MATTHEW CHAPTER 15

Brethren, let us hear and understand these words of Christ, for He is condemning neither Jew nor Gentile, but encompassing both in this awesome mystery which defeats the power of Satan and lifts us up from the bondage to the fear of death into the law of love. As the beloved Apostle says, that he who still has fear has not yet learned to love, for perfect love drives out all fear.(1 John 4:18)^[i]

MATTHEW CHAPTER 15

MATTHEW 15:1-14

Legal Hypocrisy

What is lawful is not necessarily good.

Then scribes and Pharisees of Jerusalem came to Jesus saying, Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread. But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, whoever curseth father or mother, let him die the death. But ye say, `whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift [Hb.: korban: anything of mine which might have been used for your benefit is set apart for God], by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. Ye hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. (15:1-9)

What accusations had the Pharisees and lawyers made against Christ and His disciples? They apparently did not always wash their hands before a meal. Surely it is a good thing to wash before a meal. We all teach our children to do this for the sake of common hygiene. If, however, we see some eat without washing, we do not make a moral issue of it. For the Pharisees, washing the hands before meals had lost its actual purpose and become yet another burdensome moralism. Perhaps this is why Christ purposely did not wash His hands before eating in their presence — to expose their moralistic hypocrisy. Moralists are commonly swallowed up in petty concern for externally correct behaviour, — while being negligent of the greater matters of true morality.

Which is worse: to fail to observe a small rule of hygiene, or to refuse to help your father and mother and treat them with honour as commanded by God? Besides this, there is a certain fraudulence involved in korban:. "I will not help you, mother, because I have reserved the portion of my goods I might have given to you for God." Did they actually take that portion to the temple and turn it over to the priests for God's service? If they were too greedy and selfish to use it to help their parents, it is doubtful that they gave it to the temple either. Not only did they overturn God's commandments, but they did so with hypocrisy and fraud.

Such hypocrisy has not grown stale. It may be found in the way many elderly parents are treated by their children. How many elderly people are consigned to nursing homes and seldom or never visited by their children?

It is not what goes into the mouth, but what comes out of it that defiles a person. (v.10)

How often have we heard hypocrites in our own time attempt to use this verse against the fast periods and fasting rules of the Church? Is this not also hypocrisy blended with fraud? Nowhere in the order of Church life is it suggested that we fast because we assert that certain foods defile one. To first twist and misconstrue this verse as an excuse for disregarding the fasts is, indeed, one of those things that comes out of the mouth and defiles one. But what if one keeps the fasts with diligence but slanders, maligns, gossips about others, shouts and rages in anger, uses foul language? No amount of fasting can cover the defilement of mind and spirit which such behaviour produces. Indeed, it is more destructive to keep the fast diligently while cursing, becoming angry and behaving badly. Such behaviour, while keeping the food rules of fasting, can only knock others off the path and sow doubts in their minds. To fast bodily without also fasting spiritually is of no avail, but to wilfully defy the fast, attempting to justify oneself from Scripture is an equal sin, and equally a defilement.

The Pharisees to whom Christ was speaking were quite aware that their false accusations against Him, not to mention their daily self-righteous moralisms and hypocrisies, were precisely what Christ was referring to when He said that it is "what comes out of the mouth that defiles one."

They were enraged because Christ had torn away their cloak and disguises, and exposed them for what they were — or rather, their own moral fraud had already exposed them.

Know Ye not that the Pharisees are greatly offended at Thy words? But He answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up. Let them alone: they are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch. (v.12-14)

A conscience, which refuses to permit divine grace to be planted in it, cannot bear the fruit of grace. To know is not yet to understand; to understand is not yet to be transformed. One must know what is taught and strive, with the help of grace, to understand it. Such understanding must then impel one to desire sincerely to come into accord with Christ's words by struggling for an inner transformation, through grace.

It is not predestination that is implied in verses thirteen and fourteen, but rather a call to spiritual action and to sincerity of heart.

The Pharisees, like so many arrogant and controlling clergy in our own time, desired to be honoured as "spiritual fathers." Yet many of them are capable only of controlling and manipulating others while attempting to cloak their own arrogance, hypocrisy and spiritual delusion. They often lead people to shipwreck and catastrophe while deadening their own consciences. Concerned only with being honoured and with exercising power, that which they may once have had becomes uprooted and dies. Their conceit is matched only by ignorance and lack of sincere concern for the safety of their flocks. They are blind to their own pride and self-delusion, and being blind lead others into the same ditch.

MATTHEW 15:21-28

Faith born of love

Sermon on the Sunday of the Canaanite Woman, before Great Lent

Today, brothers and sisters, we marvel more at the power of love than at the power of faith. A woman of Canaan, a stranger to the chosen people, born without the promise and raised with no expectation of the messiah, is suddenly filled with hope. If she knew of Jesus it was not from the Law and the Prophets, and not as "The Christ." She only knew, from the testimony of others and the evidence before her eyes, that this man of God might save her beloved daughter.

We have no idea from what illness the Canaanite woman's daughter suffered. Practically every unidentified illness was referred as a "devil" in ancient times; bacteria and viruses were invisible demons to the ancients. The mother knew very well that Jesus was a Jew speaking to the Jews. She was aware that the Jews were "exclusive" and that she might be turned away from Christ because she was a gentile. What fear, uncertainty and trepidation might have held her back, kept her from approaching Christ! Yet her love for her daughter was strong enough to overpower all fear and doubt. Finally she approaches Jesus, but He ignores her — and here we must approach with care our understanding of what follows.

Jesus simply ignores the tearful, heartfelt pleas of the grief-stricken mother and the apostles desire to send her away unheard. Yet, she does not give up. Christ ignores her, the apostles seek to drive her away, but she does not lose courage or hope. All she knows is the love for her daughter and the hope she has in what she has witnessed of Jesus' authority.

"Help me, sir." "It is not proper to take the children's bread and cast it to dogs!"

If she was not crushed by Jesus ignoring her, surely she should have been by His rebuke, for even we could be scandalized by it. Who would not have responded to this by becoming either completely discouraged or even angered. Yet her only focus was upon her daughter's suffering, her love for her daughter, and the hope she had in Jesus Christ. She would endure every slight, every rebuke, every humiliation because her love for her daughter was greater than fear or pride. If she did not fully trust, then still she hoped that Christ would yield to her pleas and heal her daughter — for she certainly had faith that He was able to do it.

"Yes, my lord, I know I am but a dog, a gentile with no right to the promises of grace; but I will be grateful even to receive the crumbs that fall from the table if it will deliver my daughter. For her, I will endure every humiliation with hope."

She began with a daring born of love, and hoped on the evidence before her. By ignoring her at first, Christ raised her daring to determination, and by testing the determination of her love, elevated her hope to faith. But there is yet more than this. Did Christ not know beforehand what her reaction would be? Did He speak such cruel sounding words just to humiliate the grieving woman and cast a shadow of despair over her? God forbid!

Is it not more consistent to think that He, first of all, used her faith in the face of such humiliation as a rebuke and warning to the children of the promise who were rejecting that promise through lack of faith? And besides this, did He not demonstrate that the promise was according to faith and not to accident of birth as the great apostle elsewhere says "Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham?" (Galatians 3:7)

The door, which appeared closed to her by birth, was fully opened by faith. Those who, by faith, crept up beneath the table, hoping to receive but crumbs of the promise received instead the full measure of those who sat at the table without faith. Truly, the mere crumbs, which fell to those who had faith, were greater than the full loaves set before those who received them in unbelief.

But to all alike, our Saviour cries out, "Do not cease to seek after Me and My grace; for to those who persevere with faith, even though they think I do not hear, they shall receive first the crumbs and then the full loaf of the bread of life."

"O woman, great is thy faith. Be it unto thee even as thou hast desired."

MATTHEW 15: 29-39; 16:1-4

Signs of Love of Compassion, not of Power.

Discerning the signs. The sign of Jonah.

Our Lord Jesus Christ now turns His face away from Tyre and Sidon and makes His way back to Galilee. Along the way a large number of the sick and afflicted are healed. Like the Canaanite woman, many of these are gentiles, but the outpouring of compassion from Jesus burns their hearts away from their idolatry and they "glorified the God of Israel" (v.31). This was the beginning of their journey to the truth, which is in Jesus Christ our true and living God.

Not only does Jesus, in a great outpouring of divine love, heal their physical infirmities, but He begins the therapy against their alienation. In the end, He affirms both His authority and His love by leading the multitude in the wilderness miraculously, not as a revelation of power, but as a manifestation of divine compassion. He says, "I have compassion for these people, and I must feed them lest they faint in the wilderness." And so He gives them a double portion; feeding them spiritually with His words, and fortifying them with miraculous testimonies of God's love and compassion, and then feeding them physically as a pure manifestation of that compassion.

