In our Lord's parable, ten virgins await the coming of the the Bridegroom. Five of them are wise: they remembered to bring extra oil for their lamps. The five foolish virgins, on the other hand, neglected to do so. As a result, when the virgins were aroused from their slumber at midnight by someone crying that the Bridegroom had arrived, the five foolish ones asked the wise virgins to give them some of their oil, since their own lamps had gone out. This they would not do, however, lest by lending to the foolish ones, they themselves should run out of oil. Instead, they advised their foolish companions to go and buy some of their own.
Unfortunately, while the foolish virgins were out trying to find someone to sell them oil (and who could they find at that hour of the night?) the Bridegroom (that is, Christ) entered his chamber with the wise virgins and shut the door behind him. When at long last the foolish ones returned (presumably they had found some oil somewhere), they found the door shut and the Bridegroom saying, "I know you not."
Our Lord concludes His parable with this saying, "Watch, therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh." Truly now is the day of salvation, during this brief earthly life while the door is still open for all those who choose to enter. On that Day when Christ returns to judge the living and the dead, it will be too late: the door will be closed forever. Likewise, the door of salvation will be closed for each and every one of us on that day when Christ calls us from this world and our souls are separated from our bodies and we go to stand naked and defenseless before the dread judgment seat.
What, then, is signified by the oil in the lamps? Some Church Fathers say the oil represents our good works during this life, and no doubt this is true. However, if we delve a little deeper, it might be said that the oil represents our good disposition toward God and all things needful for our salvation. After all, good deeds in themselves can be merely outward actions that mask an inner coldness toward God and our neighbor. Consider the philanthropist who gives money to worthy causes simply to salve his conscience or to gain the admiration of others. On the other hand, if one has a good disposition, good deeds will spring forth naturally and will truly gain for us heavenly treasures.
The door of salvation is open to those who have their hearts in the right place, hearts that are turned toward good with genuine humility and a spirit of repentance. Such a heart will be oriented toward God with an unquenchable love that is ever zealous to do His will. Moreover, a good heart is ever vigilant lest we lose our way on the path of salvation and fall prey to the Devil's deceptions.
Like a good soldier ever ready to do battle, we must be on guard at all times against carelessnes and deadly complacency, lest like the foolish virgins we find our lamps burning low on the day of reckoning. This means we should live every day of our lives as though it were our last, for truly it may well be. Then, like the foolish virgins, we will find ourselves unexpectantly and permanently shut out of the Kingdom, while the Bridegroom says, "I know you not." Then shall we be "cast out into that outer darkness in which there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Thursday, July 16, 2009
FEAST OF STS. PETER AND PAUL
"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness," said the Lord to the Holy Apostle Paul after he had asked for the third time to have the "thorn" removed from his side. Peter and Paul were the greatest of the apostles--not because they were perfect, but because the grace of God rested upon them so abundantly. Like all of us, these apostles had their strengths and weaknesses. Consider that St. Peter was the first to confess Jesus to be the Christ, the Son of the Living God. It was on the very "rock" of this faith that Christ promised to build His Church, against which the gates of hell (that is, the heretics) would not prevail. St. Paul, on the other hand, endured innumerable trials and tribulations in order to preach the Gospel throughout the world, yet before the risen Lord appeared to him on the road to Damascus, he was a foremost persecutor of the Church.
We are all called by God to be holy, not perfect. To be human in this fallen world means to be flawed and subject to infirmities, but if we commit ourselves totally to God and strive to do His will in all things, His grace is sufficient to make up for whatever is lacking. The beauty of the Church consists in the fact that God takes imperfect sinners such as you and I and weaves us all together into a marvelous tapestry. While each detail is flawed in some way, the overall effect is without blemish.
How boring the world would be if we were all manufactured according to the same exact specifications, perfect and flawless in a technical sense but devoid of the living breath of the Spirit! The Church is an organism of unique persons created in God's image, not a mere collection of individual cogs in some sort of vast cosmic machine. What this means is that we must love one another with the very love of God, not despite our differences, but precisely because of them. At the core of every human person lies hidden a profound mystery known only to God. By love we can touch the fringes of this mystery, but we can never penetrate it completely. We can only marvel and show profound reverence towards God's handiwork--both in ourselves and in others--while striving to be made worthy of the gift of life God has so graciously bestowed upon us.
