“No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” -Luke 16:13
These verses being just as relevant, if not more, today than they were to those who preceded us in the faith, just as every verse in the Bible continues to be relevant and has power for us in this generation. There are some people who make a sad attempt today to justify themselves by saying that it was much easier for those who preceded us to follow the words of the Bible than it is for us today. However, when one studies those to whom the Epistles were first written, they can’t make that attempt anymore, because by far, those to whom the Epistles were written were living lives filled with much more indulgence than most people live today. This week I will talk about serving two masters and how that never works.
The word mammon is found in the original Greek Bible but the word isn’t Greek, it is transliterated from the Aramaic word. The interesting thing about this word is that in all ancient translations it is left untranslated, it remains “mammon.” The English translations carried the word down as mammon too. Mammon in Aramaic means “riches” or “wealth.” Now if that is what the word means wouldn’t it have made sense to just translate it into Greek? If the word was untranslated then it means there is a depth in the original word that was not found in the Greek so it was transliterated instead of translated. This depth is expressed in the fact that the word mammon has the idea of trusting in wealth behind it. Which then in essence make us servants to it, and if we are its servants, then it is our master. It doesn’t only mean monetary riches, but all other riches and wealth, and things we build ourselves in other than God. There is more to this word, but for the sake of the length of this article, we can’t go into it.
So how do these verses apply in our lives? They apply very subtly, it’s not as hard as one makes it seem. They can apply if we start making anything more important than God. What is meant by that is if one does more things, and with more enthusiasm and effort for things that do not pertain to the Church, than to the Church itself. Because the Church is the Bride of Christ, Christ is one with the Church. So anything that is done against the Church or not done for the Church is also done against or not done for Christ. Just as it says, “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.” -Matthew 25:44-46
The Church teaches us to serve by using whatever talents we have to help the Church and bring glory to God. This means if we are talented at writing, we should use that talent to write for the Church. If we are talented at singing or playing music, let us sing songs of praise to God. Even smaller things, if we are talented at cleaning up, let us clean up the place where the Church assembles. Notice here that the letter C in Church is capitalized. This is because it is in reference to the believers. When I say Church I am meaning what Jesus said in the above verses, that we should help each other. We shouldn’t do things for show in the church where the believers gather, and then in private if someone needs help we refuse it to him as it says continuing Luke 16:13, “Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard all these things, and they derided Him. And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.” -Luke 16:14
Our service to God and the Church is us giving from ourselves. We give our time, effort, and talents to edify the Church. We should set aside a specific time for whenever we want to do this, or when our time comes for service, we shouldn’t be distracted. For example if we think that “something better” has come up to do, we ditch our work and come back to it later. We should do everything from the richness of our hearts and we should do it cheerfully as St. Paul the Apostle says, “But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.” -2 Corinthians 9:6
These days we tend to be partial in our service to God, and without enthusiasm, and it is a trend that is rising a lot in the Orthodox Churches. And an interesting note, from all the ethnic Orthodox Churches that I know of, they blame it on their culture. This is an interesting thing, because the problems that they identify are the same, which means it is not related to the one culture. One example I will bring up is a small one which I have seen with two of these ethnicities. The Copts (Egyptians) are usually late to whatever, and then they say, “Oh, Egyptian time means half an hour late.” I was talking to a couple of Ethiopians, and they said, “Ethiopian time is way worse than Egyptian time, it means an hour to an hour and a half late.” These weaknesses get in the way of our spiritual life because this lack of punctuality, if not fixed, will apply on Sunday during the Liturgy. The interesting thing that I would like to point out is that how come in work and school these same people who say they are not punctual are early. With work, after a certain amount of times of arriving late, they will be automatically fired. With school the tardiness will be put into the disciplinary record, and if it continues, it will result in suspension or at worst expulsion. If work is important to us, how much more should our eternal life be?!