How is it that so many, seeing these great signs and wonders of divine compassion and love, refused to comprehend? For many, it was because their minds, being so completely bound by worldly desires, wanted signs of earthly power. Signs that would terrify, awe or at least entertain: these are what the foolish custodians of the law desired, but Christ offers only signs of compassion, of suffering and of love.

MATTHEW CHAPTER SIXTEEN

The leaven of unbelief and egoism;

the leaven of faith and understanding.

MATTHEW 16:1-12

Discerning the signs.

The sign of Jonah.

The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired Him that He would show them a sign from heaven.... (v.16:1-4)

Jesus and His closest disciples crossed into the district of Magdala, only to be pursued by the legalists of the Pharisee school and the rationalists of the Sadducee sect. In order to test him, they demanded "a sign from heaven." Why, precisely, a sign from heaven? Was it not in order to have an excuse to ignore the great miracles of healing that Christ had administered? A special unique sign from heaven, wrought just for their sake — a sort of designer miracle — was what they desired. Even if Christ had given them a special sign from heaven, they would have spoken against it. Christ, therefore, rebukes them for not discerning correctly the signs, which they had already seen: "There shall be given no sign except the sign of the Prophet Jonah." Here is double prophecy, for the sign of Jonah is pre-eminently a type of the resurrection of Christ on the third day. But there is also something else, for Jonah first repented of his own disobedience to God, and then fulfilled God's will. He carried the word of God and the call to repentance, not to the Jews, but to a gentile nation, which heeds that call and repents. So, too, the message of the resurrection and the Gospel of the Kingdom will be taken to the gentiles, where it will bear its fruit. Moreover, do we not see that repentance is not and end but a beginning. For one must first repent for disobeying God, and then begin the struggle to observe God's word and fulfill it in life, not in theory.

"Beware," Christ warns, "of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees" (v.6). And what is this leaven? If their doctrine is the loaf they offer, then the Pharisees leaven it with hypocritical legalism while the Sadducees leaven it with dry rationalism. The apostles are called upon to leaven their doctrine with understanding based in faith, but though they have faith to a degree, yet they still lack understanding. They have only just witnessed the second of His miracles of feeding the multitudes with scarcely enough bread for the apostles alone. They still do not yet understand either Christ's metaphor or His divine authority which has power over the very elements of the universe.

Now, Christ reminds them of these miracles, and understanding begins to deepen within them as their faith grows toward maturity. They still had a way to go before He could begin to reveal to them His coming betrayal and crucifixion.

There are many signs of worldly things that are well known among men. We can surmise many things about the weather, see from various signs what the prospects are for our harvest, and even predict traffic conditions from various signs. There are signs in the heavens that portend many things; all these signs are natural and are mastered by experience.

The signs given by which one could recognize the Messiah are according to the pattern of Scripture. They, too, are mastered by experience. The pharisees indeed knew Scripture but did not experience it; they confessed the Creator, but did not experience Him. They were able to discern the signs of worldly things but could not discern the signs of spiritual things, because their minds were "of this world" and their hearts were not open to the things of God. Moreover, it was not only the worldly condition of their minds, but the harsh arrogance and rigidity of their hearts that closed their eyes to the truth. How could haughty, arrogant and rigid men accept as Messiah one who was humble, forgiving and indifferent to worldly power.

In the condition of their minds and disposition of their hearts, there is no sign which the detractors of Christ would have accepted in any case. Whatever sign might have been given would have only become the cause for accusations of witchcraft, trickery or blasphemy. Hence, Christ referred only to His own resurrection on the third day — the sign of the Prophet Jonah. But this sign, too, would be given in humility and meekness, in love and compassion for mankind, and these things the powerful of this world, the arrogant and self-righteous could never comprehend.

Let us not imagine that such an age has passed. The desire for "signs" is common in all ages. One has only to observe how many Orthodox Christians abandon sound doctrine for the sake of the dream of some neurotic old woman. Whenever someone wishes to argue a point or introduce some novel idea, they offer some fantastic tale about Apostle Peter or the Theotokos hitching a ride with them, or sitting in the back seat of a taxi in Athens revealing prophecies, teaching theology or revealing divine mysteries to some taxi driver or proponent of an idea, with no reasonable proof for it. No matter how preposterous the "sign," they will get both publicity and adherents. People who disdain the Scripture will often hang on the words of an alchemist-poet such as Nostodamus, and declare his prophecy to be proved. In our own generation, more people read their astrological signs than read the Bible. In our urban societies, few indeed can read the signs of the seasons or the sky, but they can read the signs of NASDAQ or the Toronto Stock Exchange, and few even desire to know the signs of hearts grown cold and spirits desolate of meaning. Our own wicked and perverse generation seeks after its own signs, and still no sign is given except the sign of the Prophet Jonah, until that day when the Sign of the Son of Man flashes forth from the East to the West, and all hope of repentance is taken away in the consummation of all things. And what shall we say to the people deceived by all these things when we have leaders in the Orthodox Church who are so unsober and unstable as to present various dreams reported by often unnamed sources, as doctrinal revelations, even when they clearly contradict the holy fathers?

Let us, therefore, brethren, heed the signs within our conscience, within our own heart. Truly, the sign of the Prophet Jonah is manifested within each believing heart every time it experiences sincere repentance; every time it is liberated from its captivity into the "glorious freedom of God's children." (Rm.8:21)

MATTHEW 16:13-23

Confessing Christ without understanding, perceiving mystery without comprehension.

Understanding and comprehension of divine things is a gift of the Holy Spirit.

When they were come into the region of Caesarea-Phillipi, Jesus asked His disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" (v.13) and then, "Who do ye say that I am? (v.15)

Simon answers for the disciples: "Thou art the Messiah [Christ] the Son of the living God." It remains for Apostle Thomas to make that still greater confession, "My Lord and my God," but this is Simon's moment. "Simon bar-Jonah, thou hast not learned this from flesh and blood, but it was revealed to thee by My heavenly Father. And I say to thee: thou art Peter [petros-a rock] and on this rock [petra], I will build my Church, and the gates of death [sheol, hades, hell] will not overpower it." (v.17-18)

There is no purpose to debate here the meaning of the metaphor of the rock. The foundation of the Church is Jesus Christ, the incarnate YHWH (Jehovah) and the Church is built upon the revelation and faith that Jesus Christ is God and redeemer. What is most significant for our discourse is the expression, "the gates of death shall not prevail against" the Church. How could the disciples yet understand that Christ would die on the Cross precisely in order to destroy the power of death, to break forever the gates of Hades so that death could no longer hold anyone captive? Nevertheless, by declaring that the gates of death or Hades could not conquer the Church, Jesus already proclaims His victory. The Church becomes the Kingdom of life, and the gates of Hades (a metaphor for the power of death) are no match for it. The Kingdom of life which Christ will bring about from the wound on His side, will proclaim everlasting life to the world. The Cross of Christ truly is that Tree of Life which "grew in the midst of the garden." This Tree of Life will heal the deadly wound caused by the fruit of disobedience, the fruit of the lack of faith. The Church will proclaim this victory constantly, "by death hath He trampled down death, bestowing life..."

From that time forth began Jesus to show unto His disciples, how that He must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from Thee, Lord: this shall not be unto Thee. But He turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind Me, Satan: thou art an offence unto Me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. ( vs.21-23)

What has Christ just revealed to the disciples? That the gates of death — of "Hades" — will neither overpower, nor even withstand His Church. The disciples may, in some vague way, understand this but when He begins to reveal the source of this victory, it is completely beyond them. "I will be arrested and falsely accused. They will unjustly condemn me and deliver me into the hand of the gentiles who will crucify Me like a common criminal." We do not know all the words that Christ spoke to His disciples about this matter, but He made it clear to them that He would be crucified and promised that He would rise from the dead on the third day.

Peter has only just confessed that Christ is "the Messiah, the Son of the living God," but clearly he does not understand the implications of it. It remains for Saul the Pharisee to fully comprehend and explain it to the world. Peter may have opposed his Master out of love and loyalty. This is not what Christ censures him for: "Get behind me Satan. You are a stumbling block to Me because you think with the mind of fallen man and not according to the ways of God! You think in terms of the law of self-preservation, and cannot grasp that I willingly lay down My life in the flesh in order to bestow life on mankind — and I do it for no other reason than co-suffering love for mankind, trapped in a sea of passions and bondage to the fear of death. If I do not die, you cannot live; If I do not die, I cannot break down the gates of death — Hades — by rising through them, back to life."

Until now, the gates of death have opened only one way — to allow entry, but no exit. Christ will enter, and His exit will smash the gates from their hinges, to be trodden under foot by the Saviour of mankind.

