Spiritual Contemplations for those who serve the Lord |
This is our present Festival; it is this we celebrate today, the coming of God to man, that we might go forth, or rather that we might go back to God that putting off the old man, we might put on the new, and that as we died in Adam, so we might live in Christ (1 Corinthians 15:22), being born with Christ and crucified with Him and buried with Him and rising with Him. For I must undergo the beautiful conversion, and as the painful succeeded the more blissful, so must the more blissful come out of the painful. "For where sin abounded, grace abounded much more" (Romans 5:20); and if a taste condemned us, how much more does the Passion of Christ justify us? Therefore let us keep the Feast, after a godly sort; not after the way of the world, but in a fashion above the world; not as our own but as belonging to Him who is ours, or rather as our Master's; not as of weakness, but as of healing; not as of creation, but of re-creation. And how shall this be? Let us not decorate our porches, nor organize dances, nor adorn the streets. Let us not feast the eye, nor enchant the ear with music, nor enervate the nostrils with perfume, nor prostitute the taste, nor indulge the touch, those roads that are so prone to evil and entrances for sin. Let us not be effeminate in soft, flowing clothes, whose beauty consists in their uselessness, nor with the glittering of gems or the sheen of gold (Romans 13:13) or the tricks of color, belying the beauty of nature and invented to do despite to the image of God. Not in rioting and drunkenness, with which are mingled, I know well, in fornication and wantonness, since the lessons which evil teachers give are evil, or rather the harvest from worthless seeds is worthless. Let us not set up high beds of leaves, making shrines for the belly of what belongs to debauchery. Let us not toast with fragrant wines, the specialties of cooks, the great expense of perfumes. Let not sea and land bring us as a gift their precious refuse for this is how I have learned to estimate luxury and let us not strive to outdo each other in intemperance (for to my mind every superfluity is intemperance and everything which goes beyond absolute need), and this while others, who are made of the same clay and in the same manner, are hungry and in want. Let us leave all these to the Greeks and festivals of the Greeks, who call by the name of gods beings who rejoice in the stench of sacrifices, and who consistently worship with their belly evil inventors and worshippers of evil demons. But we, the object of whose adoration is the Word, if we must in some way have luxury, let us seek it in word, and in the divine Law, and in histories, especially those that are the origin of this feast, so that our luxury may be akin to and not far removed from Him Who has called us together. Or do you desire (for today I am your host!) that I should set before you, my good guests, the story of these things as abundantly and as nobly as I can, so that you may know how a foreigner can feed the natives of the land, and a rustic the people of the town, and one who cares not for luxury those who delight in it, and one who is poor and homeless those who are eminent for wealth? We will begin from this point; and let me ask you who delight in such matters to cleanse your mind and your ears and your thoughts, since our discourse is to be of God and divine, so that when you depart you may have enjoyed delights that really do not fade away. And this same discourse shall be at once both very full and very concise, so that you may neither be displeased at its deficiencies, nor find it unpleasant through excessiveness. * Adapted from Oration 38, On the manifestation of God in the birth of Christ - St Gregory Nazianzus
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We are able to change and distort the meaning of the words making their meaning matching with what we want them to mean. The most obvious example on this is the word peace. Communists used to call themselves “The countries that love peace”. The church also calls for peace. Yet, there is a great difference between the meaning of peace sought by communists and the peace the church calls for. Peace built upon piracy, fighting against God, and killing one another is not a peace. Therefore, words mean for them what they want them to mean! For them, freedom means piracy, peace means war, and democracy means slavery. One of the well-known psychiatrists wrote in one of his books saying, “We invented some good respectful words instead of the bad words of some life circumstances. We called the drug addict or the alcoholic a chemically dependent person, the harlot a call girl, and adultery is considered to be a personal freedom. They also called the unclean relationships living together, homosexuality a reciprocal life style, stealing a white color crime, and killing babes abortion that is widely practiced in hospitals! This is one of the deceptions of the devil, who is the great deceiver, to not give sin its real name but giving it a nice innocent name. Yet, we cannot achieve salvation unless we confront our sins saying with David, “Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight”. I will mention here some example on the distorted meanings of some words: The word God : A student came to priest saying, “I decided to believe not in God”. The priest asked him then, “What is the reason lying behind this?” He then explained to him: this God Who kills nursing babes and bring illnesses upon people, then He prepared for them a place called hell to torture them in it. How can I believe in Him? The priest replied saying, “I too do not believe in this god”. How many people grew up carrying the same concepts of children about God?! We must talk about the real God, “No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him” (John 1:18). Jesus Christ is the One who is in the bosom of the Father and He said to us, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father”; “I and My Father are one”. For we look at Christ as if from a window from which we see the Father. I mean that we see God through Our Lord Jesus Christ. We are saved by the will of the Father, through the merits of His son and the grace of the Holy Spirit. The word Happiness : What is happiness? Happiness is not found in money, sex, drugs or alcohol. It is neither found in a cruise in the Caribbean Sea. Indeed, the way to happiness is full of erroneous goals. The only way to happiness is that people should know God, love Him and serve Him. Happiness is achieved when you know that God loves you. A Christian said once, “If I look at the past seventy years of my life, I get sure that my present happiness is because I am sure that God loves me. He loves me personally with an eternal love. Nothing can separate me from the love of God which is in Jesus Christ”. The word Love : The true love, Agape, means to deeply care for serving, to give your life, when necessary, to the one whom you love. The greatest example of love is the Lord who loved the world to the end up to sacrificing His only begotten Son!! Love can be misunderstood. It can be taking rather than giving! It becomes no more Agape but lust i.e. abusing the other to fulfill your desires. If God is not present in your life, then the word love will be totally lost. How can you know love in the absence of God who is love? Only in Christ love finds its real meaning. The word Sex : This word