"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness," said the Lord to the Holy Apostle Paul after he had asked for the third time to have the "thorn" removed from his side. Peter and Paul were the greatest of the apostles--not because they were perfect, but because the grace of God rested upon them so abundantly. Like all of us, these apostles had their strengths and weaknesses. Consider that St. Peter was the first to confess Jesus to be the Christ, the Son of the Living God. It was on the very "rock" of this faith that Christ promised to build His Church, against which the gates of hell (that is, the heretics) would not prevail. St. Paul, on the other hand, endured innumerable trials and tribulations in order to preach the Gospel throughout the world, yet before the risen Lord appeared to him on the road to Damascus, he was a foremost persecutor of the Church.
We are all called by God to be holy, not perfect. To be human in this fallen world means to be flawed and subject to infirmities, but if we commit ourselves totally to God and strive to do His will in all things, His grace is sufficient to make up for whatever is lacking. The beauty of the Church consists in the fact that God takes imperfect sinners such as you and I and weaves us all together into a marvelous tapestry. While each detail is flawed in some way, the overall effect is without blemish.
How boring the world would be if we were all manufactured according to the same exact specifications, perfect and flawless in a technical sense but devoid of the living breath of the Spirit! The Church is an organism of unique persons created in God's image, not a mere collection of individual cogs in some sort of vast cosmic machine. What this means is that we must love one another with the very love of God, not despite our differences, but precisely because of them. At the core of every human person lies hidden a profound mystery known only to God. By love we can touch the fringes of this mystery, but we can never penetrate it completely. We can only marvel and show profound reverence towards God's handiwork--both in ourselves and in others--while striving to be made worthy of the gift of life God has so graciously bestowed upon us.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Sunday of All Saints
"He that loveth father or mother, son or daughter, more than me is not worthy of me," said our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This is indeed one our our Lord's "hard sayings:" for it runs counter (against the grain) to our deepest natural instincts. These instincts, however, are not truly natural, since they are a product of our fallen human nature. This is why the Kingdom of Heaven must be "taken by storm". Only the violent (those who do violence against their fallen human nature) are worthy to enter the Kingdom.
The truth is, our human love, however exalted it may feel, will always be imperfect, tainted by our egotism, unless we love God first and foremost. Our love for God must overshadow and transcend every love that is merely human. It is, in fact, this all-consuming love for God that is the distinguishing mark of sainthood, setting the saints apart from the rest of us. Paradoxically, however, it is precisely through this love of God that a saint is enabled to love all persons, even their enemies, and to pray with compassionate hearts for all who suffer.
In both the Greek and Russian languages, the word for "saint" means "holy." This is because a saint by definition is someone who is filled with the Holy Spirit of God. Thus, since God is love, it is only natural that the saints should be known above all for their love. It is love alone that empowers the martyrs to die for the sake of Christ, and it is for the sake of love that the ascetics accomplish their feats.
It is for this reason that St. Paul places love above faith and hope as "the greatest of these." Apart from love, all other gifts are nothing more than "tinkling cymbols and sounding brass."
This all-consuming love for God is truly the natural state for all humanity, the ultimate goal to which we should all aspire. The saints are not so much exceptions to the rule as they are models of what it means to be truly human.
Every one of us, however humble or seemingly insignificant our status in this world, have been called to be saints. Blessed shall we be if we endure to the end every trial and tribulation of this life, ever striving to attain unto the fullness of Christ, even though we may succeed in nothing more than touching the hem of His garment.
The truth is, our human love, however exalted it may feel, will always be imperfect, tainted by our egotism, unless we love God first and foremost. Our love for God must overshadow and transcend every love that is merely human. It is, in fact, this all-consuming love for God that is the distinguishing mark of sainthood, setting the saints apart from the rest of us. Paradoxically, however, it is precisely through this love of God that a saint is enabled to love all persons, even their enemies, and to pray with compassionate hearts for all who suffer.
In both the Greek and Russian languages, the word for "saint" means "holy." This is because a saint by definition is someone who is filled with the Holy Spirit of God. Thus, since God is love, it is only natural that the saints should be known above all for their love. It is love alone that empowers the martyrs to die for the sake of Christ, and it is for the sake of love that the ascetics accomplish their feats.