Peter can comprehend none of this. He has yet to witness the transfiguration of Christ; he has yet to be taught by Paul who, "according to the wisdom given to him has written to you of these things; some of which are hard to be understood" (see 2 Peter 3:15-16). For now, "the Rock" can only think of preserving the earthly life of his beloved Teacher. The mysteries of what He taught are of little consequence to Peter now. Six days later, however, he will enter into the mysteries of Christ more fully. "Lord, Thou shalt never wash my feet...Lord, not only my feet, but my hands and my head also..." (John 13:8-9)

MATTHEW 16:18

Hades or Hell

[The following is from a brief article of Archbishop Lazar rather than from a sermon. The article was a reply to a question asked in a letter from an Orthodox publication.]

"I will establish My kingdom, and the gates of Death [Hades] shall not prevail against it."

Ten times in most English language versions of the Bible, the word Hades is mistranslated as hell in the sense of "Gehenna," or the final condition of the person who is separated from God at the Last Judgment. While both words, "hades" and "hell" signify a "pit," in English, we usually use the terms to signify different states or conditions. This does not apply in every language. It is not only the Protestant translators of the Bible who perverted the teaching of Christ and the doctrine of the Church through this error; some of our own teachers in the Orthodox Church have likewise fallen into error in the same manner. In English, Hades is not simply a polite way of saying "hell." Hades, like the sheol of the Old Testament expresses the unseen state of the soul after death and before the final judgment. Hades is the realm and power of death — the very realm and power that Christ came to conquer and liberate us from bondage to it . (Hb.2:15) We connect the notion of a "partial judgment" with Hades, because only a part of the person (the soul) is there. Since the soul contains the intellect and the conscience, this "partial judgment" simply consists in the conscience testifying to the intellect about the person's relationship with God. Hell, which is the final condition or state of those separated from God in eternity, does not even exist at present. It is a state or condition which is manifested by the Second Coming and the last judgment themselves. Our holy and God-bearing father Mark of Ephesus expresses this doctrine of the faith in these words:

We affirm that neither the righteous have as yet received the fulness of their lot and that blessed condition for which they have prepared themselves here through works, nor have sinners, after death, been led away into the eternal punishment in which they shall be tormented eternally. Rather, both the one and the other must necessarily take place after the judgment of that last day and the resurrection of all. Now, however, both the one and the other are in places proper to them: the first in absolute repose and free, are in heaven with the angels before God Himself, and already as if in the paradise from which Adam fell (into which the good thief entered before others) and often visit us in those temples where they are venerated, and hear those who call on them and pray for them to God, having received from Him this surpassing gift, and through their relics perform miracles, and take delight in the vision of God and the illumination sent from Him more perfectly and purely than before, when they were alive.

Secondly, you asked, what do we mean by saying that the saints are with God in Heaven together with the angels? We reply that Heaven is not a physical place where the angels dwell like as we, but it is a noetic place surpassing sense perception, if indeed this should be called a place at all; but more properly, it must be called the "place of God." For John the Damascene says in his thirteenth Theological Chapter entitled "On The Place of God": "The place of God is said to be that which [or, he who] has a greater share in His energy and grace. For this reason the heaven is His throne, for in it are the angels who do His will;" and again, "A noetic place is where the noetic and bodiless nature both functions noetically and exists, both is present and active." We say, then, that such a place, supercelestial and supermundane, noetic and bodiless, contains both the angels and the saints, and we are accustomed to call it Heaven. And we have believed that in it more than elsewhere and especially God is and appears and is active, since we possess the Master's words, "Our Father Who art in Heaven," For just as the noetic natures are something akin to Divinity and are comprehended by the mind alone, while every nature in the realm of the senses is completely alien to Divinity, according to Gregory the Theologian, so the place and world of the noetic and unmaterial natures is akin to God and was created by Him first, according to the same Theologian, but this earthly place and world is in every wise alien to Him. (ORATIONS AND REPLIES TO THE CARDINALS ON THE ORATIONS, P. O. 15: 109- 154)

Because of this serious error, which creates such misunderstanding, we now see some would-be iconographers painting the Paschal icon and labeling it "Descent into Hell," which is an error. The correct name for the icon is "Anastasis" or "The Resurrection" and it depicts the conquest of the power of death. Significantly, in the icon Christ is usually shown reaching out to Adam and Eve, as types of the human nature itself, which He restores in Himself, reuniting it with God.

Hell does not yet exist; no one is or ever has been "in hell," nor can the soul of anyone see or experience hell without the body. Hell will be experienced only by the resurrected person, body and soul together, and only after the Last Judgment.

MATTHEW 16:27

[The following is from an article rather than a sermon. The article was an expansion on a recorded sermon.]

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For the Son of man shall come in the glory of His Father with his angels; and then He shall reward every man according to his works. (v.27)

Each person shall be rewarded according to his works, our Saviour promises. How vain and foolish, therefore, are those who twist the words of Paul, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast"(Ephesians 2:8-9), in order to teach falsely that works are not a part of their salvation. For, again, our Saviour says, "Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; those who have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and those who have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation."(John 5:28-29)

Why is it that we are saved by faith, according to Apostle Paul, but judged and rewarded according to our works, in the words of Jesus Christ? If faith saves us, why is it that even among believers, we will be judged by our works?

Salvation is freely available to all who come to believe in Jesus Christ and place their trust in Him, but it is our own conscience that judges and either accuses us or excuses us on the day of judgment (Romans 2:15). For, if we have faith but do not struggle in repentance and in our own inner transformation, our faith will be dead, as Apostle James says, "Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone," and "But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?" (James 2:17,20)

The faithful, those who have struggled for the acquisition of the Holy Spirit, having acquired grace in this life already, and receiving "grace for grace," (Jn.1:16) when they depart this life, repose in peace, their consciences free by grace, their sins having been remitted them by grace.

It is our own conscience that judges us both when we depart this life and at the last judgment. Our conscience is an impartial judge which knows both how we lived our lives and how we pursued our faith. Hear what the holy fathers have to say about this.

The unrighteous repose in darkness, being tormented by their own conscience, their conscience itself testifying to them of their proper destiny on the day of the resurrection. And this is what St Aphraat the Persian says:

But blessed shall be the faithful and the righteous in that Resurrection, in which they expect to be awakened and to receive the good promises made to them. But as for the wicked who are not faithful, in the Resurrection, woe to them, because of that which is laid up for them! It would be better for them according to the faith which they possess, were they not to arise. For the servant for whom his lord is preparing stripes and bonds, while he is sleeping desires not to awake, for he knows that when the dawn shall come and he shall awake, his lord will scourge and bind him... (Select Demonstrations, 19)

What, then, is the nature of the judgment, and who is it that testifies against us? According to St Cyril of Jerusalem:

Let us dread, then, brethren, lest God condemn us; Who needs not examination or proofs to condemn...Out of thine own conscience shalt thou be judged, the `thoughts the meanwhile accusing or else excusing, in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men.' (Rm.2:15-16) The awesome countenance of the Judge will force thee to speak the truth; or rather, even though thou speak not, it will convict thee...How then does the shepherd make the separations (of the sheep from the kid-goats)? Does he examine out of a book which is a sheep and which a kid-goat? Or does he distinguish from their evident marks? Does not the wool show the sheep, and the hairy and rough skin the goat? By thy vesture shalt thou be known as a sheep. (Catechetical Lecture 18:14-15)

St Abba Dorotheos and others explain in just such a context the Saviour's parable, "When you go with your accuser to the magistrate, make diligent to be reconciled and be delivered from him in the way lest he drag you to the judge, and the judge turn you over to the officer, and the officer cast you into prison." (Lk.12:58) St Dorotheos and other fathers explain that "the adversary (or, accuser)" is a person's conscience with which he must be reconciled in this life, since we can do nothing to effect this once we leave this life. If a person does not repent in this life, and so become "reconciled," then he will prove to be his own accuser before the judge (the conscience being an integral part of us and not a slanderer but a true witness).

When we will depart this life, our conscience will be our only judge. Our conscience bears witness not only to our deeds but also to our repentance — or our lack of repentance. This is why it is so necessary to be continually in a state of repentance, to struggle throughout our lives for the purification of the conscience. Repentance is not simply an apology for having broken some law, but sorrow over anything and everything that alienates us from God's grace, separating us from Him, self-righteousness, spiritual arrogance, judging and condemning others — these are the sins or "spiritual works" that are embedded in our minds and judged by our conscience.

