What does the memory of the Apostles - Saints
Peter and Paul in particular - teach us for our everyday lives? Most of us will
never be evangelists to the world at large, nor will we shepherd a large flock,
nor will we write holy books.
Since it
seems to rank far behind the fasts marking the Lord’s Resurrection, His birth,
and the Dormition of His Holy Mother, the meaning of the fast is easily
overshadowed (and in some years for those who follow the New Calendar,
completely skipped).
What does
the memory of the Apostles – Saints Peter and Paul in particular – teach us for
our everyday lives? Most of us will never be evangelists to the world at large,
nor will we shepherd a large flock, nor will we write holy books.
Yet like
so many things in Orthodox life, the teaching of the Church fathers is
encapsulated in the icon, where the Apostles are embracing.
Those
familiar with the Acts of the Apostles will recall how deeply the Apostles
Peter and Paul were divided: divided in purpose, divided in the people to whom
they preached, divided at the council of Jerusalem, and (almost certainly)
divided over their loss of respect for one another, at least for a time.
The
advent of spring and summer is not usually seen as a time of spiritual
seriousness – rather, it is often seen as time for a “rest” from Christian
life. Yet how can we rest when we are not at peace with our family members, our
friends, and with brethren in the Church?
If there
is anything we can gain from the Apostles Fast, let us take a lesson from their
icon: let us make it our main task to humble ourselves, to forgive our deep
disappointments with others, to ask forgiveness of those we have hurt, and to
be reconciled in Christian love. What could be a more acceptable fast for the
Lord Jesus Christ?
By
Archpriest Geoffrey Korz
Source: http://www.asna.ca/articles/201505-01.html
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