Teach Me Thy Statutes

The Orthodox Church today celebrates the great feast of The Meeting of the Lord in the Temple. The feast, on the 40th day of Christmas, commemorates Christ being presented on the 40th day at the Temple, according to the Mosaic Law. We discuss the significance of this and the words of both Simeon and Anna based on Luke's Gospel.

We discuss St Paul's reference to himself as "chief among sinners," and how we each confess ourselves to be not only sinners, but the "chief" among them. How can this be? Why is it necessary? By understanding a couple of fundamental biblical propositions, we learn how viewing ourselves as chief among sinners is healthy and freeing, leading us to multiply our Lord's mercy.

In discussing Hebrews 13:7-16, we noted the importance of Jesus' teaching being of eternal value. We further highlighted how the traditions and practices under the Old Covenant parallel what happened in Jesus' life, with an emphasis on its implications for how we should live our own lives. Finally, we discussed the meaning of the term "sacrifice of praise" used in this passage and in the Divine Liturgy.

In discussing our reading from John 20, we highlighted the importance of understanding Scripture as literature, and clarified this does not imply that Scripture is not divinely-inspired. We then discussed why we should want to relate to "the beloved disciple," John, and his reaction at the empty tomb. We concluded by highlighting the implication of Jesus' "napkin" at the tomb being "rolled up."

Based on our reading from 1 Timothy 3:1-13, we discussed the qualifications of the clergy, and how their primarily role is as "overseers," who themselves have no authority unless they maintain fidelity to the Gospel teaching. Accordingly, the clergy should function as St Paul did, as the "economos," the chief slave. While functioning as an overseer or economos, the clergy should remember they must give account to the one Master, the God and Father of us all.

Jesus said: "By your endurance you will gain your lives." We discussed the importance and value of endurance in the Christian spiritual life. We also highlighted what Jesus meant when He told His disciples they would "bear testimony" to Him, and that at that time He would "give [them] a mouth to speak."

With most Americans celebrating Thanksgiving tomorrow, we discussed the central theme of thanksgiving as part of the Divine Liturgy. We then discussed the need for Christians to avoid self-righteousness through our good deeds by acknowledging that those good deeds are done in response to God’s goodness and mercy towards us. In this way we can show our thankfulness for God and spread that same grace, love and mercy that He first gave us.

Today we discuss three different men who wish to follow Jesus and Jesus' comments to them. We note the similarities to the Parable of the Great Supper, and how the excuses these men had were actually, under almost all circumstances, reasonable excuses. However, in the case of following Him, Jesus is stressing that nothing--no excuse--should come between us and our decision to follow in His path.

“Everyone to whom much is given, of him will much be required.” We discussed this passage from two angles. First, those who have been given much in this life have a great responsibility to serve and uplift others. But if we frame this idea in the context of mercy, we can see that if we have been given great mercy, we must extend this to others as well. We concluded by discussing Jesus noting He came to "bring division to the earth," and His admonition to "settle accounts" before going to court.

We discuss the implications of what it means to "have been granted for the sake of Christ to suffer." In short, if we never suffer, then we do not have the opportunity to examine ourselves to see if we are truly following Christ. Suffering presents an opportunity for us to learn about ourselves, to see in what areas we need to improve and to correct ourselves before the final judgement.