The Catalog of Good Deeds

The Orthodox Christian Faith is enriched by icons. We surrounded ourselves with these prayerfully-written images of Christ, the Theotokos, and the saints. Our churches are full of icons, as are our homes. This is as it should be. In our modern self-focused culture, we need visual reminders of God’s work in and through the saints! These reminders in the form of icons challenge us to be strong and live a life accordingly faithful.

There are other icons that enrich our Faith as well. God has surrounded us with His hand-written images of Christ in the form of every person around us. Our churches are full of them, as are our homes. But He has not limited His handwritten icons to the Church. They are all around us. If you are like me, occasionally you may need a reminder that everyone – EVERYONE – is an icon of Christ, written by God Himself, in His image. May this short post remind us of that truth. So, that sweet lady at Church? Yes, she is an icon of Christ. The person who just cut me off when driving? An icon. The persistent child interrupting my phone conversation? An icon. That person who I struggle to love? An icon. The famous person everyone gossips about? An icon. Those people who live far away and very differently from me? They, too, are an icon. My spouse? Also an icon, written in the image of (and by the Hand of) God.

Whether or not we recognize His artistry, God has written (and is writing) each and every person. Therefore, we must remember that He is at work in and through them, then respond with the love and respect that we offer any other icon reflecting His image. When we choose to see His work in each person, we will be challenged by them to be strong and live our Christian life faithfully!

We must be careful to note that this recognition of God’s work in writing the living icons around us must not be limited to noting it in other people. In truth, we ourselves are living icons, and should also be enriching the Church and our world. In order to be the most reflective image of Him that we can be, we need to cooperate with Him as he works in and through us. As we do so, He will strengthen us and give us what we need to live the faithful Christian life befitting an icon.

May God help us all to live and love His image in every person!

Source: https://orthodoxchristianparenting.wordpress.com/2017/05/17/on-living-icons/

“Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith” (Galatians 3:24).

Apostle Paul is one of the greatest preachers of the Holy Gospel, an unsurpassed worker of the Lord, a tireless missioner who spent the largest part of his life in multiple missionary journeys or dungeons, suffering from the persecutions of the world that did not want to accept Christ. Since he was the apostle of gentiles, we can say that Paul was a missionary apostle. After he preached for Hebrews in their synagogues, he always addressed with the Gospel to gentiles, despite the fact that he suffered and worried a lot because of his tribesmen who refused to accept the Messiah: “For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh” (Romans 9:3).

Apostle Paul was not one of the Twelve Apostles, neither he was a witness of Christ’s earthly life. For some time he even was a persecutor of Christ’s Church and was the last one from the apostles who was called by the Lord Himself for his apostolic ministry. That is why in all his letters and guidance and almost in every his address to Christian communities (even to those that had been established by himself) he had to prove his apostolic authority and state that the News, which he was preaching, was not just his own fabrication, but the universal teaching of the Church: “For our exhortation did not come from error or uncleanness, nor was it in deceit. But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts” (1 Thessalonians 2:3-4).

Apostles Peter and Paul

The main feature of his preaching was that he preached for the gentiles who had never known the Law of Moses. Paul insisted that one could be saved only through the faith in Jesus Christ but not through following the Law: “But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith”” (Galatians 3:11). However, the former Hebrews among Christians confused the communities established by Apostle Paul and shook the faith of those young churches. That is why it was decided to gather in Jerusalem to solve that issue. Apostle Paul wrote in his Letter to Galatians that he together with Apostle Barnabas and Titus went to Jerusalem to meet with “the leaders” and tell them about his preaching among gentiles in order to dispel the dissatisfaction of the Christians of Jerusalem. So, “when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that had been given to me, they gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. They desired only that we should remember the poor, the very thing which I also was eager to do” (Galatians 2:9-10). There was also an interesting fact about that meeting – a so-called “quarrel” between Apostles Peter and Paul that took place at the Apostolic Council when they both suggested not to complicate the gentiles’ path to Christ: “Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed; for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision” (Galatians 2:11-12).

