Spiritual Contemplations for those who serve the Lord |
The Disciples returned joyfully to our Lord Jesus Christ after having experienced the powerful authority He had given them over evil spirits. But the Lord’s response was, “Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:20). Do we live this joy, the joy of salvation and inheritance of the kingdom of heaven? Indeed, during the dispensation of the holy mysteries (Holy Communion), the church rejoices singing “Christ has granted us salvation.” However, many do not experience nor feel this joy. What are the obstacles that hinder this joy and delays this salvation? The answer is summarized in three major points: Total Negligence of Repentance Our Lord clarified saying “I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3). St. John Chrysostom stated the same truth saying, “God will not judge us because we sin but because we do not repent after sinning.” Repentance is not a once-in-a-lifetime incident that procures salvation, perpetual renewal and justification to the end of life. Rather, it is a repeated act that should follow every sin and every wrong doing.
Is the Holy Bible read or completely neglected? The Lord considers reading the Holy Bible and keeping the commandments genuine signs of our love for him. We dare receive Holy Communion without confession to obtain absolution from sins. We might be deluded into self-righteousness thinking that acceptance before God resides in the avoidance of major sins such as murdering, stealing, or committing adultery. Thus committing sins such as cursing, lying, swearing become acceptable ignoring what the Holy Bible’s verdict “ nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:10). We are in need of living a life of perpetual repentance, confession and absolution. It was not in vain or void that the Lord said to his disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven ” (Matthew 18:18). Reliance on Self-Righteousness “Consider my weakness with your compassionate eye, O Lord, for after a short while my life will end and I have no salvation through my deeds” (from the midnight prayer). With this prayer, the church reminds us every night that we are not saved through our personal righteousness. The Holy Bible confirms this truth; “Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” (Romans 3:20). Our Lord Himself teaches, “ So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.’” (Luke 17:10). In the example of the Pharisees and the tax collector, the former used to fast, pray and tithe; but his problem was his dependence on his self-righteousness considering his actions a source of acceptance before God. It is perilous to adopt the two-sided weighing scale theory as if to signify God’s way of judging man’s good and bad actions depending on which side is heavier. Perhaps the portrait of Archangel Michael carrying this type of scale might be behind this concept which in essence portrays God’s justice in condemning Satan only. This concept is essentially not Christian. It is our duty as servants to teach that keeping all the commandments is not a passport to salvation if we depend on our actions alone. For, if God examined peoples’ acts with His fiery justice, no one would stand justified before Him “They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.” (Romans 3:12). No one can stand before God’s justice except the righteous man Jesus Christ and everyone who has renounced his own righteousness and took shelter in Christ’s. As St. Paul clarified to the Corinthians, “ But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference;for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” (Romans 3: 21-26). And to Titus, he said “ not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,...that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” (Titus 3:5,7). It is evident that justification comes through Christ alone; whereas holding on to self-righteousness and hypocrisy will make us lose the reward.
The splitting of the Red Sea, the destruction of Pharaoh, the food and water, the clouds by day and fire by night were the reservoir of previous miraculous experiences they had with God. Their strong faith was pleasing to God and earned them entrance into the Promised Land. A practical application of this lesson on hope in Salvation and inheritance of the Kingdom of Heaven generates three types of responses:
+ God’s promises are true, “ in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began, but has in due time manifested His word through preaching, which was committed to me according to the commandment of God our Savior” (Titus 1:2-3). + With this confidence and hope St. Paul asserts, “Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:8). + St. John confirms this hope saying, “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” (1 John 3:2-3). + This hope is also clear in St. Paul's words to the Colossians “because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel” (Colossians 1:5). How great is this hope that compels the children of God and encourages them throughout their journey so that they may live a sanctified life beholding the glory prepared for them. Thus a repentant Christian lives a life of striving and penitence casting his hope totally on grace which is capable of saving the vagabond keeping before his eyes St. Peter’s words, “Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:13). *Adapted from HGBY monthly Clergical letters - Dec. 2013
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