Our conscience, which has striven to correct us during our whole lifetime, is not only a witness, but a stern and incorruptible judge. It is not only clearly evident wickedness that is judged. Our conscience knows not only our obvious sins, but also our motives, for "doing the right thing." It knows our hypocrisies, any feigned religiosity, refusal to forgive others or judgmentalness. It is aware of our gossip and slanders, every desire for revenge. Such sins as false pietism, moralistic rigidity, self-righteousness and spiritual arrogance: all will be testified of and judged by our conscience. We will escape nothing under the penetrating eye of our inner witness and judge. But the conscience is equally aware of our faith, every act of love and charity, every act of forgiveness, of the healing of another person and, most important, every act of sincere repentance. It knows our good intentions and positive motives and our struggle.

Finally, and above all, our conscience knows the answers to the ultimate questions: did you have a sincere faith in Jesus Christ; did you sincerely repent for your sins; and, did you forgive others their offences and debts? Unless your conscience can give a positive witness to these three questions, the soul will repose in a certain fearful expectation as it awaits the resurrection and everlasting judgment. (see Hb.10:27)

MATTHEW CHAPTER 17

MATTHEW 17:1-8

THE TRANSFIGURATION

(The following was a pastoral epistle to the Parish of St. John the Theologian in Lakkoma, Greece. It was written on the Feast of the Transfiguration, 2003.)

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Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.

And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, and He was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. And there appeared unto them Moses and Elijah talking with him. Then Peter spoke and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah. While he yet spoke, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. When the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were greatly afraid.

Then Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid. When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only. As they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead. (Mt.16:28-17:8)

Our Lord took three apostles to the mountain, for every testimony is confirmed by the witness of two or three. (Mt.18:16) There appeared before them with Christ two witnesses of another world, two witnesses who were already partakers of the heavenly kingdom, or rather, let us say three witnesses, for Christ was such a witness Himself, and three from this present world. In their midst, Jesus was the power that bound them together: the heavenly and the earthly, that which is and that which ever was and shall be; that which is transitory and that which is eternal, that which will pass, and that which will be established.

Moses, who died outside the Promised Land, now appears in the flesh as one resurrected. Elijah stands as one who has not yet tasted death, having been caught away in the flesh. Christ Himself stands before them as both heavenly witness and the bridge between the two worlds. Christ stands bathed in the uncreated light — the glory of the Godhead — which is now manifested to the three witnesses from the fallen world. Whether the light overshadowed Him or radiated from Him, or both, we cannot say of ourselves.

In Moses, Christ is shown to be the Lord of the living and the dead, the hope of victory over death and the promise of the Resurrection. In Elijah, he is proclaimed to be the Lord of things past and of things to come, Who alone determines the hour of departure of every person, and Who stops up the power of death at His will. Jesus Christ is proclaimed to be the Lord of life Who will shortly conquer the power of death by seizing it and rendering its power vain. With the heavenly witnesses who are able to comprehend, He discusses that great act of co-suffering love by means of which he will overthrow the power of death by the Kingdom of life. This is a witness to the three who cannot yet understand, so that they may later apprehend that which they cannot now comprehend. When the darkness of despair falls upon them in that terrible hour, the light and the witness which they now receive will sustain them even when faith and hope fail them. When the transfiguration is confirmed by the resurrection, they will understand that the Kingdom of Christ encompasses heaven and earth, things seen and things unseen, things which now are, and things which are from eternity, and things which are to come. Such things cannot be comprehended by the finite mind of man, but God made them witnesses to that which is beyond human comprehension, that they might testify of them when they had received the grace of the Holy Spirit.

St Ephraim the Syrian says of this:

"Now he summoned Elijah, who had been caught up, and Moses, who was resurrected, and the three witnesses from among the preachers, they who were indeed pillars (Gal.2:9), for they supported the testimony of the kingdom ...."

Did the three apostles see Elijah and Moses carnally, or noetically, or not even that, but purely spiritually? They were in the light of God's glory, a part of that vision, and is the light of the glory of the Godhead seen by men physically or noetically, or purely spiritually? Let us see what St Gregory Palamas says of this:

"Do you see how the Unseen One is seen by those who are pure of heart, not however, seen sensibly, nor noetically, nor conceptually, but by some ineffable power? ... But I shall tell you openly. The first martyr saw spiritually, even as those who have seen that pure light through revelation ... And if you become full of faith and the Holy Spirit, you will see spiritually things which are invisible to the intellect [nous]."

And, as St John Damascene says of the vision on Mt Tabor:

"Truly, the abyss of unapproachable light, today the uncircumscribable flood of divine radiance shines forth upon the apostles on Mt Tabor ... now things unseen by human eyes are seen ..."

It is sufficient to declare that Moses and Elijah were seen by the apostles, but how and in what manner is known to God. It is enough to know that they did appear, and some of the fathers have explained why they appeared but few have ventured an explanation of how. We must remember here that we are dealing with an actual revelation of the glory of the Godhead, of Christ "coming in His glory." And so we are already not dealing with any sort of physical/material phenomenon (for that light of God's glory is certainly not a physical light.) We are outside time, space and all physical phenomena, and all on Tabor is taking place within the vision of the glory of the Godhead and, as Saint Anastasios of Antioch says:

"...they [the apostles] went up to so lofty a place so as to be vouchsafed a vision which was called the Kingdom of Heaven by Him Who revealed Himself to them, being transfigured with the prophets."

How, St Gregory Palamas asks, did the apostles even recognize the prophets? By revelation, he replies. And St Anastasios of Antioch concurs, adding, "And certainly the apostles were also prophets."

How was Moses there? More surprising, how was Elijah there, being in a corrupt body which will some day die a martyr's death? If Elijah is still in his carnal, mortal, un-regenerated body (for it will die) how then is he with God in the spiritual world and appearing in that very immaterial light of the glory of the Godhead; how is his sinful carnal body participating in the glory of God? This question alone should make one wary of hasty conclusions concerning Moses. About Elijah we can say little, and only look in wonder. Nevertheless, the saints are participants in God. They are freed from the laws of time and place. They are participants already in God's glory. As participants in God, they are wherever God is. And if, in revealing Himself in that manner in which He does __ by the vision of His uncreated, immaterial glory __ what is so marvellous if He, at the same time, also in like manner reveals those who are always with Him, participating in Him and His glory? About Moses, we can say no more. Whether Moses was there as immaterial soul or resurrected body (which St. Ephraim declares him to be), he is with God, and Elijah, by the will of God is also with God. God is not bound by laws. Time and place do not exist here; unless we think to limit God and His glory in time and space __ for this was that very same glory in which Christ will appear again at the last day.

And what of the three Apostles? St Gregory Palamas asks:

"But why did he separate the chief apostles from the rest and lead them alone to the mountain? Surely to show them something great and mystical. How, then, would the sight of sensible light be something great and mystical, since those who were chosen perceived such light even before being led off, as did the rest? What need would they have had of the power of the Spirit, and of the addition (to nature) by means of this power, or an alteration in their eyes, so as to be able to see light that is sensible and created? How should the glory and kingdom of the Father and the Spirit be sensible light? And how shall Christ in the future age come in this glory and Kingdom, when there will be no air, no light, nor any need of [physical] place or any such thing, but instead of all this there will be God, as the Apostle says. If God will take the place of all these things, He certainly will take the place of light. Wherefore it is proved that that light was the light of the Godhead. Hence the most theological of the Evangelists, John makes clear in his `Revelation' that the future and enduring city `has no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it, for the glory of the Lord did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof' (Rev.21:23). Has he not, then, clearly shown us here also Jesus Who is now divinely transfigured on Tabor, Who has His own Body as a lamp, and Who instead of light has the glory of the Godhead which became manifest to those who ascended the mountain with Him? Now concerning those that dwell in the city, John says that `They need no lamp, neither the light of the sun, for the Lord God shines upon them, and there shall be no night.' (Rev.22:5) What, therefore, is that light, `with which there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning?' (Js.1:17) What is this immutable and unwaning light? Is it not the light of the Godhead. But how could Moses and Elijah — and especially Moses, who was a soul and not something material — appear and be glorified by means of sensible light? They appeared in glory and spoke of the departure which Jesus should accomplish in Jerusalem. But how did the apostles recognize them when they had never seen them before, unless it was by the power of revelation given by that light."

Such are the revelations which the saints receive, but they are not completely alien to any of the faithful who struggle in prayer toward them, for the experience of God and the things of God take place in the depths of the body, for, "know ye not that your bodies are become temples of the Holy Spirit," and it is a true rule of all godly prayer that:

"Wisdom moved by the Spirit is, according to theologians, the power of mental, pure, angelic prayer; a sign of this is that during prayer the mind is free from forms, with no image either of itself or of anything else appearing for an instant, since it is drawn away from the senses by the light acting within. For then the mind is removed from everything material and is like lights, being ineffably merged with God into one spirit."

Where and how does one thus become so close to God? Saint Abba Dorotheos of Gaza replies:

"To the degree that the saints enter into the things within, desiring to come near to God, in proportion to their progress in the things within, they do in fact come closer to God and to their neighbour."

