As we begin our Lenten readings from the Old Testament, I wanted to share this commentary on Genesis 1:26 from the Orthodox Study Bible: “The Holy Trinity also made man. God the Father is speaking to God the Son [St. John Chrysostom], and He uses the personal pronouns Us and Our. These pronouns indicate three distinct Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, as noted in 1:1–3.”
This little girl was buried alive for five days under the rubble from the recent earthquake in Turkey. She was rescued after 120 hours without food or water. She said while she was trapped a man dressed in white with a white beard on a white horse came down from heaven and held back the walls of the buildings from falling on her. She also said the man gave her food and water. Many believe that she was describing St. Menas the Great Martyr.
The
Orthodox Church is the only Church on earth that can trace its worship directly
back to Christ and the Apostles in an unbroken historical line. Orthodox
worship goes back even further to the Old Testament Tabernacle (Exodus 25-30)
and Solomon’s Temple (1 Kings 5-6). God commended the Children of Israel to
make a Tabernacle so that He “may dwell among them” (Exodus 25:8-9).
The
Tabernacle contained a Naive or “Holy Place,” a table of showbread, the
seven-branched golden candlestand, an altar of incense, and a veil or
Iconostasis with ICONS of Cherubim embroidered on it that separated the Holy
Place from the Holy of Holies (Exodus 26:31-33; Hebrews 9:1-5). The walls and
doors of the Temple were covered with “figures of cherubims” (1 Kings 6:29-35).
The
Tabernacle also had an Altar or “Holy of Holies,” which contained the Ark of
the Covenant with two golden winged angelic Cherubim facing each other and the
Mercy Seat on top. The Ark of the Covenant contained RELICS: the stone tablets
with the Ten Commandments, the jar of manna, and Aaron’s budded rod.
All
these elements are still present in the 2000-year-old Orthodox Church to this
very day. “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever” (Hebrews
13:8).
It is of note that our Lord Jesus Christ and His Holy Apostles all frequently WORSHIPPED (Matthew 26:55; Mark 14:49; Luke 24:53; Acts 3:1) and PREACHED (Matthew 21:14-15, 23; Luke 20:1; Acts 2:46; Acts 5:42; Acts 21:26-28) in the Temple, which was identically patterned after the Old Testament Tabernacle (1 Kings 5-6). Even after Christ ascended into heaven, the Holy Apostles “were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God” (Luke 24:51-53). Our Lord Jesus Christ said that the Temple was God’s house and a “house of prayer” (Matthew 21:13). Even the gold of the Temple was sanctified (Matthew 23:17)!
The Orthodox Church does not worship Saints or the Holy Virgin Mary. Nor is the Orthodox Church engaged in any form of idolatry (that is a misrepresentation and strawman of the Orthodox Church). We only worship and give adoration to God the Holy Trinity. While we don’t worship the Saints, we do VENERATE or show honor to them. Venerate means to show love and honor, not worship or adoration, which belongs to God alone. God commands us to, “Honour thy father and thy mother” (Exodus 20:12). If we are commanded to HONOUR our earthly mother and father, how much more should we want to honor the Apostles, Prophets, and Saints (what the Apostle Paul calls the “great a cloud of witnesses” in Hebrews 12:1)? The Archangel Gabriel said to the Holy Virgin Mary, “Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women” (Luke 1:28). Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, proclaimed to Mary, “Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb” (Luke 1:42). Mary herself said, “Behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed” (Luke 1:48). These are all biblical examples of showing VENERATION to the Saints, but not worship belonging to God alone. This has always been the teaching of the Orthodox Church.
Photo: Icon of the Annunciation of the Archangel Gabriel to the Holy Virgin Mary
“You need oxygen, hence a respiratory system. But the oxygen doesn't dissolve well, so you need hemoglobin. But that requires kidney cells to control them, and on and on. Who's managing the red blood cells!?…Every day, your body must solve hundreds of hard engineering problems simultaneously, or else you’ll die.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KP15mW262PQ
Science.org just recently published an article entitled, “Relative Differences: The Myth of 1%,” which argues that there are considerably more differences between chimp and human DNA than the erroneous 1% that is often touted by evolutionists. According to Dr. Georgia Purdom (PhD in molecular genetics from Ohio State University): “If they are all counted, the similarity is only 80%, which equals 600 million differences between human and chimp DNA!”
“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’
“Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’
“Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’
“Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
"And all wept, and bewailed her: but He said, Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed Him to scorn, knowing that she was dead" (Luke 8:52-53).
The reference here is to the dead daughter of Jarius. Jarius himself said that his daughter had died, and his servants confirmed this. But the Lord, the Giver of life, said: Weep not; she is not dead, and they ridiculed Him, knowing that she was dead. The ignorant pretend that they know better than the Knower. The blind pretend that they see better than the All-seeing One. But when the young girl arose and showed herself alive, the ignorant were astonished with a great astonishment (Mark 5:42).
Even today, the ignorant scoff when they hear the divine truth. Divine truth speaks: There is a Living God! And the ignorant ridicule this as though they know that there is no God. Divine truth speaks: There is a Heavenly Kingdom! And the ignorant ridicule even this as though they know that there is no Heavenly Kingdom. Divine truth asserts: The dead will resurrect! And the ignorant even deny this as though they know that this will not be. And when God appears and the angels of God appear, and the Kingdom of Heaven is made known, and the dead resurrect, then the ignorant ones will be astonished with a great astonishment.
