Greetings in Christ Jesus,
IV Sunday after
Pentecost
Spiritually and physically raising us from the dead, and
stopping the blood.
(Fourth Sunday of the
cycle of six Sundays)
During this week:
At the Beginning of Night read the Gospel of St. John
throughout this week.
Matins: Week IV throughout this week, for the verses before
the Second Canticle of Moses, the Song of the Three Youths, and the
Matins Resurrection Gospel.
The Divine Liturgy:
Old Testament: Is.
41:8-14 [S] (“... For I am the Lord thy God,
Who takes you by the hand, and says to you: Fear not, I have helped you...”)
Epistle: Romans
6:1-11 (Dead to sin but alive in Christ: “...Know
you not that all we who are baptized in Christ Jesus are baptized in his death?
For we are buried together with him by baptism into death; that, as Christ is
risen from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also may walk in newness of
life...”)
Gradual: Psalm 78
(Heb. 79) O God, the heathens are come into Your inheritance (This is a case where the Psalm asks
for revenge, but Jesus Christ gives mercy. At least it asks for self-control: “Remember
not our former iniquities; let Your mercies speedily prevent us: (quickly overtake us) for we are become exceeding
poor.” Verse 13 may be used as the Alleluia. As in many Psalms, the end of
the Psalm is much more calm. “But we Your people, and the sheep of Your pasture, will give thanks to You for ever: We will show forth Your praise, unto
generation and generation.”)
Gospel: Matthew 9:18-26 (Raising the ruler’s daughter
from the dead, healing the woman with an issue of blood for twelve years, and the woman’s
faith healed her. Jesus Christ healed women, raising girls from the dead, and
healing afflictions.)
Friends,
The prophecy that we read in this chapter of Isaiah is twofold; firstly,
it is fulfilled at the fall of Babylon and the return of the Jews out of their
exile. Secondly, it is fulfilled through the Apostles and the church. The
church, or Christianity, has survived from the beginning through the most
severe attacks that has been thrown at her. The attacks not only came from
outside but from inside as well and they continue to do so. True Christians must
keep watch, no one group, denomination, true
church, one that existed from the beginning church, one that has returned
to the roots of Christianity church, no one group is immune from attack either
from the outside or the inside.
We must be ever vigilant, grace abounds but sinning more in order for
more grace to abound is insanity. This was once believed and so spoken of by
St. Paul. If we live in sin, even if grace is abounding, we cannot be in union
with God. Darkness cannot be in union with light. One comes and the other goes.
If we are dead to sin then we are no longer held captive by it. Our human
nature has not died, we must be free from sinning, we cannot move to sin when
under grace. Being baptized in Christ is not merely some outward sign of our
giving ourselves to Jesus. It is not simply making a public announcement that
we love Jesus. We are born again into a spiritual life that is in union with
the risen Christ. This is how we are to live, shun sin, grow in the spirit. Sin
is crucified, we are not sin in nature, sin is what we do. In Baptism we have
crucified the old man as it is called which is literally the sin that clothed
us. We are born again to live a new life, a resurrected life and we can do this
through Jesus the Christ.
Our gospel shows us that God alone has authority over life and death.
Murderers cannot murder without the knowledge of God. Tyrants cannot rule with
hate without the knowledge of God. Death and life are in God’s hands and Jesus has
the power of life because He is of one essence with the Father. The Gospel
shows us the power and authority that Jesus has in life. Jesus heals. Faith my
friends, this is necessary, hope that there is a better life even when we do
die in the body, love or charity covers all things. We must hold to the gospel
and we must love until the end. We do not know the end but one thing for sure,
we will end if in no other way at the moment than in our body. We will die.
Many will pass from this life before the Second coming. Live this life in love
for God and neighbor.
As the Psalmist says, we must give thanks to God forever, ‘let Your
mercies speedily prevent us (or quickly overtake us) ’, this happens in love,
the love of God for us. He shows us mercy when we come to Him.
We must live our faith in spite of those who make the statement that
they do not need God in their life to do good. We who believe still need our
Savior because we sin everyday whether in thought, word or deed. There is no
amount of good that we can do that will erase our sin once we have committed
it. There is only our faith in Christ Jesus, our recognition of our sin, our
confession, and repentance. This is our faith.
God can do all things; there is no situation that we get
ourselves into that God cannot help us out of. Don’t think though that if there
is some earthly penalty that we must pay that we will escape this because we
suddenly come to God for help. We simply must have the faith and believe. Keep
in mind however; God's plan is far above ours. We suffer and we have plenty
coming based on what God Himself has in store for us whether it is for purging,
for testing, or for reward or necessity for our life. God is in control.
We do not know when this will end
and the new beginning will be, in spite of the many modern prophets who make a
living selling Jesus and the destruction of the world; we have no clue when it
will be. In the meantime, it rains on us all, haters and lovers of Jesus. The
sun shines on us all, haters and lovers of Jesus. We remain together in this
world until that day. So take a lesson from the readings. Continue to praise
and worship Jesus the Christ and the Father through Him. Never cease to pray
and live according to the gospel. Allow the Holy Ghost to guide you. Love God
with all of your heart, with all of your soul, with all of your mind, and with
all of your strength; love your neighbor as yourself. You never know whose life
you will change because of this love of God in you.
The light has entered the world and the times; they are
a-changing.
If one does not have love for the soul of mankind and the
desire that all come to the truth than one does not have Christ in them fully.
Little children, love one another; because this is our
Lord’s command and if you fulfill this, nothing else is needed. Through love
and because of love we will follow all of the commandments that we have been
given. They are written on our hearts by the hand of Almighty God. We simply
need to see them within us and follow.
Remember; if we confess our sins and repent, he is faithful
and just, to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all iniquity.
May the peace of our Lord Jesus the Christ be with you
throughout this day and the rest of your life. May the Holy Spirit fill us all
to overflowing so that everyone in whose path we cross may receive a blessing
from our Lord Jesus the Christ.
St. Michael’s Monastery and the New Warrior Ministries Videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCW8XyPtkmtu6a1vVg6MEiNg
Many Blessings!
+William