Here, we have touched upon a wondrous source of edification and spiritual instruction. Let the reader not be satisfied with only the few words of the Spirit-bearing fathers cited here. Rather, let everyone be moved to seek more, as a thirsty man in a desert craves water, let us seek spiritual sustenance and edification by reading whatever is to be found of the Orthodox fathers, and prepare ourselves to receive the light of grace like the wisemen of the East to whom God revealed the noetic vision of the light of a star, seen within themselves. For it was, as St John Chrysostom says, a noetic vision, and not a real star, and it was seen within themselves, and not by anyone else. They saw it well enough to follow it, but it was obviously not visible outside themselves. For with the faculties of the physical body, no one beheld it. Sensual vision is never enough to see with in any case. How many saw Christ and His mighty deeds as a "threat" and how many saw and beheld the Son of God, "that Messiah that is to come?" How many of the things of God and eternity are ever seen with the sensual vision? The sensual vision, it seems, only presents some evidence of what reality might actually consist in, and unless we see that evidence in another light, through different "eyes," then we never perceive it at all. The epic of the Magi is like the life of the Prophet Moses, and it would seem that it is also a testimony about the spiritual life of all believers. The Magi saw the light of God's kingdom within themselves — with the eyes of the mind, those special "eyes" of the soul. And they saw it because their souls were open to this perception when the grace of God should bring it to them. They saw the evidence of the manifestation of the kingdom of God, which was beginning to grow within them, and with no little difficulty and struggle, they followed with unshakable faith, that evidence until it led them to the King Himself. Yet, when they saw the King, there was nothing in His appearance or surroundings (to those carnal eyes) which would commend belief in or reverence to Him. Still, they not only worshipped Him, but even adored Him. They could not have reverenced Him, they could not have recognized Him, except for that divine light, that evidence of the Kingdom which was manifested within them, and which the eyes of the soul perceived. When they set out and struggled to reach the King of that kingdom, they were led by the light of God's grace to Him, and they were able to recognize the King on account of that kingdom which was already manifested by the Spirit within them. The perception was noetic — within them. The vision of the "star" was noetic — within them. The recognition of the King was noetic, by means of spiritual eyes opened and enlightened by the grace of God, operating in a soul willing to co-operate with it.

Now, the saints (indeed, all believers) have "seen His star shining..." and followed it, the light of this grace accepted into the soul, which is willing to co-operate with it. They have struggled, set out on the desert path, to follow that light. Howbeit, the "world" does not see this light, this "star," and thinks those who are following it are bereft of good sense. And if the world seeks confirmation of that testimony of those who are following this "star," it is only so it can slay the offspring of this faith, so it can "send forth and slay all the children" of that faith.

And now, brethren, we have all been called to ascend Mount Tabor, to behold the uncreated light of the transfiguration. This Mount Tabor is within us, in the depths of our hearts. If we choose to struggle to ascend the mountain, we shall behold that same glory which the apostles experienced. We shall be as unable as they were to express in human language what we have seen, what we have experienced, but the vision itself will forever become a tabernacle of refuge in our hearts.

Let the world seek its spiritual goals "out there," outside the body, in the realm of the "Prince of this World." But let us, Orthodox Christians, hearken diligently to the fathers, with all sobriety and discretion, and in Orthodox fashion, struggle to keep our mind within ourselves, striving to cleanse and make ready the temple of our bodies, that our souls may find the Holy Spirit and the things of God, there in His kingdom in the depths of ourselves, where they are to be found.

MATTHEW CHAPTER 18

MATTHEW 18:1-5

The fall into inauthenticity of life;

the quest for an authentic life.

At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. (18:1-4)

Adam and Ever were as children in the garden of paradise. Before they were lured into delusion by Satan, they had a complete love and humble trust of God as their Father. They were yet without guile and still able to regard their bodies in a natural fashion.

Most children are also open, trusting, quick to learn, without intentional guile and less complex. In former times, children also had humility; they had not yet fallen into the often proud aggressiveness of the television era. In former times, the simple fantasies of childhood did not produce delusions about themselves and the inauthenticity of life that adults so easily fall into. Like Adam and Eve, children could express themselves with shame or guilt.

Adam and Eve were created in the image and likeness of God and lived in all contentment in an authentic life of communion with Him. They were not mere objects or puppets but had that freedom of will which is necessary for an authentic life, and a natural, unselfish love. They did not live an illusion of what they were, but with the simplicity of children, expressed the purity of their nature. It was this natural love that Satan sought to break. He could lead them into delusion about themselves only if he could teach them to be ego-centric and self-loving.

The natural self-esteem of human beings arises from the fact that we are created in the image and likeness of God and loved by Him as His own children. The false and destructive self-esteem which Satan leads us into is concern for how we are seen by others.

Through the guile of Satan, Eve was led to see herself, not as an authentic person, but through the opinion of Satan: "You are deficient. God is forcing you to remain beneath your potential because He would envy you if you were equal to Him. Partake of the forbidden fruit and you will become equal to God and reach your highest level of value in my eyes" (or, in our own case, "in the eyes of your peers").

Is this not an image of any teenage boy who has reached the age of competing with his father, striving for adulthood? Do we not now more clearly understand why honouring our parents is the first commandment "with promise?" (Ephesians 6:2)

When we fall into the trap of a false self-esteem based on the opinion of others, rather than the natural self-esteem of our communion with God, we lose all authenticity of life. Adam and Eve were the image and likeness of God; Satan led them into an illusion of what they might be. He enticed them away from this reality of who and what they were, into a delusion based on ego and pride. It was not an aspiration, but a delusion: instead of being an image of God, they could become His equal, and they could do it through knowledge, not through purity, by self-gained, rational understanding, not by means of the illumination of grace.

Adam and Eve fell from the authentic life in which they were created, into an un-authentic life of adulthood, based on the "opinion" of Satan.

"Unless you be converted and become as little children, you shall not enter into the Kingdom of heaven." Unless you cease being egocentric, living in a delusion about yourself, and return to authenticity of life, acknowledging what and who you are in reality, you will not be able to enter heaven; or perhaps just as correctly, "you will not be able to experience the kingdom of heaven in your own heart."(Luke 17:21)

Is it not our very delusions about ourselves that prevent us from sincerely repenting? Is it not our failure to reconcile ourselves with our self that generates most of our bitterness and anger? Perhaps one of the great paradoxes of our fallen nature is our tendency to become egocentric about a false illusion of ourselves rather than about our actual self. We spend more time cloaking the reality of our person from our own selves than about struggling to perfect the virtues that should be natural to us. Often, our lack of humility stems from the desire to acquire that false sense of self-esteem that depends on the opinion of others — or worse still, on our impression of their opinion. Yet what greater sense of value could we have, what more perfect source of necessary self-esteem could we draw from than the fact that Christ our God loved us enough to give His life for our salvation? God loves us and values us for ourselves, provides the means for our sanctification, and never interferes with our freedom to chose or to reject all that He has given us. This is the key to authenticity of life: we have freedom. And God has provided for us the means of a return to our true being as His own image and likeness, letting us chose between reality and illusion, while guiding us toward the better like a loving parent.

MATTHEW 18:21-35

Here again a parable, and here once more a saying that appears to contradict our understanding of God.

We have observed already that there are two "unforgivable sins" mentioned in the Gospel: blasphemy against the Holy Spirit and the refusal to forgive others.

How shall we reconcile this parable with the words of St Antony the Great, that God never changes His attitude toward us but bestows upon us only love? Who is it then, that "does not forgive us?"

If we reject the Holy Spirit and wilfully alienate ourselves from Him, how shall we acquire the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and be saved? For, no one will enter the Kingdom of God who has not acquired the Holy Spirit already in this life. Moreover, having closed our heart to grace by blaspheming the Spirit, who is there to guide us to repentance, who is left to lead us to the inclination of heart, to the desire to seek repentance and redemption?

How shall our own conscience forgive us if we reject its calling and turn our back on its good inclinations by refusing to forgive others? Do you think that your conscience is blind simply because you refuse to hear it? No, do not think for a moment that the conscience is not aware of every sin against your brother, every blasphemy of your heart, every debt that you owe to God and man!

Every refusal to acknowledge your own offences against others, every decision to ignore your own sins, every self-justification: all this is known by your conscience, and by your own conscience will you be judged, according to the revelation of the holy fathers.