Who can save the world from the ignorant? No one can save the world except Christ the Omniscient, the Omnipotent. By what can the ignorant be saved? By nothing except faith in Christ and and the Christian Faith. Who are the most ignorant ones in the world? They are those who deny whatever Christ affirmed and affirm whatever He denied. In a word: there are those who think that they know something contrary to the knowledge of Christ. They are the worst and the most dangerous ignoramuses, both to themselves and to others.
My brethren, know that everything and everyone can deceive us except Christ, our Lord and Friend. He always knows and we do not, except when we look and listen to Him.
O Lord, merciful and all-merciful, help all the ignorant, that before death and judgment they may be astonished with great astonishment, and that they too may be saved in the Kingdom of Thy holy ones.
To Thee be glory and praise forever. Amen.
- From the Prologue of Ohrid
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I have seen several comments recently about how religion is used to “control people.” In the end, we are all slaves to something. We are either a slave of the world or a slave of Christ, which is the only path to true freedom. “For he who is called in the Lord while a slave is the Lord’s freedman. Likewise he who is called while free is Christ’s slave. You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men” (1 Corinthians 7:22-23).
When I disobeyed in ignorance Thy fatherly glory, I wasted in iniquities the riches that Thou gavest me. Wherefore, I cry to Thee with the voice of the prodigal son, saying, I have sinned before Thee, O compassionate Father, receive me repentant, and make me as one of Thy hired servants. (Kontakion of the Sunday of the Prodigal Son)
Then Jesus said, “There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the wealth that will belong to me.’ So he divided his assets between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant region, and there he squandered his wealth in dissolute living. When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that region, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that region, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. He would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, and no one gave him anything. But when he came to his senses he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.” ’ So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Then the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate, for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ And they began to celebrate.
“Now his elder son was in the field, and as he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf because he has got him back safe and sound.’ Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. But he answered his father, ‘Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command, yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your assets with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!’ Then the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.’” (Luke 15:11-32)
“Jesus existed, and those vocal persons who deny it do so not because they have considered the evidence with the dispassionate eye of the historian, but because they have some other agenda that this denial serves. From a dispassionate point of view, there was a Jesus of Nazareth.” - Bart Ehrman, renowned New Testament Critic and Atheist
“I do not enjoy, says God, your illnesses, O man. But, out of the seeds of your grief and sorrow, I want to bring forth for you fruits of eternal and majestic joy. I imprinted the law of death and destruction not only in your body, but also in every object of this visible world. I commanded the whole world, together with your body, to cry out to you that this life is not the true and real life, and there is nothing permanent here to which your heart should become attached.” - Elder Macarius of Optina
This meme reminded me of a quote I recently saw from an unknown author: "There is a reason atheism and agnosticism rose with urbanization. The wild forest is a spiritual place. Disbelief does not last there." Most modern technology is nothing more than a distraction from the REAL world. The natural world declares "the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork" (Psalm 19:1).
"For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit and the water and the blood: and these three are together" (I John 5: 7-8).
When we read Holy Scripture, we should be alert to keep an eye on every word. To the rapid reader, for example, this distinction which the Evangelist draws between the Heavenly Trinity and the earthly trinity will not become apparent. Concerning the Heavenly Trinity, he says, and these three are one; and concerning the earthly trinity, he says, and these three are together. There is an enormous difference between "being one" and "being together." The Father, Son and the Holy Spirit are One, whereas the spirit, the water and the blood are only together and are not one. Even enemies could be together, but are not one. All the people on earth are together, but they are not one. Water and blood constitute the body, and the spirit is the spirit. For the flesh has desires against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh (Galatians 5:17). They are not one, but they are still together. When man dies, the union is broken and ceases to exist. Blood and water go to one side, and the spirit goes to another side. However, the Persons of the Divine Trinity in the heavens are not only together, but They are also One.
There is also another trinity in the inner heaven of man which should be not only a unity but a oneness, so that man may be blessed in this world and in the other world. That is the union of the mind, heart and will. As long as these three are only in togetherness, man will be at war with himself and with the Heavenly Trinity. However, when these three become one, so that none rules and none is enslaved, then man becomes filled with the peace of God, which surpasseth all understanding (Philippians 4:7), that surpasses man's every word, every explanation, every fear and every sorrow. Then the small heaven in man begins to resemble that great heaven of God, and the "image and likeness of God" become apparent in man.
O Triune God, help us to at least resemble those who resemble Thee.
To Thee be glory and praise forever. Amen.
- From the Prologue of Ohrid
Let us flee the proud speaking of the Pharisee and learn the humility of the Publican, and with groaning let us cry unto the Savior: Be merciful to us, for Thou alone art ready to forgive. (Kontakion for the Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee)
"And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted." Luke 18:9-14
"The media destroys the psyche, kills the soul, and destroys the health of entire populations." - Metropolitan Luke (Kovalenko) of Zaporozhye and Melitopol https://orthochristian.com/150796.html
Hail Virgin Theotokos full of Grace, for Christ our God, the Sun of Righteousness, has dawned from you, granting light to those in darkness. And you, O Righteous Elder, rejoice, taking in Your arms, the Deliverance of our souls, who grants us Resurrection. (Apolytikion for the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord to the Temple)
"He was Christ. And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day; as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him." - Flavius Josephus, First-century Jewish historian (born 37 AD)
