to them, but that I see them apart from God, the God who created them, sustains them, reflects Himself in them, and fills them with His presence and love. God is present in both the stillness and the activity, in both the solitude and the community. He knows at any given moment which of the paths is the clearest for me to follow, and the grace of His Holy Spirit is constantly, gently nudging me here and there. When I insist upon my own prejudices and preferences, I wrench myself free of His gentle guidance, and shift my attention from God my true goal to the path I prefer. I make of the path an idol.

To learn how not to do this is no easy thing. But it is a good thing. It is the way to God.

‘The wind blows where it wishes,
and you hear the sound of it,
but cannot tell where it comes from
and where it goes.
So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.’ John 3:8

Original blog found at: http://www.frantonios.org.au/2020/08/14/which-way-to-god/

Spiritual Friendship

Prayer

Lord, teach us to value those whom You placed in our lives to lift us up in times of need. Give us the zeal to encourage each other always throughout all temptation and tribulations this life has to offer. May we always have the name of those near and far on our lips in prayer, that we may represent true friendship.

Help us, Lord, to come together in Your name so that we may readily invite Your presence into our lives. Give us the humility to pray for one another in the spirit of unity, that You may always be the chain that holds us together in friendship.

Lord, we ask that You may come today to be our Friend. That our soul may be knit to Yours in the bond of perfection that is Love. That our desires and ambitions may imitate Yours in every direction our life leads us. And that You are the first Friend we run to whenever our hearts may be burdened. Amen

Love Your Soul

By Monica

Original post by Becoming Fully Alive blog site

Have you ever felt like you were playing with fire? That its smoggy, ashy fumes are choking you but you still don’t draw yourself away, even when your hand is being burnt.

It’s a picture of captivity. Why don’t I guard my soul as vehemently as I guard my body? Perhaps it’s because I just don’t know how valuable my soul is.

When Scriptures speak of Jonathan’s love for David the prophet, it says, “the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.” (1 Samuel 18:1)

So what does it really mean to love your own soul?

“Know O beautiful soul that you are the image of God, know that you are the glory of God, know then, O man, your greatness and be vigilant.” -St Ambrose of Milan

Sometimes we are blinded from this very greatness that St. Ambrose speaks of. We feel so human, in every broken kind of way. Our memory fades from the calling to which we received. We have unlearnt that we are made for greatness, by Greatness. Our minds haven’t quite descended into the depths of our hearts to know these truths.

“The more we get what we now call ‘ourselves’ out of the way and let Him take us over, the more truly ourselves we become.” -C.S Lewis

If only we knew of the way God looks at you and me. It’s in the same way He looked at a shepherd boy—David—and saw in him a king. Each of us is in the process of becoming. Becoming beauty out of the ashes. Living in the dirt of our own sin, but destined to be butterflies. Perhaps living the resurrection just means being yourself, in the fullest way. Dark but lovely. No matter how dark we are, “God’s gifts and His call are irrevocable” (Romans 11:29). Not even an inch of darkness can out shadow the shine of your lovely.

“Like Michelangelo who looked at a rough, shapeless stone one day and saw a statue of David in it, Jesus was constantly looking at people in terms of what they can become. We may be defeated, degraded, soiled, enslaved by our passions, yet through Christ we can be redeemed.” -Anthony Coniaris

It’s in this knowing that we learn to guard our souls zealously. We learn to build the walls of Jerusalem because we know that deep inside there is treasure. So, brush off the dirt and be ready to receive the promise of the Father.

“For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise.” Hebrews 10:36

The promise of the Father, the Holy Spirit, will bring to your remembrance all things. Remembrance of who you really are. We were made for worship, and every moment in our lives we are bowing down to something, so if in those moments we don’t see God, we are worshipping an idol. So, allow Him to bring us prostrate before the throne of grace – let Him point us back home, back to where we belong.

“He is the source of holiness an intellectual light for every rational power’s discovery of truth, supplying clarity, so to say through himself. He is inaccessible in nature but approachable in goodness. He fills all things with power but only those who are worthy participate in him. He is not participated in all at once but shares his energy in ‘proportion to faith”. He is simple in substance but manifold in powers. He is present as a whole to each and wholly present everywhere. He is proportioned out impassibly and participated in as a whole. He is like a sunbeam whose grace is present to one who enjoys him as if he was present to such a one alone.” -On the Holy Spirit, St Basil the Great.

Original blog found at- https://becomingfullyalive.com/love-your-soul/