Will you seek to silence or pervert your conscience? Your conscience will avenge itself on the day when Christ appears in glory — rather on the day that you depart this life and come face to face with the unremitting truth. How will the conscience avenge itself? By bringing your mind to the full knowledge and understanding of your eternal alienation from God. What is it that will punish you the most, and what will kindle for you the everlasting fire and the canker worm that never dies? Nothing else but the inescapable radiance of God's love, as St Abba Isaac the Syrian says, "I also maintain that those who are punished in Gehenna are scourged by the scourge of love. Nay, what is so bitter and vehement as the torment of love? I mean those who have become conscious that they have sinned against love suffer greater torment thereby than by any fearsome punishment which can be conceived. For the sorrow caused in the heart by sin against love is more piercing than any torment."

This is the manner in which the all loving and all forgiving God will extract from you the last farthing of your debt: He will continue to love you with a love that you cannot bear because you have rejected it, because by not forgiving your neighbour, you never purified your conscience; you never sought the forgiveness of your own conscience. Like a man lost in the burning desert who sees a spring of cool, fresh water, a spring that he can see but never reach, you cannot quench the flame of the torment in your own conscience.

MATTHEW CHAPTER 19

MATTHEW 19:1-10

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The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,

And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?

He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.

His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry. (19:3-10)

The Pharisees follow Christ for the express purpose of putting Him to the test. How often did they tempt Him by presenting the moral paradoxes of the law of Moses. Sometimes the paradoxes are evident, "Thou shalt not kill" but "according to the law, this woman should be stoned to death." Here, however, the paradox is more subtle. The immorality of a man being able to "put his wife away," to divorce her at will for practically any reason, was evident to the Pharisees. It was obviously immoral and yet it appeared that the law of Moses permitted it.

How will Christ meet this challenge? How will He explain the paradox while neither accepting the immorality nor denigrating the law of Moses?

The law of Moses was given to shine a light into the darkened soul of man, to expose it so that we might know how far we had fallen and how hardened our hearts had become. The cruelty, vindictiveness and selfishness of man is not only a result of the fall, but a reflection of Satan who holds men's hearts in bondage and darkness. The law of Moses shone a light into this darkness to reveal our bondage while giving man a hope of deliverance.

Under the Old Law, a man might put away his wife for any reason he chose. If he had any sense of kindness, he might put her away privately, simply giving her a formal notice. If he wished, he could humiliate her by putting her away publicly. Such was not only the hardness of men's hearts, but their lack of understanding of the covenant. This was not only a hardness of heart, but a bondage of spirit from which Christ would now deliver man.

You may no longer respond with brutish selfishness toward your wife. You must now come to understand the full meaning of marriage. When Israel, the "spouse" of God "went a whoring with false gods," it was she who separated herself from Him, and rather than "putting her away" He sought her return and reconciliation. Even now, though Israel has estranged herself from the heavenly Bridegroom through her spiritual adultery, she is beloved of the Lord, who desires her reconciliation.

for some are eunuchs.....(19:12)

Christ is not advocating castration. He is speaking metaphorically, in spiritual terms. Here, the word "eunuch" signifies one who is focused and devoted to the service of God. Kings valued eunuchs as ministers because they could focus completely on serving him and on his interests, not being distracted by family matters, trying to advance sons to high places or inclined to divided loyalties. To become spiritually a eunuch is to focus oneself completely on serving God without any family or romantic distractions.

This is by no means a denigration of marriage, for Christ has just made it clear that it is God Himself Who unites a couple in marriage, and Paul expands our understanding by proclaiming marriage to be a revelation of Christ and the Church. Christ and His apostle sanctify both marriage and that unmarried state which is focused on the service of God. Neither of them sanctify the merely unmarried condition. The Orthodox Church recognizes marriage and monasticism as two equal states for the struggle against egoism and self-centredness. Neither in Scripture nor in Sacred Tradition is the merely "celibate" state advocated. Such a state tends to be self-centred. It is possible for a person to maintain their virginity, or to live a "celibate" life because they are too selfish, too self-centred, to share themselves with anyone or from a number of psychiatric conditions. What is more likely is that one claims to be celibate but is not. There can be no love "among" one person. The Orthodox Faith calls all her children to either marriage or active monasticism, and any other condition is merely an expression of stubborn self-will which does not facilitate salvation. Few indeed are they who can live alone in the world and maintain a celibate life. It is, moreover, quite difficult to live alone without becoming self-centred and "turned in on oneself." For this reason we are called to either marriage or monasticism. To be a spiritual eunuch is to lead a life totally focused on the service of the Lord, within a prescribed community based on unselfish love and the surrender of self-will. Such an environment is provided by monasticism and marriage alike. But take care, brethren, you who enter the monastic path. One who enters monasticism with the highest of intentions is yet susceptible to the greatest fall into egoism and vainglory. Monastics can fall into the most soul-destroying arrogance, fancying that they are somehow superior to married people, deluding themselves that a hieromonk is somehow higher in rank that a married priest, simply by virtue of being a monk. Such pride and arrogance, such condescension toward marriage and married people has burned up the souls of many monastics and can cost them their salvation.

19:13-14

Tolerate Little Children

It would certainly be a stretch of the imagination to suggest that children are pure, sinless, free of anger, selfishness and passions. Nor are all children without guile. Children are, however, open to being taught and corrected, to being formed and instilled with values. The kingdom of heaven will be filled with those who become as children: willing to learn, to develop, to be corrected and formed anew in spiritual re-birth. This is an image of spiritual children which corresponds to our actual experience.

MATTHEW 19:16-26

Morality as heresy; inner transformation as the goal of true morality.

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Today, brothers and sisters, we hear from our Saviour that mere morality is not enough. Correct behaviour, even the most scrupulous obedience to a moral code or law will save no one. So long as one allows any consideration or circumstance to stand between him and sincerely following Christ, no amount of correct behaviour will contribute to one's salvation.

Shocking though it may sound, morality itself can be not only a barricade to heeding Christ, but it can easily become a heresy. Have you never heard the sorrowful expression, "I am as good as anyone else. I have no need of faith or belief"? But with a single phrase, Christ sweeps away every such consideration. "Why do you call me good; for no one is good except God." How often does mere morality become a substitute for a life in Christ! Only take a look around you at the so called "religious right" with its doctrines of prosperity, its penchant for persecuting the poor. Have they not carried the rich young man's dejection to a perverse and twisted extreme? Have they not perverted the Gospel of Jesus Christ by corrupting it into a eudaemonistic moralism? What does this expression mean? It means that such perverted preachers would tell the rich young man, "Christianity is really all about correct behaviour and worldly happiness. Keep your wealth and your way of life, follow the basic moral code (at least externally) and lace your conversation with platitudes about Jesus, and consider yourself thereby `saved'."

My first teacher often spoke of the "happiness seeking sickness of mankind." Today's Gospel reading gives us some insight into the meaning of this idea. If the goal of the Christian was happiness rather than blessedness, felicity rather than beatitude, then we would be constantly turned away for our moral struggle toward the quest for happiness and we would be led toward self-centredness and selfish love. This was the inner conflict of the rich young man we encounter today. A sincerely believing Jew who strove to keep God's commandments and obey the law of Moses, his soul was nevertheless dashed upon the rock of happiness which, for him, outweighed his desire for everlasting life.

Happiness can never be the fabric of life; no intelligent person would expect it to be. In his effort to lead a Christian life, the believer must sometimes choose against the transitory happiness of this world and even endure real suffering for the sake of God's kingdom.

Christ was not suggesting that the young man's wealth was necessarily evil, but He did reveal to him what was actually lacking to him. The same is so lacking in many Christians that some have "rewritten" the Gospel itself in order to justify a deistic veneration of prosperity and happiness and justify pursuing that in place of following the path of Christian life that leads to the Kingdom of heaven and everlasting life — to beatitude rather than mere felicity, to eternal blessedness and joy, rather than to the shallow emptiness of mere happiness.

Brothers and sisters, we do not have to be rich to encounter this temptation; we must all be prepared for it and ready to struggle to esteem the path of Christ above every real or imagined transitory happiness of this world. In such a choice, the Holy Spirit will bestow upon us comfort, consolation, joy and hope, and like Paul, we will understand the words of Christ, "My grace is sufficient for you" (2Cor.12:9).

MATTHEW 19:27-20:16

The justice of God opposes the justice of man.

A new concept of justice:

The first shall be last; the least shall be the greatest.

(This text is transcribed from a tape recording of a Meleti, rather than a sermon).

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It is a strange phenomenon that many who claim the name Christian can equate God's justice with punishment. Strange indeed, for the words of Christ proclaim precisely the opposite.