was used by the devil and then defiled and lost every good meaning. Yet, this word belongs to God Who created sex. After God created man as male and female, he said that He saw everything very good, very beautiful, very holy and worthy of Him. God created sex for an important thing, which is marriage, and blessed it. Sex is successful when we follow God’s conditions as He is the Creator of sex. Sexual love is a sign and seal of full commitment for absolute giving to the other beloved person. It is a perfect trust and union. Sex is a natural expression of a deep spiritual thing. It is an expression of a full giving to the other beloved person. It is loving the other with all the mind, heart, soul and power. It is a real icon on earth that expresses God’s love for us. If the natural work of love is not an expression of perfect giving from the side of the loving person to the beloved one, then it will be fake. It is a corruption of a holy thing. There is no meaning in a relationship that is not built upon complete commitment and love. Therefore, sex outside the frame of marriage is considered to be a sin. If a sexual relationship loses its holiness through pornography, how can then one express a perfect remaining relationship of love?! Thus, pornography is the death of love, and losing the sound meaning of sexual relationship. Love forced and guided by God must be the greatest and the most precious love in the world. Sex cannot achieve its meaning that God created it for unless it is achieved through God. Sex will neither be pleasurable, satisfying, nor meaningful unless it is according to God. Therefore, marriage became a sacrament in the Orthodox church. Thus, if we succeed to establish a relationship of sexual love built upon full giving, it will be then an icon on earth that expresses God’s love for man. The responsibility of the servant is to refer the word sex to God Who gave it its original definition. It must be purified and referred to God. Marriage is a sacred word that denotes a sacred love and a sacred relationship. The word Church : Many outsiders use the words Jesus and Church freely. They call themselves Jesus followers or the church followers. But what is the historical relationship that connects them to the Apostles or to the early church? In the Orthodox church, the word church means the live body of Christ Who works in the world today. It has a live history connected with the church of the Apostles through the Clergy. We thus talk about the apostolic Tradition. The church does not teach what one thinks about faith but teaches the whole Tradition handed to us by Christ Himself through the Apostles. How can I know if what a certain community teach is a real apostolic Tradition and not a mere personal interpretation of the meanings of faith? We are in great need to be connected historically with the early church to be sure that the Apostles’ teachings have not been reformed or altered but were handed to us unaltered. The word Jesus : There is no a name that is more precious than the name of Jesus for Christians. Jesus is the Lord, the eternal Son of God, the beginning and the end, the second hypostasis of the Holy Trinity, Who was in the beginning with God and all things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men (John 1:2-4). Jesus was neither a man only nor a God only. He is a man and a God in one person. God in the body of man. He approached man because he loves him, wants his salvation, and wants to lift him up and make him a partaker in the divine nature. Indeed, there is no other name under heaven given to people to get saved other than the name of Jesus Christ that at His name “every knee should bow, of those in heaven and of those on earth, and of those under the earth” (Philippians 2:10). Let us name things with their real names not with mere innocent acceptable ones. Glory be to Our God. Amen. *Adapted from HGBY monthly Clergical letters
Contemplate about the creation look above, below you, at your right and at your left. You will see various creatures and an unlimited number of beings. All these were created from nothing, and the day will come when they will all go back to nothing once more Now that you have seen these strong bodies and beautiful eyes, wise tongues and gorgeous faces, the fast-moving feet and hardworking hands, remember that all these will cease one day. They will all turn to dust, for from the earth it was taken, and it shall all turn into dust "In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread. Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.” (Genesis 3:19) Wherever you look, or whatever you think about, if you contemplate about everything in the universe, you will discover that nothing will ever last for long, for "vanity of vanities! All is vanity... All is vanity and a chasing after wind" (Ecclesiastes 1:2, 14). The world is but a green rod; its freshness and its beauty delight the eyes. Even if you break it. you will find it hollow and senseless - just like the empty jar: once you knock on it you will hear its emptiness, the same is true about the world; once you experience it and try it, you will see its vanity. All what's in the universe will pass away: greatness, magnificence, riches, glory splendor, and everything else that cause human beings to boast and brag. They will all come to an end because they are all chasing after wind. The world will pass away and vanish, and man has to leave it willingly or unwillingly...so everything is vain. It is vain to depend on the world. to find honor, to seek reputation. Everything existing has to vanish and go, for "the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and everything that is done on it will be disclosed (2 Peter 3:10). Where are our fathers? Where are the kings that lived in palaces? Where are the philosophers and wise men? Where are the scientists and inventors? Where are the great leaders and heroes who conquered and killed? Where are the great empires and old nations? All have been grasped by the abyss and vanished. Did any of them take or carry any of their riches from this world with them? Can the king who is seated on his throne say at his deathbed, "Come with me . O my palace, which I used to live in, and let my glory and honor be my companions while traveling to the path of eternity?" Who of the rich ones took a penny with them, or one of the slaves with them? Gain what you want, and be pleased with your riches, but let it be known that one day you will leave this world with an empty hand. "Naked I came from my mother's womb. and naked shall I return there (Job 1:21). “For we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it" (Timothy 6:7) "As they came from their mother's womb, so they shall go again, naked as they came; they shall take nothing for their toil, which they may carry away with their hands" (Ecclesiastes 5:15). Time in its past, present and future does not feel its endurance, but surely it will pass away and vanish. The past was swallowed up in a big sea of vanity, where there is no existence. The future is unknown. The present is temporal, and if it lasted an hour it changes after that. Blessed are those who despise everything for the sake of Christ and seek the path of salvation! Happy is the man who keeps his hands clean of the world, and leaves everything and lives as a stranger on earth. It is beneficial for the man to be poor than rich, to be simple than great, and to be humble than boast. Those who have a clear and pure conscious are far better than those who, with pride and boastfulness, know the deepest secrets and every intricate detail, O man, why do I see you worried with things that will vanish, while being inattentive to the permanent and lasting things? Enough of his pride and slander. Open your eyes, which have been shut by sin, and wake up from the vanity of this life. Consider everything as something vain, as if it is nothing. *Adapted from an article written by St Habib Girgis