Let us think about our priorities and what really matters to us as Joshua said in his final public address, “Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD! And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” -Joshua 24:14-15
If we struggle, let us pray to God and ask Him to help us in our service. Let us ask Him sincerely and truly with a pure heart and He will grant to us what we ask if we believe. And glory be to God both now and ever and unto the age of all ages. Amen.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Friday, June 12, 2009
Fasting
Fasting is a big part of Orthodox Christian worship. It is present in every Orthodox Church and it is one of three ways that worship is defined, the other two being Prayer and Almsgiving. What is unique about the Orthodox Church’s way of fasting is that it is fixed to specific days in the year, and there are two degrees. The first degree is strict abstinence, which usually means to not eating any food until a specific time of the day and not eating any animal products such as eggs, milk, and meat. The second degree of fasting calls for fasting also without food until an earlier time and allowing fish to be eaten during fastings of the second degree. Aside from all the technicalities, for this article I will talk about the spirituality of fasting.
In this day and age, fasting is virtually nonexistent, and if it does exist it is usually a very easy fast. Fasting however has been commanded from the Old Testament and was further prophesied by Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself that it would continue after He ascended into Heaven. As it says in the Gospel, “The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were fasting. Then they came and said to Him, “Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?” And Jesus said to them, “Can the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast. But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.” -Mark 2:18-20. So Our Lord was indicating that fasting would continue after His Ascension because he says, “The days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.” Fasting then becomes a sign of our faith and hope that Our Lord ascended in the flesh and is coming again in His glory at the end of the world.
As to how we should fast, Jesus taught and commanded us saying, “Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.” -Matthew 6:16-18. In Jesus’ time the Jews followed the Law of Moses according to the letter and not by the spirit of the law which God had put into it when He gave it to Moses, this is why Our Lord commands us to wash our faces and anoints our heads so that we don’t appear to be fasting because if we blatantly make it look as if we are fasting to a high degree of asceticism, then we have lost the whole meaning of fasting because the whole point of fasting is to become closer to God, not to receive praise from people. The words of Isaiah the Prophet apply here, “Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You have not seen? Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?’” -Isaiah 58:3
Ezra talks about the goal of fasting, “Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him the right way for us and our little ones and all our possessions.” –Ezra 8:21. He then demonstrates a correct approach and understanding of fasting which is described as humbling ourselves before God and to seek from Him the right way for ourselves. When we fast we don’t fast for God, and this is the thing which might shock some of us. We don’t fast for God because God doesn’t need our fasting. We fast for ourselves, so that we can grow closer to Him, and know His will for us, and cause our prayers to be heard. Most Orthodox Christians don’t understand this latter point, but this is the understanding, because when we humble ourselves, we grow closer to God because slowly and little by little we forget about ourselves and our focus becomes solely on God.
When we fast we shouldn’t focus on the diet completely, because if we do, more than likely there will be some problems in the fast. I will briefly discuss one of these problems according to its priority. This problem is that we will try to substitute the foods, as I said the Church does not permit us to eat eggs, milk, and meat during these fasts with the exception of fish during some fasts. So what we tend to do is get soy milk, and cheese made without milk, you get the picture. I was at a retreat six months ago during the Nativity Fast, and during lunch time I saw in one of the serving bowls at my table what I thought looked like beef, then I heard the person sitting in front of me saying, “Can you please pass the fasting meat.” And I was so confused, how can meat be fasting? So to my shock they have been able to use soy to make fasting beef for those who want to fast! Anyways, this is for the most part, “cheating” the fast. Because the whole point of the fast is to deny ourselves, and part of doing that means to control our desires, so if all that’s changed between fasting and non-fasting times is just the ingredients, then we have not followed the fast according to its spirit but according to its letter. As St. Paul the Apostle said under inspiration in the Holy Bible, “And we have such trust through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” -2 Corinthians 3:4-6. If we fast according to the manner of the letter, we will be like those whom the Book of Isaiah describes, “Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You have not seen? Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?’” -Isaiah 58:3
Finally there are actually two types of fasting, congregational and individual. The type of fasting I am talking about here is congregational meaning that the Church sets the date and rules. Although we must understand that if someone has a health issue, he or she can sit down with his or her Father of Confession and receive absolution. But this congregational fasting in the end also helps the Church to be of one mind and raises the spirituality of the Body of Christ by causing everyone to be in a state of prayer and spirituality. Individual fasting works in a completely different way by having the believer sit down with his Father of Confession and receiving advice so that he doesn’t hurt himself or feel proud of having fasted by himself, and take into account other spiritual factors.