On the eve of His entry into Jerusalem, as He was about to endure the greatest injustice, Jesus revealed to His disciples the Divine ideal of justice: this is for them a new concept of justice. The justice of God bestows upon man benefits that he does not earn and "good" that he does not deserve. So far from desiring to punish us for infractions, God bestows grace upon our human condition and rewards our suffering with blessings. The justice of God overturns every human concept of juridical justice. Abba Isaak the Syrian, a holy prophet indeed, tells us that just as a grain of sand cannot offset a great measure of gold, so the just judgment of God does not obstruct of His mercifulness. As a handful of sand thrown into a great sea, so are the sins of all mankind compared to the providence and mercy of God. As a mighty stream is not obstructed by a handful of dust, so the mercy of the Creator is not obstructed by the vices of His creatures. According to St Dionysios the Areopagite, God's justice is true justice because it distributes to all what is proper to them, not bestowing more than one can bear. It preserves the nature of each according to fitness and capacity.

Christ also reveals to us a great mystery of the kingdom of God. The "first" shall be last and the place of honour will belong to the meek and humble servant. Though Christ might demonstrate spiritual authority and He might rebuke the powerful, He will not seek power for Himself in society or in politics. He forces no one, but invites all to accept freely and without constraint, His lawful, divine authority. Having revealed the nature of God's justice, Jesus Christ will now, from a profound love of humanity, subject Himself to total injustice. His apostles may receive a unique place in the kingdom, but they do not yet know how much they must suffer and be humiliated as His disciples in order to attain that place.

MATTHEW 19:27-30

Seeking one's own is a hindrance to true understanding;

God's justice again set in opposition to the justice of this world.

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Peter asked Him, `We have left all [that we had] and become Thy disciples. What shall we receive [in the kingdom].' (v.27)

What shall we say? Is the chief of the apostles given over to a desire for honour and position? It is no small thing that the disciples had truly given up everything in their lives to follow Jesus. That they did this even before witnessing His great miracles is all the more compelling. Clearly, Jesus understands the sincere humanity of the question, and in this very context He replies, "When the son of man sits on the throne of His glory, ye also will sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." (v.28)

With such a worldly metaphor Peter is reassured, for he does not yet have understanding. Many of those who read these words today are also without understanding. Let us pause for a moment on this idea of "judging the tribes." What is the justice of God compared with the justice which our fallen nature contrives? How many who read these words in Scripture, their minds weighed down with worldly ego and concepts shared by their own passions, see them without understanding? Like Apostle Peter, we "savour the ways of man rather than the ways of God." (Mt.16:23) The justice of God has no relationship to fallen human concepts of judgment, punishment and vengeance for in truth, God punishes no one, but rather strives to lead us away from our own self destructiveness. What, then, is the nature of that judgment which is to come? Hear the words of one who, being truly mature in the faith, fully savours these things of God. St Abba Isaac the Syrian says, "Gehenna consists in what the conscience sees, and it is their separation that burns them for their mind itself becomes the flame. The judge is seated in each mind and, as the righteous judge has spoken. It is the conscience of each which torments each with the torments of contrition. this is what separates each one, leading each one to the place appropriate for them. It is the conscience of each which grasps the faithful leading them to that right hand of mercy; but it also takes the wicked in its hand, and casts them into the place called the `left.' This is what silently accuses us, and without words, pronounces sentence on us."

The judgment of man consists in what they behold on that day. What they behold is the absolute love and pure goodness of God. What they will perceive is how diligently the co-suffering love of Christ strove to deliver us. Then, our conscience will witness to us concerning our relationship with that love. Salvation is not only freely given; it must be freely acquired, or freely rejected. The very presence of the apostles, as types of the twelve tribes of Israel, will speak to the conscience of those who rejected the Messiah. Christ does call Himself an Israelite here, but "the son of man." As the presence of the apostles will be a testimony to Israel, so the presence of Christ will speak to the conscience of all humanity.

"Everyone who has given up homes, relatives, fathers, mothers, wives, children or possessions for My name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life" (19:29).

Here is the true description of monasticism. After the era of the great martyrdoms, monasticism was the only manner in which this calling might be fulfilled, for Christ did not advocate divorce. To enter the path of the monastic is to renounce ownership of property, to forego marriage and the joy of children, and to deprive oneself of the consolation of being surrounded by one's extended family.

Nevertheless, both among monastics and non-monastics alike, many that are first will be last and many that are last will be first. Those who enter the service of the church because they might achieve rank, power and wealth may have sacrificed their place in the heavenly kingdom by so doing. Those who entered the service of the church for honourable reasons and later fall prey to ambition, if they maintain some degree of faith, may yet enter into God's Kingdom. If so, their joy and reward will be as nothing compared with that of a simple grandmother who lived a life of faith and love, aspiring only toward Jesus Christ. Bishops who live in fine palaces, even if they are disguised as monasteries, expensively attired, perfuming themselves with expensive colognes, if they happen to enter into the glory of the kingdom, will find that they already received their reward in this temporary life. They will be the very least in Christ's kingdom, and stand in the corner farthest from His glory.

The heavenly kingdom consists in the all-encompassing love of God and the joy of His glory. Shall we follow Him, then, hoping for wealth and rewards first in this life, then in the next? Shall we follow Him as if He were a worldly king bestowing worldly gifts and honours? Should we not rather follow Him from pure love and trust, humbly accepting the remission of sins and the hope of everlasting life? Have we not already been enjoined by our Saviour to become as little children, open-heartedly trusting, with meekness accepting, with faith, whatever comes upon us?

In the parable that follows, we are given a new concept of justice — a divine concept far above human notions of the meaning of justice. Truly, the supreme justice is delivering mankind from his helpless bondage to Satan and the power of death. The notion, however, that God distributes rewards in worldly categories is a product of the fallen human mind. As Saint Antony the Great tells us, God is only love and manifests only love. He never changes in this. The difference in reward that some may experience arises only from their own consciences. Why, according to Christ's parable, does each worker receive the same wage? Why does one who laboured from morning through the heat of the day receive the same as the one who worked for only an hour in the evening? It is because God and His love are always the same and never changes and the reward, the "wages," is our own becoming present to that unchanging love of God. God is always present, but man is not himself present to God. Whether one turns to Christ early in life or only near the time of his death, he receives the same joy, the same salvation, the same everlasting life in Jesus Christ, that all receive. If one receives what appears to be a greater reward, it is because not only of what he sees, but how he or she sees it. The conscience knows both the immensity of the struggle and its motives. Moreover, the joy of one who is with Christ is increased by the awareness of others who share in that joy, in that glory. The one who comes at the last hour is present to the same love and glory as the one who comes at the first hour. The wages of both is equal presence in the divine love and glory, equal participation in the everlasting life in Christ. Is there, then, a greater reward for some? Everyone in Israel was called by the Word of Christ and many responded; but only twelve were chosen as apostles. Many from every part of the Roman Empire would believe, but not all would be chosen as martyrs. The crowns — that is to say the perception of God's love and glory — are infinitely greater to those who, through the foreknowledge of God, were chosen for the greater burdens and suffering. What the chosen apostles preached, the holy martyrs died to certify. These conquered the Roman Empire for Jesus Christ. They should shine forth a light of hope and newness of life in the darkness of a humanity lost in a meaningless pursuit of an artificial happiness based on the passions. In the midst of a worn out and corrupt empire, a spiritual kingdom appeared through the witness of chosen martyrs who suffered beyond measure to testify to the glory of that kingdom and the joy of everlasting life in Christ.

Still, God does not offer degrees of His love or categories of His grace. The same is offered equally to all who heed his call through Christ. Those who receive in greater measure receive it through presence and awareness of their own conscience. This may be true not only of apostles and martyrs, but also of great sinners who repent for, "the one who is forgiven much loves more greatly." (Lk.7:47)

MATTHEW 20:20-30

Ambition is the catafalque of aspirations!

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The mother of Zebedee's children came to Jesus with her sons [James and John], honouring Him and desiring a certain thing from Him....Grant that my two sons may sit, the one on Thy right hand and the other on Thy left, in Thy kingdom." (v.20-21)

"Ye savour not the things of God, but the things of man" Christ says on another occasion. Not only the mother, but even the two apostles had no clear concept of the mission of Jesus Christ, nor of the terrible crown with which He would be crowned. Their vision was of worldly power, not spiritual authority. They were yet seeking a worldly reward, a share in human honour and empty glory. Soon two criminals would be on Christ's left and right hand — lifted up together with Him on their crosses. Few indeed are those who would desire such "honours."

The desire to serve is greater than the desire to lead. Ambition is so often the catafalque of aspirations. Measured by the standards of civil society, success consists in status, power and wealth — the things of ambition. By the standards of God's kingdom, success is the attainment of unselfish love, the development of the virtues, and the acquisition of the Holy Spirit, the things of aspiration. In the parable of the vineyard which Christ has just given his disciples, the owner is openhearted and unselfish. He gives what is due to the first workers and pays more than he is obliged to the others. His benevolence is pure and unfeigned. The agitation of the first workers is aroused, not because they have been treated unfairly, but because the others have been treated benevolently and with love. The disciples heard these words but appear not to have understood them, even as so many Christians in our era hear and do not understand.