The power of the three saintly youth is the power, which the Resurrection of our Lord provides to all the Christians. Daniel and the three saintly youth were of royal origin. About 600 B.C., Jerusalem was seized by the Babylonian Empire led by Nebuchadnezzar. This king captured Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, and ordered that some of king descendants and the nobles of the kingdom be brought back. He captured the “best”. He was selective in choosing who should be trained to serve in his palace; “Then the king asked Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, to bring some of the children of Israel and some of the king’s descendants and some of the nobles, young men in whom there was no blemish, but good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge, and quick to understand, who had the ability to serve in the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the language and literature of the Chaldeans”(Daniel 1:4). The king Nebuchadnezzar assigned for them to be trained for 3 years, eat from the king’s food and drink from his wine. The names of the nobles that we want to focus on are:
As ordered by the king, they were given the following new names, related to the Babylonian gods:
The Book of Daniel relates of three main events that happened to these Holy Youth: First Event: Fasting of Daniel and the 3 Saintly Youth Daniel “purposed in his heart” not to eat from the meat slaughtered to the idols. Fasting from eating the meat slaughtered to the idols is a commandment in the Old and New Testaments. Daniel’s decision came out of his heart. Daniel and his three friends asked to be put under test for ten days “And the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who has appointed your food and drink. For why should he see your faces looking worse than the young men who are your age? Then you would endanger my head before the king” (Daniel 1:10). They were sure of the successful result; they were sure that their health would not deteriorate since their goal was to please only God; “And at the end of ten days their features appeared better and fatter in flesh than all the young men who ate the portion of the of the king’s delicacies.”(Daniel 1:15). God awarded them for their steadfastness and firmness in the truth “Then the king interviewed them, and among them all none was found link Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; therefore they served before the king. And in all matters of wisdom and understanding about which the king examined them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers who were in all his realm” (Dan 1:19,20). Daniel and the Three Saintly Youth refused to conform to this world “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:2). This is the power of the Resurrection; it enables us to be different, and not care about being with the “in” crowd. Second event: The King's dream The King had a dream, and he asked his magicians to interpret it, without telling them the dream itself! He also threatened to kill them if they could not. Daniel asked for some time in order to pray for the matter, “So Daniel went and asked the king to give him time, that he might tell the king the interpretation (Daniel 2:16)”. By doing this, he depended on the mercy of God and not on his own wisdom. Daniel informed his 3 friends and they prayed as a “group” and God revealed the secret to Daniel. Daniel and his friends glorified God: “Daniel answered and said: Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, For wisdom and might are His” (Daniel 2:20). Upon the revelation of the secret to Daniel, he went to the king, and spoke to him about God, not about his own abilities “But there is God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to king Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head upon your bed, were these:” (Daniel 2:28) Then he revealed the dream and its interpretation. The humility of Daniel made him introduce God only and not himself, it is clear in this verse “But as for me, this secret has not been revealed to me because I have more wisdom than anyone living, but for our sake who make known the interpretation to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your heart.”(Daniel 2:30). As servants, in our missionary work, we should preach about God only, not about our abilities, wisdom, personalities, excellence, etc. As a result, the king promoted Daniel “Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts; and he made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon” (Daniel 2:48). Daniel did not forget about his three friends, who prayed with him “Also Daniel petitioned the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego over the affairs of the province of Babylon; but Daniel sat in the gate of king”(Daniel 2:49). In the same manner, the Resurrection provides wisdom. The disciples were limited people, in terms of their education and intellectual abilities, yet they changed the whole world into Christianity which is still growing. Their work did not end with their departure, but will continue till the end of times. St. Peter preached to three thousands people at one time and was able to convert them. St. Paul, who was considered as an extremely intelligent and well-educated person, did not consider the power of his preaching as depending on his human abilities, “And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God” (1 Corinthians 2:1-5). St. Paul is asking us all to receive divine wisdom that enables us to win people to God. People will love God if they see the power of God in us. Third event: The Fiery furnace The Three Saintly Youth were persecuted because of their faith. Some colleague(s) who hated them, wanted to get rid of them, so they informed the king that their faith is different from what the king believes in, so they should be punished. The devil always tries to move people against the followers of God. He plans problems for them and makes people spitefully hate those who follow God. The king, after failing to force the Three Saintly Youth to deny their faith, ordered that they be thrown in a fiery furnace after being ignited to seven times more than normal, to the point that the fire burned the guards who threw them in. The devil now is intensifying the war against them, thinking that he has got them under his control, and will soon get rid of them. God, who always watches over his children, hurried to deliver them from the tribulation, “Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?” They answered and said to the king “True, O king.” “Look” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt, and the form of the forth is like the Son of God”(Daniel 3:24,25). The King was astonished. The guards were dead just from getting close to the fire, while the three holy youth, who were in the middle of the fire, did not get affected. Same thing with the devil’s followers (the guards); they themselves will get affected by the evil plots of the devil, while the