Focusing on Holy Monday & Tuesday

On the All-Comely Joseph as a type of Christ
http://otftd.blogspot.com/2012/04/joseph-all-comely.html

On the Wise and Foolish Virgins

http://otftd.blogspot.com/2012/04/on-wise-and-foolish-virgins.html

 



Negligence in one's holy calling

He who has been counted worthy of the heavenly calling, and by this calling has been sanctified, if he grows negligent in it, although washed becomes defiled: counting the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a profane thing and despising the Spirit of grace, (Heb 10:29), he hears the words, Friend, how came you to be here without a wedding garment?  For the banquet of the saints is spotless and pure; for many are called, but few chosen, (Mat 22:12). 

A sermon for Palm Sunday

by Nick Brown
http://www.orthodoxresearchinstitute.org/resources/sermons/brown_palm_sunday.htm

 

Throughout the entire history of the known world, men have conquered other men. Rulers have conquered cities. Emperors have conquered entire nations. At times, Kings have strived to conquer the entire world. But there remains one uncharted territory that has eluded men of power all throughout history. This unconquered territory is the human heart, and its sole conqueror is Christ the king.

Today we celebrate together one of the great feasts of the Church calendar — the feast of Palm Sunday. Today we gather together to celebrate Christ’s entry into the city of Jerusalem. Today we celebrate Christ as the king who enters our own personal Jerusalem — our hearts. Today’s feast day is a momentary feast of joy and celebration, because tonight we begin the final leg of our journey towards Pascha. Our mood changes from one of joy this morning to one of solemnity, almost of sorrow this evening as we lead up to the great sacrifice that Christ performed for us on the cross.

The feast of Palm Sunday has been celebrated in our Church since the earliest days of Christianity, but the use of Palms in connection with religious celebrations goes all the way back to Old Testament times. Oddly enough Palm trees did not grow around the city of Jerusalem, and people would often buy imported Palms for religious celebrations, in particular The Feast of Tabernacles celebrated at the temple in Jerusalem. The Palm branch was used as a visual tool proclaiming the sovereignty of God as the true king of the Israelites.

With the expectation of the Messiah, and the events of Christ’s ministry on earth, word travelled quickly around Judea that Jesus was the one whom the prophets had spoken about and whom everyone was expecting. Yesterday Christ performed a miracle by raising Lazarus from the dead, the miracle that foreshadowed his glorious resurrection next Sunday. Now everyone is convinced that this is the Messiah-king who will save the Israelites. And Christ fulfils the prophecy of Zachariah, entering Jerusalem on a donkey. All of Israel is preparing to go to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover, and Christ enters also as the salvific king who will save Israel not from the tyranny of the Roman Empire, but from the curse of death through His own death and resurrection.

For Orthodox Christians around the world, we celebrate these events as they happened not only in the past, but as they also happen today. We celebrate Christ as the king who enters our hearts, our own personal Jerusalem. But is Christ able to enter? Is there room in our hearts for Christ to rule as king? Often the doors of our hearts are locked. Often Christ is unable to enter because there is already another king of the heart — ourselves. And how do we solve this problem of trying to let Christ in? How do we instill within ourselves the one thing that is missing- God?

The answer is to surrender. Surrender to the will of God. Surrender your life to the one who gave you life. We are constantly bound and held captive by the temporal things of this life. We are prisoners of our own selves, of this world, of our careers, of money, of the politicians who rule over us, we are even slaves to our own passions. The only way to find peace, to find true happiness, to experience true love is to surrender yourself to God, to make Him your king, to live in total communion with Him. And the way in which we turn our hearts from the kingdom of the self into the kingdom of God is through constant daily prayer, reflection, and meditation, frequent Holy Communion, frequent Confession, reading and understanding the Scriptures. So many people complain that they can’t find time to come to Church, they can’t find time to pray and read the Scriptures, they can’t find time to fast, or go to Confession and Holy Communion. The reason they don’t have time is that they are slaves to their own selves, to their own will. If we don’t have time for God, then why on earth should God have any time for us? But God always has time for us. He is constantly knocking at the door to our hearts, to our lives and asking to come in. Some of the Church Fathers go so far as to liken God to a crazed lover who constantly seeks to be with the one that He loves — us, and who would do absolutely anything to be with the people that He loves.

Today, as we receive our Palm branches at the end of the Divine Liturgy, let us take them to our homes and place them somewhere where we can always see them. Let the Palms remind us that Christ is the king of our families, that Christ is the king of our hearts, that Christ is the only true answer to happiness and meaning in our lives. And if we do proclaim Christ as our king, let us try and make time for Him in our daily life, let us be reminded that He is the one with whom we will be spending eternity. Let us be reminded that our careers, our education, our finances, our homes, all of the basic material needs in our lives are only temporary. Let us prioritise and place Christ the king as the primary concern in our lives. It is only when we have done this that we will find true peace and happiness in such a confused and complex world. Amen.

From Greek Orthodox Church of Saint George, Brisbane QLD

 

Commemorating Lazarus Saturday

http://otftd.blogspot.com/2012/04/on-raising-of-lazarus.html

http://otftd.blogspot.com/2012/04/on-sisters-of-lazarus.html



Thoughts on love, gratitude, illness and presumption

If we love Christ, all things will change in our lives.  We do not love Him in order to receive some reward such as health.  Rather we love Him out of gratitude, without thinking of anything, only of the love of God.  Nor should we pray with any ulterior motive and say to God, ‘Make such and such a person well, so that he may come close to You.’  It is not right to point out ways and means to God.  How can we presume to say to God, ‘make me well’?  What can we tell to Him who knows everything?

Beware: the sin of anger

A man who is angry, even if he were to raise the dead, is not acceptable to God. 

Bear with one another and pardon

Besides loving each other, we must bear with each other and pardon, ‘forgive them that trespass against us,’ in order that our Heavenly Father may ‘forgive us our trespasses,’ (Matthew 6:14).  Thus, with all your soul honor and love in every man the image of God, not regarding his sins, for God alone is Holy and without sin; and see how He loves us, how much He has created and still creates for us, punishing us mercifully and forgiving us bounteously and graciously.  Honor the man also, in spite of his sins, for he can always amend.