SUFFERING ACCORDING TO THE WILL OF GOD

Suffering comes in many forms: Trials of circumstances (2 Cor. 11:23-12;10; 2 Tim. 2:1-13; 2 Tim. 3:10-17), tests of faith (James 1:12-17), temptations that arise from our passions (flesh) (1Cor. 10:1-13), Satanic attacks (Mark 4:14-20, Eph. 6:10-13), the battle in the mind (2 Cor. 10:3-5), co-suffering with all of creation (Rom. 8:14-39), But thanks be to God (2 Cor. 2:14), Jesus is our answer to all suffering: "When in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard (for his piety); Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; and being made perfect, he became author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him" (Heb. 5:7, 8). "For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted" (Heb. 2:18-4:2). "Come unto me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light: (Mt. 11:28-30). We all have much to learn of Him. And the learning begins with humility. Our suffering can be our teacher and guide, or it can be a bitter pill that poisons us thoroughly (Heb. 12:15). Our calling is to follow in the Master's steps, suffering according to the will of God, and as we obey him THROUGH our suffering, he, the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls, will keep us from falling by his saving power (1 Peter 1:3-8; 1 Peter 2:19-25; 1 Peter 3:12-15; 1 Peter 4:19). Selah.

OVER 500 WITNESSES TO CHRIST'S RESURRECTION

 Imagine this - The moment that Jesus died upon the cross, "crying with a loud voice, the veil of the temple was torn from the top to the bottom; the earth did quake, and the rocks split; and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves, and after his resurrection they went into the holy city, and appeared to many". > Matthew 27:45-55 > Then imagine this - after Jesus' resurrection, (Luke records what Jesus did and taught for the 40 days between His Resurrection and His Ascension - Acts 1:1-11), "He showed Himself alive after His passion by many infallible proofs being seen of them for forty days, and speaking to them of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God" > Then imagine some more - Paul records the Gospel (1 Corinthians 15:1-8), Christ dies for our sins according to the scriptures; he then is buried, and then He arose on the third day, according to the scriptures: THEN He was seen of Cephas(Peter), then of the twelve, THEN HE WAS SEEN BY MORE THAN 500 Brethren AT ONCE, and most were still alive when Paul wrote his epistle to the Corinthians in 55 A.D., more than 20 years after the Resurrection of Jesus!!! And He was seen of James, then by all the apostles, and finally to Paul himself. The Beginnings of the Church were not done in secret. The Faith of Christ, what we call the Christian Faith, has its foundation in actual history, in the testimony of more than 500 eyewitnesses to His resurrection!!! Glory to God!!!

REMEMBERING TO REMEMBER

We need to be reminded often of the truths of which we should be most attentive. Peter “stirs up” their pure minds. Why? It is because the tendency is to become a forgetful hearer, to lose sight of the vision of God that has been set before us (James 1:22-25). Peter, in this reading, declares what we are “seeing”. In verse 11, “Seeing then that all these things will be dissolved…”; in verse 14, “…seeing that you look for such things…”; and in verse 17, “…seeing you know these things…”. We are being challenged, commanded, to not lose sight of these eternal realities. We are to ever be “mindful of the words which were spoken by the holy Prophets, and of the commandments of the Apostles…” (2 Peter 3:2). This is why the Church is constantly pointing us to the Eschaton, that is, to the second coming of Jesus Christ and all that His second coming portends. We pray in the Divine Liturgy, for “a Christian ending to our life, painless, blameless, peaceful, and a good defense before the fearful judgment seat of Christ.” We confess in the Creed, “And He shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead, whose kingdom shall have no end…I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.” The Scriptures are replete with references to the second coming of Jesus Christ and the final judgment (over 300 times in the 258 chapters of the N.T.). Jesus, Himself, when teaching, included His second coming as a constant point of focus. Today’s gospel reading is an example of this. But, in spite of the scriptures flood of eschatological passages, and in spite of the constant references to the future promises of our hope in Christ, we must still actively remind ourselves of these truths. We must be mindful (purposefully paying attention), of what has been given to us, and to what we have been shown with the eyes of our hearts.