sons and daughters of God, who are being plotted against, will come out triumphantly. The fire of the furnace represents the devil; the Chaldeans worshiped fire. Throwing the three saintly youth in the middle of the fire is like throwing the Christians in the middle of the world. People around us, worship the world and all it can offer. If we have the Son of God with us, that fire will not affect us. The three holy youth led the king to worship their God. The king ordered all the nations to worship the true God “Nebuchadnezzar spoke and said “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His Angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they frustrated the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God! Therefore, I make a decree that any people, nation, or language which speaks anything amiss against the God of Shedrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made an ash heap; because there is no other God who can deliver like this” (Daniel 3:28,29). This is the power of the Resurrection– overcoming the devil. Our Lord gave us the same authority (to tread on serpents and scorpions, and all the power of the enemy) St. John Chrysostom says about the three saintly youth in the fiery furnace: “The three holy youth were cast in the furnace, they did not forget their piety, they sent their prayers to heaven. The fire became like a wall, the furnace a fountain; although it received them bound, it set them free.” See how the devil fights God; the devil plotted that the fire eats the children of God, but God turned the devil’s weapon against him; since the fire ate the soldiers and was a source of glorification to God’s children." *Adapted from The three holy youth and the power of the resurrection - HE Metropolitan Serapion
The resurrection is a wonderful meeting The resurrection is a wonderful meeting between two united friends who have lived together their whole life since their birth and even before it, during pregnancy in their mothers' wombs. They never separated even for one moment; They are: the body and the spirit. Each of them has a special nature; the body is earthly and the spirit is heavenly. They have united in one nature-the human nature. You cannot separate one from the other and say "This is the body and that is the spirit." They have lived together in an admirable unity. The body expresses all the sensations and feelings of the spirit. If the spirit becomes glad the body will smile and rejoice. If it becomes sad, sorrow will appear in the eyes. After a long life they will separate from one another because of death but in the end they will meet each other in the resurrection. The spirit meets the body after seeing the body change into a handful of dust. Then returns more radiant than before, without any blemish. Even the faults, stuck to the body in the past, disappear. Yes, it is raised without defects because wrong and evil deeds do not agree with eternal paradise. The body returns more friendly. It never disagrees with the spirit in the other world for it is raised a spiritual body. The second wonderful meeting in the resurrection is a meeting of nations and races of the whole history. It will be a general resurrection since the days of Adam. All nations and races that lived through generations and centuries, with their different languages, features and lineaments, with all their heroes and leaders will meet together and try to be acquainted and understand each other. Undoubtedly, they will do so because there will be one language the language of the spirit or that of the angels. How wonderful this meeting will be!! It will be the greatest of all stories and the strangest narrative of long epochs. The best of all will be the procession of the triumphant and victorious people who struggled during their life on earth, then conquered and supported truth and morals. They will meet together and everyone has a story related by generations... then the world will become once more one nation as it had been before parting and dispersion.I wonder!! how will the meeting of the nations which had fought with each other be? Will the causes that forced them to wage wars against each other seem insignificant? The third marvelous meeting is that of the human beings With the angels who are made of a nature more eminent than ours. Meeting with them will be one of eternity's happy enjoyment. But the most wonderful meeting with the Lord will surpass any other meeting in its eminence Our meeting with God, blessed is His name, will be the eternal paradise for there will be no paradisaical life without Him. Now my pen stops in silent submissiveness because I am before a scene which words fail to describe or interpret. It is above the standard of any language to express or any intelligence to imagine. Thus, the resurrection is a strange and wonderful meeting .... *Adapted from HH Pope Shenouda III's Contemplation on the Resurrection - Chapter 1
The Lord gave and order of assurance and a message of trust to His children who follows Him in the little boats. He associated this order with a divine promise saying, “Let us cross over to the other side” (Mark 4:35), meaning let us move and cross over to the other shore. But Lord, what about the wind that would face the little boats that follow You? What about the risk of drowning that these little boats would encounter? The Lord answers with His firm effective divine order saying, “Let us cross over to the other side” meaning I gave my order that the boat will cross the turmoil of the sea, and it will pass through the blowing wind without being harmed regardless how much this wind is strong and regardless of the high waves that strike the boat with cruelty trying to drown it and engulf whoever is in it.The Lord gave and order of assurance and a message of trust to His children who follows Him in the little boats. He associated this order with a divine promise saying, “Let us cross over to the other side” (Mark4:35), meaning let us move and cross over to the other shore. This is both a divine order and promise. Neither all the devils of the country of the Gadarenes nor all the tribulations and hard circumstances of life can stand before this divine promise. Lord Jesus slept in the boat because He has already protected it in advance with His divine order and promise that it would cross over to the other side without any harm. Lord Jesus slept because He expected His disciples to believe in His power, promise and words, and that the boat would arrive safely to the harbor of peace, “that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us” (Hebrews 6:18). O Lord, if Your disciples were scared of death even with the presence of Your promise and order that the boat would arrive safely to the harbor, and even with all what they have witnessed of Your miracles, power, authority and strength, then what would do the little boats that were following you, “And other little boats were also with Him” (Mark 4:36)??!! What would our little boats do, O Lord, when You are guiding the mother boat and the sea is choppy and wants to engulf us together with the mother boat??!! What would our little boats do, O Lord, while we did not hear, like Your disciples, Your order and promise of safe arrival to the harbor but we followed You because You are Our shepherd and the captain of the boat that carries us all??!! And the Lord arose, “Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, like a mighty man who shouts because of wine” (Psalm 