Jesus follows this parable by immediately informing us of the envy and malice of the spiritual elite. They cannot tolerate the love and benevolence of the Saviour. They cannot bear the love and mercy of God being so clearly demonstrated to the ordinary sinner. Surely such a relationship with God is the property of the spiritual elite, and not of the simple, the weak and the spiritual cripples of this world. So deeply did the testimony of God's benevolent love burn into their corrupted consciences that they determined to kill the Great Witness of that love.

It is not so surprising that the self righteous elite did not comprehend the message of Christ, but we even now see that the disciples did not fully understand it. In Matthew's Gospel it is the mother of James and John who seek special positions and honours for her sons. According to Mark (10:35) the two brothers themselves ask for the highest honour in Christ's Kingdom. In fact it is likely that two brothers were spurred by their mother and that she brought her sons to Jesus with this request, for mothers desire great things for their sons. It was still incomprehensible to the disciples that the Kingdom of God was manifested in meekness, humility and martyrdom. To be degraded, mocked, rejected, cast out and martyred; this was the "royal chalice" from which both Christ and His disciples must drink (Mt.20:23).

Perhaps, in both the vineyard parable and the arrogant request of the sons of Zebedee, there is a special message for the monastics of our day. Too many monastics feel themselves to be a spiritual elite, higher than married Christians and those who struggle while living in the world. Perhaps, not truly understanding their calling, they feel themselves more pure and worthy of higher rewards than those who have struggled to raise godly children and maintain their faith "on the front line" in this world. Perhaps the spiritual arrogance and elitism of such monastics is born of envy and an ill willed consternation that all who labour in Christ's vineyard will equally receive the Heavenly Kingdom and everlasting life. It may even be that the humble married person will have a greater joy in the Kingdom than the spiritually pompous and envious monastic.

It is not coincidental that the healing of two blind fellows follows so closely upon both the parable and ambition of the two brothers. Surely the presumption of James, John and their mother was born of spiritual blindness, though not of a lack of faith in Jesus. perhaps it is this same spiritual blindness that gave rise to "prosperity theology" in place of the Gospel of the Cross. James and John had their physical eyes open and asked for honour and glory. Two blind men sitting in the dust and hoping for nothing, hear that Jesus the prophet of compassion is nearby. One of them, the son of Timaeus, takes courage and begs for healing. Our Lord is moved to compassion and opens the eyes of both. Could it be that the spiritual blindness of James and John needed to be healed just as the physical blindness of Bar Timaeus and his friend was healed? If so, the blindness of both would be healed with the same compassionate love by our Lord Jesus Christ.

MATTHEW CHAPTER 25

The Great Moral Imperative Restated:

Virtue without humanity is of no value;

there is no salvation without love of neighbours.

This sermon was an exposition of the twenty fifth chapter of Matthew's Gospel. Vladika Lazar delivered this sermon at the opening of a conference on Christian Morality. I have added the references, as the sermon was extemporaneous and transcribed from an audio recording

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Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were wise, and five were foolish.

Those who were foolish took their lamps but did not take any oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.

While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. At midnight there was a cry made, `Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go out to meet him.' Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, `Give us of your oil; for our lamps have gone out.' But the wise answered, saying, `We cannot, lest there not be enough for us and you: but go to those who sell, and buy [some] for yourselves.' And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came, saying, `Lord, Lord, open to us.' But He answered and said, `I tell you in truth, I do not know you.'

Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh. For the kingdom of heaven is as a man traveling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightaway took his journey. Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money. After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strowed: And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.

His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strowed: Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.

Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Let us examine once more the enigmatic parable of the ten virgins. Such a story provides fuel for many and varied sermons. One can weave any number of moral and spiritual meanings, injunctions or encouragement from it, however, let us stay close to the interpretations of the holy fathers.

St Mark of Ephesus informs us that the "virgins" are a reference to the human souls. When the Lord says, "they slumbered and slept," He means that the persons had died and their souls, not able to receive the fulness of their reward, tarried at the very gates of paradise awaiting the coming of Christ and the general resurrection.

Chrysostom takes us further "The `lamps' he says, "signify the gift of virginity...by `oil', [He indicates] humanity — almsgiving, help [given] to those who are in need."

All ten virgins had the same level of "correct behaviour," they had fulfilled the requirements of a moral code. Thinking that such legal morality was sufficient to open the gates of paradise for them, they neglected the greater part of a moral life. Morality consists far more in how well we care for one another than it does in what kind of behaviour we demand of others.

The oil which the five foolish virgins had not acquired was that very humanity, the greater part of morality: that is, to cherish and nourish one's neighbours, the care of the poor, the dispossessed, the disenfranchised, the weak and all those in need. The Great Moral Imperative of Christ, to love the Lord our God, and our neighbours as ourselves, and the injunction to do to others what we would have them do to us, is surely the oil that we must all have in our lamps. If all "the law and the prophets" hang on the first and greatest of these imperatives — love of God and neighbour — then all other acts and concepts of morality must have these as their focus and centre. Every true concept of the moral life must flow from the great Moral Imperative. No matter how correct our behaviour, nor how clear our faith, the door of paradise will not be open to us if we have only the lamps of correctness but have neglected the oil of humanity.

The parable of the silver talents follows immediately upon the story of the ten virgins. First, Christ shows us that the care of others is a necessary element of true morality. Indeed all moral behaviour must flow from the heart, motivated by love in order to have value for our salvation.

Now He speaks of a certain treasure which the Master had entrusted to His servants. Though spoken in earthly concepts, we are called to understand them in a spiritual manner. What is the great treasure which the Saviour has bestowed upon all who open themselves to faith? Is it not the unselfish love, even of co-suffering love bestowed by the One Who "so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son..." and the One Who laid down His life even for the wicked, for us "while we were yet sinners"?

To one servant, he gave five silver talents, to another two, to the third, one. To each according to the individual strength of each, he gave justly, not wishing to overburden any. Did not all believe — for all were His servants; did not all have faith? Surely, for they all received the gifts given to the faithful. Did they not understand that the gifts of grace, the gift of a saving love, was one that they should invest in humanity and make gains for the Gospel, for the heavenly kingdom? They understood, for all demonstrated by their actions that they were responsible for both the treasure and the trust that had been given to them.

When we read that all were servants and all were entrusted with a heavenly treasure, we are informed that all obeyed a law and equally fulfilled a code of behaviour. One, however like the foolish virgins, allowed the gift to die within him. He fulfilled the legal norm — he did not steal the master's silver. He was moral, for he preserved what was entrusted to him without using it for his own ends, but returned it to its rightful owner. Why was this not sufficient?

Let us learn the meaning of this parable from the River Jordan and its two seas. The Jordan carries fresh water into the Sea of Galilee, and this lake is full of life. For thousands of years fishermen have harvested a living from it. That same Jordan carries fresh water from Galilee into the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea is well named, because it has no fish and sustains no life. Why are the two seas of the River Jordan so different? Because the fresh water that flows into the Sea of Galilee flows out again on the other side. It nourishes a long valley before ending in the Dead Sea. Water does not flow out of the Dead Sea. It stagnates and evaporates. The water is no longer fresh and it does not support fish.

In order for it to remain life-bearing, the gifts of God's love must flow out of us toward others, while remaining intact within us. If we rather "bury it in the ground" until the master's return, it stagnates and does not support spiritual life.

The investment of silver talents which Christ has given us is the ability to carry on His ministry of co-suffering love and spiritual healing in the world. Together with the gifts of grace and love, we are given the ability to fulfil the great Moral Imperative: to actually cherish and nourish our neighbour as ourselves, while ascending in love toward God, so that we can truly receive the gift of loving Him with our whole mind, body and soul.

Here again, we learn that morality consists far more in how well we care for one another than in what sort of behaviour we demand of others. Belief and correct behaviour without humanity will not open the gates of paradise to us.

Here He says that the master took a long journey, and after a long time he returned. In the first parable, He says that the bridegroom tarried in coming, but in both, it is clear that the lord appeared at a time unexpected. By this, He warns that you cannot live according to the spirit of darkness saying, "I will live without regard to God or man until just before He comes, and then I will repent and live according to His commandments just before that day. In this way, I will enter paradise." Wherefore He says, "Watch, for you do not know the day or hour when the Son of Man comes."

Lest we fail to understand the inner meaning of these two parables, our Saviour adds an epilogue more stern and pointed. He summarizes the parables with a clear explanation of their inner meaning, a restatement in bold of the Great Moral Imperative:

Again, we are told that when the Son of man comes in his glory, every one will be gathered before Him. He will separate all of them, some to His right and others to His left. The Lord will explain why He has separated them, some for the Kingdom and other to be excluded. "I was hungry, and ye gave me f