THE PASSIONS

NOTE: The Passions Are The Sinful Predispositions of Our Fallen Human Nature > The Passions Are The "Lusts/Desires Of The Flesh" - Galatians 5:19-21 > The Flesh Is Not Our Physical Bodies But The Fallen Nature, The Adamic Nature We Inherited At Birth From Our Progenitors > "Now The Works Of The Flesh Are These; Adultery, Fornication, Uncleanness, Lasciviousness (Lewdness), Idolatry, Witchcraft (Greek = Pharmakeia), Hatred, Variance (Contentions), Emulations (Jealousies), Outbursts Of Wrath, Strife (Selfish Ambitions), Seditions (Disensions), Heresies, Envy, Murders, Drunkenness, Revelries, And The Like" > This List From Galatians 5 Is A Good Start, If You Can Call It A "Good" Start? > There Are More "Lists" Of Passions Elsewhere In Scripture Which Name, Greed, Love Of Money, Gluttony Vainglory, Laziness/Sloth, etc, etc > The Passions Are Qualities We Inherit From Our Animal Nature - We, In Our Sinful State, Reflect More Of An Animal Instinct Than A Human Instinct - It's As If The Instincts/Qualities Of Self-Preservation In Animals Has Been Transferred Into Human Life And Become Our Passions > There Is A Zoo Within Us - Like Many Animals Running Through Us Just Under The Ribcage - We Have A New Nature Through The New Birth Baptism (John 3:1-7) But The Old Nature Still Lurks Within And Must Be Brought Into Subjection To The Law Of Christ (Romans 6) - Our Fleshly Actions Are Frequently Classified As Animals Living On Mere Instincts Rather Than The Good And Holy Feelings Of Human Nature, ie Love - For Example, We Say, "He Eats Like A Pig" - "He's Stubborn As A Mule" - "He's Proud As A Peacock" - A Womanizer Is Called "A Wolf" - A Treacherous Person Is A "Snake In The Grass" - A Grouchy Person Is "A Bear" - A Coward Is Called "Chicken" - A Dull Person Is Called An "Ox". > Another Way Of Dealing With The Passions Is To Cover The Windows Of Your Soul/Your Senses With Fine Nets/Screens Which Will Keep Out Impure Insects, This Is Done By Meditating On The Sober Realities Of Eternal Judgment > And Let Us Not Forget The Powerful "Name Of Jesus" - Always Call Upon The Name Of Jesus, All That You Do, Do In The Name Of Jesus (Colossians 3:17) - Recite "The Jesus Prayer" Whenever A Weak Moment Arises, "Lord Jesus Christ, Son Of God, Have Mercy On Me, A Sinner" - St John Of The Ladder Said, "Flog The Foes With The Name Of Our Lord Jesus". Transfiguring The Passions Should Be Our Goal, Not Destroying Them - Of Course Their Evil Bent Is Destroyed Once The Passion Is Deified By God's Holy Spirit ( 2 Peter 1:2-12 ) - But Our Passions Are Given To Us By God, But Have Been Hi-jacked, Re-directed, By Sin - We Must Direct The Passions Toward God - Physical Eros/Erotic Love Must Be Concentrated On God - St Maximos The Confessor Said, "Every Passion Is Curable Through Abstinence And Love" - "Uncontrolled Anger Is To Be Re-directed Into Righteous Indignation - Sexual Lust Transformed Into Into An Eros Love For God, Whom We Are To Love With An Agape Love And Eros Love. Thus The Passions Are To Be Purified, Not Eradicated; Transfigured, Not Eliminated" (Philokalia, Anthony Conairis, p. 162) 