We would keep thinking that such pillars of faith as Supreme Apostles Peter and Paul could oppose each other, if only St. John Chrysostom did not explain us in his works and homilies that the quarrel between them was just putative. Apostles Peter and Paul were in full conformity, peace and love with each other. What concerns Paul’s exposure of Peter, it had been discussed between the apostles in advance so that they could confront the so-called false brothers, “to whom we did not yield submission even for an hour, that the truth of the gospel might continue with you” (Galatians 2:5), as apostle Paul said. Once and forever, the Apostolic Council became the example for all the future councils conducted by the Church. The authority of Apostle Paul was proved as well as the significance of his preaching among gentiles. Due to the Apostolic Council, the Holy Church, which is universal by Its origin, could state Its mission one more time – to preach the Name of God for all the peoples and to gather them under the One Head and main Shepherd Jesus Christ.

What St. John Chrysostom says in his works:

«The Apostles, as I said before, permitted circumcision at Jerusalem, an abrupt severance from the law not being practicable; but when they come to Antioch, they no longer continued this observance, but lived indiscriminately with the believing Gentiles which thing Peter also was at that time doing. But when some came from Jerusalem who had heard the doctrine he delivered there, he no longer did so fearing to perplex them, but he changed his course, with two objects secretly in view, both to avoid offending those Jews, and to give Paul a reasonable pretext for rebuking him. For had he, having allowed circumcision when preaching at Jerusalem, changed his course at Antioch, his conduct would have appeared to those Jews to proceed from fear of Paul, and his disciples would have condemned his excess of pliancy. And this would have created no small offence; but in Paul, who was well acquainted with all the facts, his withdrawal would have raised no such suspicion, as knowing the intention with which he acted. Wherefore Paul rebukes, and Peter submits, that when the master is blamed, yet keeps silence, the disciples may more readily come over. Without this occurrence Paul’s exhortation would have had little effect, but the occasion hereby afforded of delivering a severe reproof, impressed Peter’s disciples with a more lively fear. Had Peter disputed Paul’s sentence, he might justly have been blamed as upsetting the plan, but now that the one reproves and the other keeps silence, the Jewish party are filled with serious alarm; and this is why he used Peter so severely. Observe too Paul’s careful choice of expressions, whereby he points out to the discerning, that he uses them in pursuance of the plan, (οἰκονομίας) and not from anger».

Reflections in the Holy Church tradition:

Let us come today and gather in chorus, and give an offering of the faithful! Let us exalt the Apostles Peter and Paul, the two vessels of grace! Let us worthily crown them with praises! For they bountifully spread the seed of the Word, giving all mankind its rich harvest. Filled with the grace of the Spirit, they were branches of the True Vine who tended the fruit that gladdens our hearts. Let us sing to them with unveiled faces and pure hearts: “Rejoice, guides of those without reason, who cared for those who gained wisdom! Rejoice, chosen friends of the Creator! Rejoice, stewards of bounty and foes of illusion!” Let us ever pray to them that they may intercede with their Creator and Master that He may grant peace to the world and great mercy to our souls! (The sticheron on the Litya, Tone 2)

To be continued…

Read about the role of Apostle Peter at the ApostolicCouncil.

See the full infographics.

It is time for Orthodox Christians to be realistic and not panic about life in an increasingly post-Christian culture. We are a tiny minority in the West and have never had much direct impact in shaping how the larger society in which we live has addressed any issue, controversial or otherwise. It would be strange for a miniscule Orthodox minority to expect a privileged position in our time and place. If current trends have opened our eyes to points of tension between God’s Kingdom and the present order, we should be thankful for the wake-up call.

Our calling is surely not to become yet another interest group that competes with others through conventional political means, or even to think of success in those terms. Instead of pursuing what the world recognizes as power or affirmation, our vocation is basically the same that Christians have always had: to be a distinctive, holy community with a way of life that shines in brilliant contrast to the ways of the world and draws others to the life of the Kingdom. But in order to have any hope of becoming such an icon of salvation, we must actually live out what we say we believe. Ethnic food bazaars and mouthing slogans about the culture wars will not suffice.