It is for this reason that St. Paul places love above faith and hope as "the greatest of these." Apart from love, all other gifts are nothing more than "tinkling cymbols and sounding brass."
This all-consuming love for God is truly the natural state for all humanity, the ultimate goal to which we should all aspire. The saints are not so much exceptions to the rule as they are models of what it means to be truly human.
Every one of us, however humble or seemingly insignificant our status in this world, have been called to be saints. Blessed shall we be if we endure to the end every trial and tribulation of this life, ever striving to attain unto the fullness of Christ, even though we may succeed in nothing more than touching the hem of His garment.
Pentecost
Jesus said, "He that believeth on me...out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake He of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive)." By "belly" is signified the innermost part of the person, the true and authentic bedrock reality of our existence as beings created in God's image. This promise was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost, after Jesus had ascended in glory to His Father, when the Holy Spirit descended on the Apostles as tongues of fire. The disciples who were formerly cowering behind closed doors for fear of the Jews were on this day strengthened and confirmed in their faith and empowered to preach the Gospel unto the ends of the earth.
Pentecost, however, is not merely an historical event, the so-called "birthday" of the Church. The same Spirit which established the Church and sustains her through the ages comes and abides in our hearts through the mysteries of Baptism and Chrismation. But the rite of Baptism alone will not save us. Though we have all received the Gift of the Holy Spirit in the waters of Baptism, this gift can be easily squandered or even scorned. There is no guaranteed passport to heaven. The path to salvation requires an ongoing struggle till we take our final breath to acquire the Holy Spirit of God.
According to St. Seraphim of Sarov, the acquisition of the Holy Spirit is the whole purpose of our life, and we acquire the Spirit in the very same way we acquire money. As merchants acquire wealth through trading one thing for another, so it is in the spiritual life. "Give blood, receive the Holy Spirit", according to the Fathers of the Church. In the case of the martyrs, this saying is fulfilled literally, but in a sense we "give blood" whenever we strive against the desires of our fallen human nature to fulfill the commandments of Christ.
Sadly, however, most of us devote more time and energy to our material wealth and security than we do to the salvation of our eternal soul. Truly we are more concerned with our earthly treasures than we are in the balance of our heavenly bank account. Of course we cannot buy our way into heaven. When the day of reckoning arrives (as it surely will) and we come to stand naked before the dread judgment seat of Christ, all that matters is how diligent we have been in our acquisition of the Holy Spirit.
It is for this very reason that the Church begins and ends each day with the prayer to the Holy Spirit: "O heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth...come and abide in us..." May we all pray this prayer continually from the depths of our hearts, from our "bellies," while striving ever to acquire ever greater gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Pentecost, however, is not merely an historical event, the so-called "birthday" of the Church. The same Spirit which established the Church and sustains her through the ages comes and abides in our hearts through the mysteries of Baptism and Chrismation. But the rite of Baptism alone will not save us. Though we have all received the Gift of the Holy Spirit in the waters of Baptism, this gift can be easily squandered or even scorned. There is no guaranteed passport to heaven. The path to salvation requires an ongoing struggle till we take our final breath to acquire the Holy Spirit of God.
According to St. Seraphim of Sarov, the acquisition of the Holy Spirit is the whole purpose of our life, and we acquire the Spirit in the very same way we acquire money. As merchants acquire wealth through trading one thing for another, so it is in the spiritual life. "Give blood, receive the Holy Spirit", according to the Fathers of the Church. In the case of the martyrs, this saying is fulfilled literally, but in a sense we "give blood" whenever we strive against the desires of our fallen human nature to fulfill the commandments of Christ.
Sadly, however, most of us devote more time and energy to our material wealth and security than we do to the salvation of our eternal soul. Truly we are more concerned with our earthly treasures than we are in the balance of our heavenly bank account. Of course we cannot buy our way into heaven. When the day of reckoning arrives (as it surely will) and we come to stand naked before the dread judgment seat of Christ, all that matters is how diligent we have been in our acquisition of the Holy Spirit.
It is for this very reason that the Church begins and ends each day with the prayer to the Holy Spirit: "O heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth...come and abide in us..." May we all pray this prayer continually from the depths of our hearts, from our "bellies," while striving ever to acquire ever greater gifts of the Holy Spirit.
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