78:65), rebuked the wind and made the sea still. Nevertheless, He reproached the disciples who didn’t believe His promise saying, “Let us cross over to the other side”, hence, their faith was shaken, and they consequently caused the faith of the other little boats to be shaken!!! As for us, we who are in the little boats, we saw you standing up with the power of God, the authority of the One who created the seas and wind, and with the road of Your kingdom ordering them all to be still and remain in peace “The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, than the mighty waves of the sea” (Psalms 93:4). He did not rebuke us, we the small ones, but showed to us His power, might, and authority of His divinity! We saw the stillness and assurance when He lifted up His hand as a mighty Creator, a Master of the whole creation to protect and rebuke the big boat that carries the pastors and servants, and to grant the little boats the assurance and stillness that they may never fear life tribulations and horrors, “Thus says the Lord, Who gives the sun for a light by day, the ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night, Who disturbs the sea, and its waves roar , the Lord of hosts is His name” (Jeremiah 31:35) * Adapted from HGBY letters to the consecrated servants - November 2018
The term ‘irrational’ or ‘foolish’ describes someone who does not conduct his life in wisdom, nor does he understand things as they should be understood. In the Holy Bible these terms describe someone who lives a fallen, evil life without concern about his own salvation. Any society is full of such foolish, ignorant individuals. Although many people return to their senses and change to a better state, yet, the fallen nature of humanity is still alive and well, in many, pulling them down to remain in their foolishness and ignorance. The Holy Book of Proverbs teaches us, “O you simple ones, understand prudence, and you fools, be of an understanding heart” (Proverbs 8:5). Examples of Irrational Individuals Atheists The ignorant people who deny the existence of God in their hearts and manifest it in their thoughts and actions are described by David, the psalmist, “The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God.' They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none who does good” (Psalm 14:1). Such denial of God's existence encourages the spread of corruption and evil-doing. “The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God; God is in none of his thoughts” (Psalm 10:4). However, during the course of history so many theories such as Existentialism and Transcendence rose up only to fall down and be crushed under the rock of the Truth. As our Lord has condemned the disbelief of the Jews saying, “Jesus said to them, 'Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing, And it is marvelous in our eyes’?'” (Matthew 21:42). Isaiah eloquently shouts, “Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these things, Who brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name, by the greatness of His might And the strength of His power; not one is missing” (Isaiah 40:26); and David proclaims, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge” (Psalm 19:1-2). The existence of God can be understood with a little bit of common sense. If the existence of any manufactured object cannot logically be explained without referring to the manufacturer, how could the existence of the cosmos, nature and all that therein be looked at as having come into existence by chance without acknowledging the existence of the One Who has created them? Also, certainly the letters of a word have not come close to each other by chance, nor the words in an article have been haphazardly arranged to form a logical opinion or an argument. To explain further, any house built according to certain safety measures with all the commodities and comfort therein, certainly did not come into existence by chance. If while looking at a beautiful building we admire and praise the architect who have built it, how dare we regard the beautiful sky lit by the moon and stars at night and bright with sunshine during the day and not glorify the One Who had created them all with such dexterity, power and grandeur? Sin Mockers Sin mockers are those who take sin lightly. The Holy Book of Proverbs describe them saying, “Fools mock at sin, but among the upright there is favor” (Proverbs 14:9). Such people belittle the lethal effect of sin not taking into consideration the deceitful approach of Satan. That is exactly what happened with Eve in the Garden of Eden when she had bought into the lie offered by Satan which dictated that they would become like God thus belittling disobedience and breaking God's commandment to them. Such has been Satan's approach to cause people to fall into sin by promising them false happiness and fake peace presented in a glass of alcohol, or sinful, lustful immoral relationship. The media show people in various ungodly performances, dancing crazily seemingly happy or fighting madly over trivial things or shooting to death innocent people. These are a few of the immoral atrocities unashamedly offered on TV or the many other social media. Behind all these shows, there resides Satan convincing people that all is well until there comes a time when all is not at all well and when it is too late to turn back for repentance and restitution. The Foolish Rich People St. Luke vividly pictures the foolish rich man who got so excited about the great amount of his riches which threw him into oblivion of how untrustworthy earthly belongings are; until he was awakened by the irreversible verdict “But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?'” (Luke 12:20). In the world of finance, this stunned rich man might be ranked as successful economist possessing great intelligence in managing his finance and multiplying his monetary resources. However, God rated him as foolish for the following reasons:
His foolishness resided in thinking that man can live by bread alone; while true life is through every word that comes out from the mouth of God. Satan, when tempting our Lord Jesus Christ with the same lie, received firm biblically-based replies from our Lord, “But He answered and said, 'It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'' ” (Matthew 4:4). The rich man is not the only inconsiderate one with such earthly mindset. Nowadays, many people hoard money and various belongings, not thinking or considering becoming rich for the Lord. Such people have dropped the judgment day from their accounts without remembering that one day they will have to give an account of their deeds. The Doubtful People The doubtful people are those who question the authenticity of the word of God and the truths that exist in the Holy Bible. Lord Jesus was surprised at how the disciples from Emmaus did not show understanding calling them foolish. “Then He said to them, 'O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!'” (Luke 24:25). Ignoring the word of God is detrimental. “He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him— the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day” (John 12:48). Nothing will benefit man except his true relationship with Jesus Christ and adherence to the effective, fruitful word of God. Without true faith, money, health, wealth, earthly status, service or the number of church attendances will be of any value on the Judgment day The Foolish People in the Holy Bible