THE TRUTH OF THE CHURCH

 The "Truth" taught by Jesus, and the preaching of the Apostles, was handed down to the churches of God and is known as "Holy Tradition". "Holy Tradition" is defined as "the life of the Holy Spirit in the Church". (Eph. 2:20-22; 1 Thes. 2:13,14; 2 Thes. 2: 15; 3:6; 1 Cor.11:2). From these verses we know that the "truth" was passed down both orally and in written form(Epistles). The Church became the repository of the "truth of Christ", aka "the Faith". 1 Timothy 3:15 reveals that "the Church" is "the pillar and ground of the truth". The foundation of Christian Faith is the Church, the Scriptures tell us this. (Interesting note here is that the very next verse(v. 16), St Paul quotes an ancient Christian creed or hymn. This shows us that the "Truth of the Church" was embodied in liturgical hymns as well as the oral teachings of the Apostles and the written Epistles of the Apostles. In 1 Thessalonians 2:13,14 we can see that the believers in Thessalonica "became followers of the churches of God which in Judea are in Christ Jesus". The believers at the beginning did not have copies of the New Testament as we do now. The churches were teaching from both, the Old Testament, and from what the Apostles were teaching about Jesus, both orally and in epistles. The church communities were Spirit-filled worshipping communities, praying the Psalms, singing hymns about Jesus, and spiritual songs that conveyed creedal truth, and celebrating the Lord's Supper, sharing and having all things in common(Acts 2:42-47; 4:32).

OBTAINING MERCY AND FINDING GRACE

We must obtain mercy and acquire grace to help us every time we are tempted.  Our text is teaching us that with every temptation we are in need of help. And help is available to us through the high priestly ministry of Jesus. If we will take God at His word (Matthew 11:28-30), and come to Him boldly, to the throne of grace, in our moment of need, we will receive two blessed realities. First we will obtain mercy. Mercy is the critical thing, and mercy is the most urgent need of the disciple of Christ. Because we are sinners, who are wounded in our souls, diseased, and brokenhearted, we must continuously be repenting, and crying out like the Publican, “God be merciful to me a sinner” (Luke 18:13). Especially at the moment of temptation, when we are likely in a weakened state, we are need of mercy. Mercy is not understood in a judicial sense, that is, that you are not receiving judgment as you deserve. Mercy is to be understood in a medicinal sense, that is, you are on the receiving end of God’s steadfast love. Mercy (eleos in Greek which has the same root as the old Greek word for olive oil) is the healing oil poured into the diseased wounds of our souls (Luke 10:25-37). By obtaining mercy, that is, by receiving the healing balm (Jeremiah 8:22) for our souls, we can overcome the temptations that our weaknesses make us susceptible too (James 1:12-15). This is why we should pray “Lord have mercy” with such frequency. And why we are encouraged to often repeat the Jesus Prayer, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner”. Secondly, we can acquire grace, that is, the divine energies of God Himself. This uncreated grace, will cause us to be supernaturally strengthened in the inner man (Ephesians 3:16). God imparts that part of Himself, that is, not His essence (nature), but His energies, to the child of God who calls upon Him in his time of need. God has elected to communicate his divine energies with His creatures that are in Christ Jesus (2 Peter 1:2-4)

THE GREAT DAY OF GOD

2 Peter 3:1-18 and Mark 13:24-31, point us to the Great Day of God, that is, the second coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ: a)when the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ (Revelation 11:15); b)when all that are in the graves will hear His voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation (John 5:24-29); c)when the creation itself will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God (Romans 8:21); d)when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who will be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power; when he will come to be glorified in His saints (2 Thessalonians 1:7-10); e)when, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, for the trumpet will sound, and the dead (in Christ) will be raised incorruptible, and we (who are alive) will be changed (1 Corinthians 15:52; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18) f) when the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up…nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:10,13; Revelation 21:1). Peter, in his epistle, reminds us of those things we must remind ourselves of.  And he warns us to beware of the scoffers who will twist the Holy Scriptures to lead us into the error of the wicked causing us to fall away. Christ had warned that, in the time of the end, even the very elect could be deceived (Matthew 24:24). And St Paul warned that there would be a great falling away before the second coming of Jesus Christ (2 Thessalonians 2:3). May these sobering realities lead us to a life of repentance and perpetual conversion. I have zeroed in on four truths that will help us to live this life in the light of the Great Day of God Almighty, which is the glorious revelation of Jesus Christ from heaven, to judge the living and the dead (2 Timothy 4:1) and create the new heavens and the new earth.