As hard as it is do so, we must actually embrace the spiritual disciplines of our faith in ways that are very much in tension with the dominant trends of the larger culture. We must live our lives in stark contrast to the current societal celebrations of violence, hatred, gluttony, vanity, greed, sexual immorality, and pornography—just to name a few examples of the challenges that we face. The greater the distance between what we say we believe and how we actually live, the more ammunition we will give to “the cultured despisers of religion.” The more coherence others see between our creeds and our deeds, the more seriously they will take our way of life as a realistic alternative to the darkened patterns of the world.

Even as athletes must take their disciplines seriously and follow the guidance of those more skilled in their sport in order to play well, we must embrace prayer, asceticism, generosity to the poor, forgiveness, self-denial, and other spiritual disciplines according to the teaching and example of the Saints and our spiritual fathers and mothers. Through the catechism of converts and ongoing education in the parish, all Orthodox must be taught about the challenges of living faithfully in our culture. We must model faithfulness for one another and provide accountability and support to our brothers and sisters. The larger society supports athletics and education (usually in that order and often not very well), but we cannot expect it to help us in forming people whose character and actions should be so different from those celebrated by the dominant ethos. To say the least, it will appear increasingly odd in our culture: to see Christ in the unborn child, the terminally ill patient, the refugee, and the immigrant; to deny ourselves in order to be outrageously generous with the poor and needy; to refuse to let race, class, politics, ethnicity, or any other human division blind us to the humanity of our neighbors; to love even our fiercest critics; to pursue chastity in the relationship between man and woman; to see marriage as a sign of the complementarity of the opposite sexes in God’s image and likeness; and generally not to make the world into a false god.

If we bear witness in these and other ways, we should not be surprised at charges of bigotry and fanaticism for being so out of step. Perhaps such charges are simply reflections of a truth that we have too often refused to see. Despite the very positive dimensions of American culture, both historically and in the present day, it is not and has never been the Kingdom of God. Like all societies, it presents temptations and tends to serve its own interests rather than the Lord. It would certainly be a clearer path to immediate popularity simply to go along with social trends at all costs, but to do so would require worshiping a false god, namely, the world. Here we must remember the Lord’s warning: “Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets.” (Luke 6:26) Of course, harmony is not always a bad thing. If it is the result of spiritually healthy beliefs and practices permeating the larger society, then there is cause for rejoicing. If, however, that harmony is the result of Christians accommodating their beliefs and practices to those of the larger society in an effort to gain power or simply make life easier for themselves, then it is time to mourn. Too much American Christianity fits—and, as best I can tell, always has fit– into the latter category, regardless of whether it passes for “liberal” or “conservative,” for “mainline,” “evangelical,” or anything else. This is an equal opportunity temptation, and all the more subtle and dangerous for that very reason.

Amidst our current challenges, we must remember that Christ’s Kingdom is not of this world, as the example of the martyrs from the origins of the faith to today makes quite clear. Nonetheless, faithfulness is not the same as abandoning the world or those who live in it. There is no need to fall into a Manichean-like dualism that would see everything outside the visible boundaries of the Christian community as simply evil. There is no need to fall into a Gnostic escapism that would flee the broken realities of life in the world as we know it for an illusory realm of spiritual perfection. There is a great need, however, for Orthodox Christians soberly to remain faithful amidst the strong points of tension between our way of life and dominant trends in contemporary culture.

As mentioned earlier, that should not be surprising because Orthodoxy has had no direct impact on the West for centuries. And at least since the Enlightenment, a grave temptation of western culture has been to make the world its god with, at best, a watered-down “religion within the limits of reason alone.” Our culture increasingly knows no higher standard than recognizing the rights of isolated individuals to pursue well-being however they may define it. Freedom is a good thing, and I personally would much rather live in the current cultural climate than in one characterized by crusades, pogroms, and witch hunts; the present order certainly provides far more religious liberty than life under Communism or ISIS. We should want as much religious liberty as reasonably possible so that people may believe, worship, and live in accordance with their faith, whatever that may be.