God's call for us, this new year, is not to be irrational; but to walk circumspectly knowing that Satan is just waiting to trap mankind in his deceitful, deluding promises. “Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed. Forsake foolishness and live, and go in the way of understanding” (Proverbs 9:5-6). * Adapted from HGBY's monthly clergical letters - February 2019
Behold a new and wondrous mystery. My ears resound to the Shepherd’s song, piping no soft melody, but chanting full forth a heavenly hymn. The Angels sing. The Archangels blend their voice in harmony. The Cherubim hymn their joyful praise. The Seraphim exalt His glory. All join to praise this holy feast, beholding the Godhead here on earth, and man in heaven. He Who is above, now for our redemption dwells here below; and he that was lowly is by divine mercy raised. Bethlehem this day resembles heaven; hearing from the stars the singing of angelic voices; and in place of the sun, enfolds within itself on every side, the Sun of justice. And ask not how: for where God wills, the order of nature yields. For He willed; He had the power; He descended; He redeemed; all things yielded in obedience to God. This day He Who is, is Born; and He Who is, becomes what He was not. For when He was God, He became man; yet not departing from the Godhead that is His. Nor yet by any loss of divinity became He man, nor through increase became He God from man; but being the Word He became flesh, His nature, because of impassibility, remaining unchanged. And so the kings have come, and they have seen the heavenly King that has come upon the earth, not bringing with Him Angels, nor Archangels, nor Thrones, nor Dominations, nor Powers, nor Principalities, but, treading a new and solitary path, He has come forth from a spotless womb. Since this heavenly birth cannot be described, neither does His coming amongst us in these days permit of too curious scrutiny. Though I know that a Virgin this day gave birth, and I believe that God was begotten before all time, yet the manner of this generation I have learned to venerate in silence and I accept that this is not to be probed too curiously with wordy speech. For with God we look not for the order of nature, but rest our faith in the power of Him who works. What shall I say to you; what shall I tell you? I behold a Mother who has brought forth; I see a Child come to this light by birth. The manner of His conception I cannot comprehend. Nature here rested, while the Will of God labored. O ineffable grace! The Only Begotten, Who is before all ages, Who cannot be touched or be perceived, Who is simple, without body, has now put on my body, that is visible and liable to corruption. For what reason? That coming amongst us he may teach us, and teaching, lead us by the hand to the things that men cannot see. For since men believe that the eyes are more trustworthy than the ears, they doubt of that which they do not see, and so He has deigned to show Himself in bodily presence, that He may remove all doubt. Christ, finding the holy body and soul of the Virgin, builds for Himself a living temple, and as He had willed, formed there a man from the Virgin; and, putting Him on, this day came forth; unashamed of the lowliness of our nature. For it was to Him no lowering to put on what He Himself had made. Let that handiwork be forever glorified, which became the cloak of its own Creator. For as in the first creation of flesh, man could not be made before the clay had come into His hand, so neither could this corruptible body be glorified, until it had first become the garment of its Maker. What shall I say! And how shall I describe this Birth to you? For this wonder fills me with astonishment. The Ancient of days has become an infant. He Who sits upon the sublime and heavenly Throne, now lies in a manger. And He Who cannot be touched, Who is simple, without complexity, and incorporeal, now lies subject to the hands of men. He Who has broken the bonds of sinners, is now bound by an infants bands. But He has decreed that ignominy shall become honor, infamy be clothed with glory, and total humiliation the measure of His Goodness. For this He assumed my body, that I may become capable of His Word; taking my flesh, He gives me His spirit; and so He bestowing and I receiving, He prepares for me the treasure of Life. He takes my flesh, to sanctify me; He gives me His Spirit that He may save me. Come, then, let us observe the Feast. Truly wondrous is the whole chronicle of the Nativity. For this day the ancient slavery is ended, the devil confounded, the demons take to flight, the power of death is broken, paradise is unlocked, the curse is taken away, sin is removed from us, error driven out, truth has been brought back, the speech of kindliness diffused, and spreads on every side, a heavenly way of life has been ¡in planted on the earth, angels communicate with men without fear, and men now hold speech with angels. Why is this? Because God is now on earth, and man in heaven; on every side all things commingle. He became Flesh. He did not become God. He was God. Wherefore He became flesh, so that He Whom heaven did not contain, a manger would this day receive. He was placed in a manger, so that He, by whom all things are nourished, may receive an infants food from His Virgin Mother. So, the Father of all ages, as an infant at the breast, nestles in the virginal arms, that the Magi may more easily see Him. Since this day the Magi too have come, and made a beginning of withstanding tyranny; and the heavens give glory, as the Lord is revealed by a star. To Him, then, Who out of confusion has wrought a clear path, to Christ, to the Father, and to the Holy Spirit, we offer all praise, now and forever. Amen. The days of Caesar Augustus, emperor of Rome, were ruled with the sword. History emphatically records this true fact. A democratic government never existed nor was spoken of anywhere in palaces, on street corners, or in marketplaces. Fierce Roman emperors maintained peace through self-serving ambitions and vehemently carried them out with the swords of their obedient armies. Men who publicly questioned or opposed either the Caesar or his appointed governors, for example, Herod, governor of the Roman province of Judah, faced a brutal death. Any competitiveness and rivalry were quickly vanquished before the threat was even conceived of. When the wise men "magi" from the Far East arrived in the Roman province of Judah in search of "a great king" recently born, Herod immediately sought them out.Dissatisfied and uneasy with the wise men's visit with the "newborn king", Herod implemented a horrendous plan. Impulsively and without fore thinking, he decreed that all the Jewish infants in the region, two years of age and under be killed. While unfathomable Herod's act was, by the standards of today's human rights, yet the Jewish parents had no alternatives nor could they display open opposition. The Jews were not of the ruling class and they were not among the lineage of the Caesars and rarely, if ever, among the governors. They had no input into the governmental system that presided over the rules and regulations they were bound to obey and follow. Even so, how could one governor obsessed with rivalry be allowed to claim the life of all the male Jewish infants in search of the life of one only? How did subsequent anger, bitterness, depression, and lashing out not reign over all the land because of that