SIMPLE PRAYER #1 - THE JESUS PRAYER

"O Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner". This short prayer is the most famous prayer in the history of the Christian Church - It is known as "The Jesus Prayer". Within it is the whole of the Gospel Truth. This little prayer is a summary of the Gospels. Addressing Jesus as Lord expresses your faith in His Divinity, and His equality with the Father. Naming Jesus, the Christ, expresses that you have faith that He is the Messiah, the Anointed One. And saying/praying the Name of Jesus expresses your faith in Him as your Savior, for that is the very meaning of His Name (Matthew 1:21), and "Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). Addressing Jesus as the "Son of God" expresses your faith in the Holy Trinity, "For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily" (Colossians 2:9). Asking mercy expresses your faith in His steadfast love, and His healing compassion. You are requesting that He would pour into your soul the Anointing Oil of the Holy Spirit (Luke 10:34). And finally, by acknowledging that you are a sinner you are clothing yourself with humility, and expressing a heart of repentance and faith in Jesus as your God, your Lord, your Messiah, your Savior, and your Healer. Let this simple prayer open up for you the infinite riches of God.

SIMPLE PRAYER #2 - HELP US, SAVE US!

"Help us, save us, have mercy on us, and keep us, O Lord, by your grace". This is an ancient prayer that is repeated often in the worship of the liturgical churches that have their roots in Eastern Christianity, but most importantly has its roots in the biblical text and therefore is inspired by the Holy Spirit. This is a prayer arrow that should be in your quiver, and ready to be used against the enemy of our souls at the very first sign of temptation. Against depression, and apathy; against bitterness, and lethargy; against vainglory, and pride; let this arrow fly at the thoughts spawned by any of these evil passions that enter our minds from within or without. Firstly, "Help us" is our admitting that we need God, that we are helpless without Him. As Jesus said, "Without me you can do nothing" (John 15:5). But thankfully we are never without Him if we keep His commandments (John 14:21). And because He said, "I will never leave you, nor forsake you...you may boldly say, The Lord is my HELPER, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me" (Hebrews 13:5,6). This is what we mean when we simply pray, "Help us". Next we pray "Save us", which is so rich in meaning. The Greek word for save is "sozo", and means to save or to deliver, to heal or preserve, to make whole. Salvation in Jesus is an all encompassing salvation that is multifaceted, and includes being saved from sin and its power; being delivered from the power of death; being healed of our spiritual infirmities and being made whole, that is, the image of God being restored in us (Ephesians 4:23,24; Colossians 3:9,10). Thirdly, we pray, "Have mercy on us", which is to trust that God will pour into our lives His steadfast love and compassion. Mercy is not to be understood in a strict juridical sense where God is a judge and you are a sinful criminal who needs God to let you off the hook. Mercy is from the Greek "eleos" which comes from the same root word that "olive oil" comes from. Asking for mercy is asking for God to pour in the healing oil of His Spirit into the wounds of our souls. Next we ask for the Lord to "keep us" which refers to His promise to perfect that which concerns us (Psalm 138:8), that we "Being confident of this very thing, that He which has begun a good work in us will complete it until the Day of Jesus Christ (His Second Coming) (Philippians 1:6).God will preserve us blameless (1 Thessalonians 5:23). We are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation (1 Peter 1:5). And in Jude 24, "Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy". Then our prayer addresses the Lord, we acknowledge who it is that we are petitioning for these grand requests, none other than the Lord Himself, Jesus the true God and eternal Life (1 John 5:20). And finally, we reveal our inadequacy, our need to decrease, our complete dependency upon His grace to cause any and all of these petitions to be realized (Ephesians 2:8-10; 1 Corinthians 15:10; 2 Corinthians 12:9). Grace is not simply the concept of unmerited favor, but it is the very energies of the Divine Nature that is communicated to the believer who places their trust in Him (2 Peter 1:2-4). So, let us pray often, "Help us, Save us, Have Mercy on us, and Keep us, O Lord, by Your Grace".