We are in a season of fasting as we are currently in the Apostles Fast, so let us take the time to consecrate the fast by putting away our desires and humbling ourselves before God and seeking Him out in prayer during this holy time. And glory be to God both now and ever and unto the age of all ages. Amen.
In this day and age, fasting is virtually nonexistent, and if it does exist it is usually a very easy fast. Fasting however has been commanded from the Old Testament and was further prophesied by Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself that it would continue after He ascended into Heaven. As it says in the Gospel, “The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were fasting. Then they came and said to Him, “Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?” And Jesus said to them, “Can the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast. But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.” -Mark 2:18-20. So Our Lord was indicating that fasting would continue after His Ascension because he says, “The days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.” Fasting then becomes a sign of our faith and hope that Our Lord ascended in the flesh and is coming again in His glory at the end of the world.
As to how we should fast, Jesus taught and commanded us saying, “Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.” -Matthew 6:16-18. In Jesus’ time the Jews followed the Law of Moses according to the letter and not by the spirit of the law which God had put into it when He gave it to Moses, this is why Our Lord commands us to wash our faces and anoints our heads so that we don’t appear to be fasting because if we blatantly make it look as if we are fasting to a high degree of asceticism, then we have lost the whole meaning of fasting because the whole point of fasting is to become closer to God, not to receive praise from people. The words of Isaiah the Prophet apply here, “Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You have not seen? Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?’” -Isaiah 58:3
Ezra talks about the goal of fasting, “Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him the right way for us and our little ones and all our possessions.” –Ezra 8:21. He then demonstrates a correct approach and understanding of fasting which is described as humbling ourselves before God and to seek from Him the right way for ourselves. When we fast we don’t fast for God, and this is the thing which might shock some of us. We don’t fast for God because God doesn’t need our fasting. We fast for ourselves, so that we can grow closer to Him, and know His will for us, and cause our prayers to be heard. Most Orthodox Christians don’t understand this latter point, but this is the understanding, because when we humble ourselves, we grow closer to God because slowly and little by little we forget about ourselves and our focus becomes solely on God.
When we fast we shouldn’t focus on the diet completely, because if we do, more than likely there will be some problems in the fast. I will briefly discuss one of these problems according to its priority. This problem is that we will try to substitute the foods, as I said the Church does not permit us to eat eggs, milk, and meat during these fasts with the exception of fish during some fasts. So what we tend to do is get soy milk, and cheese made without milk, you get the picture. I was at a retreat six months ago during the Nativity Fast, and during lunch time I saw in one of the serving bowls at my table what I thought looked like beef, then I heard the person sitting in front of me saying, “Can you please pass the fasting meat.” And I was so confused, how can meat be fasting? So to my shock they have been able to use soy to make fasting beef for those who want to fast! Anyways, this is for the most part, “cheating” the fast. Because the whole point of the fast is to deny ourselves, and part of doing that means to control our desires, so if all that’s changed between fasting and non-fasting times is just the ingredients, then we have not followed the fast according to its spirit but according to its letter. As St. Paul the Apostle said under inspiration in the Holy Bible, “And we have such trust through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” -2 Corinthians 3:4-6. If we fast according to the manner of the letter, we will be like those whom the Book of Isaiah describes, “Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You have not seen? Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?’” -Isaiah 58:3
Finally there are actually two types of fasting, congregational and individual. The type of fasting I am talking about here is congregational meaning that the Church sets the date and rules. Although we must understand that if someone has a health issue, he or she can sit down with his or her Father of Confession and receive absolution. But this congregational fasting in the end also helps the Church to be of one mind and raises the spirituality of the Body of Christ by causing everyone to be in a state of prayer and spirituality. Individual fasting works in a completely different way by having the believer sit down with his Father of Confession and receiving advice so that he doesn’t hurt himself or feel proud of having fasted by himself, and take into account other spiritual factors.
We are in a season of fasting as we are currently in the Apostles Fast, so let us take the time to consecrate the fast by putting away our desires and humbling ourselves before God and seeking Him out in prayer during this holy time. And glory be to God both now and ever and unto the age of all ages. Amen.
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