single act of brutality? Why do we not come to know of riots and retaliation to the slaughter of the most likely thousands of male Jewish infants? The Holy Bible does tell us that many were compassionately moved with lamentation, weeping, and great mourning for those slaughtered innocent children, the potential generations to the Jewish race. Some scholars believe that the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ was a subtle act of warfare. Who is the real Prince of Peace, Caesar in his chariot amongst his armies or our Lord baby Jesus in a manger amongst the Holy Family? This question remained unanswered by the Jews because immersed deeply in their sufferings, they overlooked God's Divine love and were unable to look beyond their plight to insightfully recognize the long anticipated Messiah nor seek the Divine love. To them suffering became a pit of disparity and unhappiness. Men of God through the ages had longed for the Messiah. Prophets had foretold of His coming and only in the fullness of time were the Old Testament prophecies attained. At the perfectly appointed time and at the peak of need, the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ took place. Without doubt, He came in the form in which man could understand the most and relate to the best. The Word of God took what is universally and timelessly ours, our Humanity. The Lord Jesus Christ became man while yet remaining the Only Begotten Son of God. It was an act of indisputable love in the form of an infant. This presentation to the world would be historically recorded as a confirmation of the Divine Love of God to seek and save those who were victimized to suffering and could not see beyond it. The Lord Jesus Christ did not readily come to earth as a preacher or teacher of the Word of God. Rather, He took upon Himself the human nature, and as an infant, He heralded joy and gladness on His Holy Family and those who would come to learn of His Holy Birth. In an era of widespread turmoil and suffering, the Lord Jesus' birth with joy and gladness raised the believers above earthly tribulations. The Lord Jesus Christ did not grow up in His birthplace of Bethlehem. The Holy Family took urgent flight to Egypt to escape Herod's hundreds of mercenary soldiers dispersed with the single intent to kill their newborn Holy Infant. Though the flight to Egypt was a necessitated path to avoid conflict, it depicted, and delineated the simultaneous coexistence of joy and suffering procured and assigned and designed by natural and supernatural events. "You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore" (Psalm 16:11). When we contemplate our Lord's Holy Birth, life, ministry and death we find no reference to the concept of "suffering" as such in spite of the hardships and real pain that He, His mother and followers had gone through. To mention a few facts,
In infancy our Lord Jesus Christ was humble, fragile, vulnerable and frequently misunderstood and misrepresented. Born of a teenage girl, our Lord was unassuming. Unpretentious, He had reigned for more than two thousand years, working wonders, liberating martyrs from the human-bounding flesh, and giving eternity to His followers. During His life on earth, the Lord Jesus Christ avoided conflict whenever He could, endured suffering in His final earthly days yet never becoming a victim to it. Born from a virgin, not of an earthly kingdom but among those who loved and trusted in God the Father, His Holy Birth brought fulfillment to prophecies, a glimpse of hope beyond suffering, and conceded no boundaries to those who would accept His Divine love. The Incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ was truly wondrous. St Gregory the Theologian (Nazianzen) describes this in... "The Wonder of the Incarnation: The very Son of God, older than the ages, the invisible, the incomprehensible, the incorporeal, the beginning of the beginning, the light of light, the fountain of life and immortality, the image of the archetype, the perfect likeness, the definition and Word of the Father. He it is who comes to His own image and takes our nature for the good of our nature, and unites Himself to an intelligent soul for the good of my soul, to purify like by like. He takes to Himself all that is human. He was conceived by the Virgin Mary, who had been first prepared in soul and body by the Spirit; His coming to birth had to be treated with honor, virginity had to receive new honor. He comes forth as God, in the human nature He has taken, one being, made of two contrary elements, flesh and spirit. Spirit gave divinity, flesh received it. He who makes rich is poor; he takes on poverty of my flesh, that I may gain the riches of His Divinity, He who is full is made empty, He is emptied for a brief space of His Glory, that I may share in His fullness." Sacrificial Divine love is complex, takes great risks, and goes to extreme lengths. God's love was wiser than men, made humble at infancy and grew to be stronger than the temple veil. Resurrected from the dead, our victorious Lord rose into the heavens leaving behind an empty, cold, stone tomb. Omnipotent, infinite, everlasting and invulnerable following His Glorious Resurrection, Christ Jesus would be seated by the right side of the Father. Ready to give more and more abundantly, the Father in Heaven has prepared for us what St. Paul has described as... "'Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.'" (I Corinthians 2:9). Happiness will not be obtained through self-centered desires, mundane pleasures, or a life of wealth. Happiness in its varying degrees depends upon the level of one's spiritual awareness. The Divinity of the Son of God, not born in time but born of time, came to earth to teach us exactly this truth about joy. For those whose hearts pursue higher and more divine states of happiness, our Father in Heaven provides a continual state of contentment, joy, and praise in the Kingdom of Heaven. Through the Divinity of One Holy Infant, an endless source of love has been conceived; a perpetual love. Let us,Christians, thank God for the blessings of the first union of the Holy Incarnation that taught us true and lasting joy and happiness. Let us pray to God that as we seek His second union with us, that His Divine and abiding love may provide us with the strength to fervently continue in His teachings until that appointed time, making the second union exceedingly happier than the first. "For God so loved the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son, that whosoever should believe on Him will have everlasting life" (John 3:16). *Adapted from an article by HGBY
Why Persecution? It is not surprising that the Christian faith gets opposed and Christians persecuted. Rather, it is natural and expected; because the Son of God incarnated to save people from the death of sin. “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21); and salvage them from the grip of the enemy as was accorded in God's economy since the first fall of Adam, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel” (Genesis 3:15). Therefore, since then there has existed a spiritual war between God and believers on one hand and Satan and his kingdom on the other. This situation is explained in the scripture several times. St. Paul addresses it saying, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:11-12). Thus, since the beginning of the New Testament, signs of such confrontation showed up between faith and the world.