Nonetheless, many temptations lurk beneath the surface of the increasingly popular assumption that questions of religion and moral decency are necessarily matters of arbitrary personal preference that have no place in the public sphere and nothing to contribute to conversations about the common good of a social order. There is grave danger in societies privileging an anemic civil religion that completely relaxes the tension between God’s kingdom and the kingdoms of the world. That is true of both right and left-wing versions of political idolatry.

Granted, there is great variety across the US in how these matters are handled in practice. Where I live In West Texas, Christianity is certainly not in hiding. Indeed, some versions of the faith are so public that some feel that they need to hide from them—and perhaps sometimes for good reason. Such Christianity is often a domesticated civil religion that serves agendas that have more to do with preserving idealized manners and morals than with enabling people actually to grow in holiness as they take up their crosses. Too often in my region, what passes for Christianity merely provides a thin veneer of spiritual or moral respectability to political and social projects that have little direct connection to the salvation of the world and which obscure vital dimensions of Christian belief and witness. As such, increasing numbers of people recognize that such versions of the faith require nothing of substance from them and offer even less in return. As a result, they do not take religion seriously at all, for it seems like a matter of irrelevant personal preference often associated with hypocrisy. Or they reject Christianity because they disagree with whatever political or social agenda has been uncritically identified with it.

In our current cultural context, the true witness of Orthodox Christianity has an opportunity to become more clear, distinctive, and compelling. There are advantages in not bearing the burden of sustaining a religious ethos for an increasingly irreligious and decadent society. No one is asking us to guide the legislative process, propose policies, or otherwise take on the responsibility of articulating an ethic for a deeply fragmented and confused social order. Consequently, we are able to focus our energies on being salt and light. Our witness is not to pretend that the Church or the larger culture is something that it is not; instead, it is to be deliberately and intentionally faithful as Orthodox Christians in the areas of our lives that are up to us and to discern prayerfully how to navigate the challenges posed by areas that are not. The rest we leave in God’s hands.

By Fr. Philip LeMasters

Source: https://blogs.ancientfaith.com/easternchristianinsights/2016/06/09/orthodox-witness-post-christian-culture/

And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” (Matthew 13: 4-9)

The parable about the sower depicts the different relationships of the soul as it interacts and lives by the word of God.

First, we see those who do not heed the word at all. They hear, but the words do not enter their soul, instead they simply lie on top, like a seed on the road. The word is not compatible with them, because they have a different way of thinking, different rules, different tastes. Therefore, it it vanished from their memory very quickly,it is forgotten, as if it had not been heard at all.

The second group are those who hear the word willingly and accept it quite quickly, but do not want to put any effort in keeping the word. Therefore, they enjoy the word and especially the promises that come with it but only until personal sacrifices are required. As soon as there is a need to sacrifice something for the sake of loyalty and faithfulness to the word, they begin to turn away from it and refuse both the word and the promises in favor of their passions and the things they are attached to.

The third group of people are those who accept the word and begin to live by its guidance, but they are still heavily devoted to the worries, sorrows and other earthly cares, which suppress all the good beginnings that were formed under the influence of the word of God.

Finally, the forth group includes those who accept the word with full faith and have decided to live by its rules while showing readiness for any and all necessary sacrifices and do not allow their hearts to fall into the earthly trap of worries.

May the Lord grant everyone the strength to sit down and decide for themselves: Where do you belong?

Daily Gospel Reflections of St. Theophan the Recluse for June 29

Translated by The Catalog of Good Deeds

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We Are All Surrounded with Living Icons!

Chapter IV. Apostle Paul: The Quarrel between the Supreme Apostles

Post-Christian Culture: The Coherence between Our Creeds and Our Deeds

The Story of the Sower: Where Do You Belong?

What Should I Do When My Relative Practices Magic?

Parable of the Day: A Sermon by the Fire

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