THE WAY OF ESCAPE

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it (1 Corinthians 10:13 KJV). 

Many a sermon has been based on this verse of Scripture found in Saint Paul's first letter to the Corinthians. And mostly it is lifted out of its context and used to teach something other than its intended purpose. I must admit, that even though, sermons about overcoming temptation are extremely important and welcome, we must be careful that we do not miss the very point that the Apostle Paul is making. We must see that Saint Paul is showing 'the way' for us to "flee from idolatry" (verse 14). And that, "way to escape", the various forms of idolatry that tempt God's people to stray, is Holy Communion, the Eucharist, which he expounds upon in verses 16 and 17.

Saint Paul starts his thoughts on this topic (verse 1), sharing his fatherly care that we not be ignorant of the Old Testament stories that reveal God at work delivering His people. And too, we are not to be ignorant of the fact that "these things happened unto them for (our) examples: and they are written for our admonition (verse 11). 

Paul, the teacher of truth, reveals that the saving events that the people of God experienced while being delivered from bondage were in actuality a truly spiritual reality. The cloud and the sea baptized them unto Moses (Exodus 13:21); they "did all eat the same spiritual meat" (Exodus 16:15); "And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ" (Exodus 17:6). The people of God were spiritually communing with God and Christ, via the sea, the Rock that gave forth water, and the manna. The sea, the Rock, and the manna were not just symbols of a spiritual reality, but literally communicated that spiritual reality to their souls and bodies.

"But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things were for our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them..." (verse 5-7). Then Saint Paul lists (verses 7-10) the various forms of idolatry that overthrew the foolish people whom God had delivered, yet who still loved this present world: Gluttony, drunkenness, fornication, tempting God, and murmuring. These are the various forms of idolatry that brought destruction to those people that persisted in rebellion against the laws of God. 

With this Old Testament history now at the forefront of our minds, Saint Paul reveals that none of these temptations, these various idols, that are common to to all people, can simply overcome you; because God has provided a way of escape whereby you enter into communion with God and Christ and are divinely energized to bear the temptation, that is, gain the victory over it. Saint Paul introduces this "way to escape" in the verses that follow: "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread" (verse 16-17). Saint Paul is saying, that just as the manna was spiritual food, and the water from the Rock was spiritual drink, so too the bread and the cup of blessing (wine and water) are spiritual realities that feed the people of God and actualize a literal communion with the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Bread and the cup of blessing are not merely symbols of Jesus's body and blood, they are the very body and blood of Jesus that we partake of mystically just as the Old Testament saints ate and drank spiritual food and drink, and were made one with Moses. We participate in the body and blood of Jesus Christ, and are made one with Him.

When Saint Paul continues his teaching on "The Lord's supper" (Verse 11:20-34) we now can understand why it is he speaks of such dire consequences (many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep), for those who "eateth and drinketh unworthily" (verse 29), eat and drink judgment to themselves. You cannot be living in idolatry and eat the bread and drink the cup of the Lord. This is what is meant by "whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord" (verse 27). We cannot play games with Holy things. If we do, their can be dire consequences. But on the positive side of things, if we partake of the Lord's body worthily, then we participate literally in Christ's divine humanity, and we are provided "the way of escape" from our temptations because Christ's divine humanity is mystically communicated to our souls and bodies by the grace of the Holy Spirit. We become partakers of his divine nature (2 Peter 1:4).

I encourage you to read chapters 10 and 11 several times straight through so that you will see the whole picture that Saint Paul is painting. The "Eucharist" (1 Corinthians 11:23-25; Luke 22:19-20), aka, the "Thanksgiving", is central to Christian worship, and thereby central to the Christian life. The Eucharist is most fully experienced within the Orthodox Church which not only provides the historical context for the New Testament Passover, but also provides all the necessary spiritual disciplines that help you prepare to receive Holy Communion worthily. 

Therefore, examine yourself (11:28), and "let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall" (10:12).