Jesus Christ offered Himself as the most unique, exemplary behavior in bearing sufferings to which He invited His disciples and followers to undergo and overcome. “For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps” (1 Peter 2:21). “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you...Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also…They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service” (John 15:18,20; 16:2). St. Paul (Saul) described himself as, “concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless” (Philippians 3:6). At the confrontation with Saul, the church persecutor, Jesus Christ revealed Himself as the head of the church, (Ephesians 1:22; Colossians 1:18). Saul “Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?' And he said, 'Who are You, Lord?' Then the Lord said, 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads….And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’…The commander answered, ‘With a large sum I obtained this citizenship.’ And Paul said, ‘But I was born a citizen.’….And when we all had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ So I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.’” (Acts 9:4-5; 22:7,28; 26:14-15). Glory in Persecution The fact of the matter is that God does not leave us to face pain and suffer alone. On the contrary, in the midst of it we experience His support and the Holy Spirit's consolation. In the end, we will be glorified with Him. As He had said to His disciples, “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen” (Matthew 28:20). “For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation” (2 Corinthians 1:5,7). “and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:17- 18). “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (2 Corinthians 4:17). “This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him. If we endure, we shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us. If we are faithless, he remains faithful; he cannot deny Himself” (2 Timothy 2:11-13). “Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” (Matthew 13:43). “When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory” (Colossians 3:4). If glorification is the share of those persecuted, and afflicted with pain for Jesus Christ's sake, punishment is the portion of the persecutors and they will not be able to escape from it. “since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power” (2 Thessalonians 1:6-9). “But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality” (Colossians 3:25). Boldness in Persecution Basically, Christians are called not to die but to live a sanctified life of witnessing to Jesus Christ on earth to be continued in the Kingdom of heaven. “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:14,16). “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one” (John 17:15). “For 'He who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit.'” (1 Peter 3:10). “Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy” (1 Timothy 6:17). However, when confronted with the choice between life or death for the sake of the Christian faith, it does not take long to decide and there is no place for mediocrity, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).
Demanding rights according to the law does not mean escaping from bearing the cross, but testimony for the truth, proclaiming and elevating it is what is asked for. It also means stopping the pervert from his perversion and saving him from his stubbornness that will destroy him. Jesus Christ is our example in forbearance, courage and steadfastness before persecution. While He was being tried before the chief priest, He said to the officer who had slapped him. “And when He had said these things, one of the officers who stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, 'Do You answer the high priest like that?' Jesus answered him, 'If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil; but if well, why do you strike Me?'” (John 18:22-23). As a Roman citizen not legal to be flogged, St. Paul adhered to his Roman citizenship. “And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said to the centurion who stood by, 'Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman, and uncondemned?' When the centurion heard that, he went and told the commander, saying, 'Take care what you do, for this man is a Roman.' Then the commander came and said to him, 'Tell me, are you a Roman?' He said, 'Yes.' The commander answered, 'With a large sum I obtained this citizenship.' And Paul said, 'But I was born a citizen.' Then immediately those who were about to examine him withdrew from him; and the commander was also afraid after he found out that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him” (Acts 22:25-29). “'For if I am an offender, or have committed anything deserving of death, I do not object to dying; but if there is nothing in these things of which these men accuse me, no one can deliver me to them. I appeal to Caesar.' Then Festus, when he had conferred with the council, answered, 'You have appealed to Caesar? To Caesar you shall go!'” (Acts 25:11-12). Thus, God's promise to him that he would preach in Rome had been fulfilled, “But the Lord said to him, 'Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel.'” (Acts 9:15); “But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, 'Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome.'” (Acts 23:11). The same thing happened with St. Athanasius. He stood against all those who wanted him to forsake his faith. With absolute courage he said his famous words “and I am against the world.” “and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again” (2 Corinthians 5:15); “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone” (Hebrews 2:9). “And the Lord smelled a soothing aroma. Then the Lord said in His heart, 'I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.'” (Genesis 8:21). “We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one” (1 John 5:19). “In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19). “Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:13); “Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea” (Revelation 21:1). *Adapted from HGBY monthly Clergical letters
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