Rector's Message for December of 2008

On our neighbor depends life and death (of the soul).
By winning our brother, we win God.
By offending our brother, we sin against Christ.

- S. Antonios the Great

We have arrived at the beautiful season of fasting and preparation for the joyous Nativity of Christ. The Church offers many spiritually rich feast days during this period to heighten our soul’s awareness, such as the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos, the feast of St. Nicholas, and the feast of our own patron, St. Spyridon. We for our part must cooperate with the rich grace being offered, by applying ourselves to the traditional instruments of virtue: Prayer, fasting, and acts of mercy.

Prayer is the primary means of renewing our relationship with God.

Fasting is the primary means of regaining control over ourselves.

Acts of mercy are the primary means of re-establishing a loving relationship with our neighbor.

Let us think more deeply about love for our neighbor. The Holy Fathers repeat constantly the Savior’s command to love. St. John Kolovos, one of the greatest of the desert Fathers, said: “It is not possible to build a house by beginning from the top, but the structure must be begun from the foundation and built up to the roof.” When asked what the foundation meant, he replied: “The foundation is our neighbor. We must win him and begin with him. On him are based all the commandments of Christ.” And St. Mark the Ascetic said, “It is impossible to be saved otherwise than through one’s neighbor.”

How can we begin? In today’s society, we must begin with two steps:

1. We must slow down long enough to pay attention to the people around us, and

2. We must place people over things.

In Fahrenheit 451, the science fiction writer Ray Bradbury depicts a totalitarian government that controls people by keeping them distracted through mindless entertainment and by never letting them slow down. No one walks anywhere; you can be fined heavily for driving too slowly; conversations with strangers are discouraged. Sound familiar? It is, of course, a satire on trends in our own society. We have to break through the fear that we are not going fast enough to get everything done, and show simple human love and interest to the person in front of us. Think of one example: How many times during the great “ shopping season” now upon us, do we deal with underpaid, overworked retail clerks? Do we ask how things are going, show a sincere interest in them? Or are they just robots with no identity of their own who are there to “fill our need”?

Our Savior teaches us that each human being is precious in the eyes of His Heavenly Father, while food and clothes - and by extension, all possessions - are here today and gone tomorrow. Yet we place a premium on our “stuff”, and our human relationships are correspondingly cold and superficial. In 1 Timothy, St. Paul writes: “ ...godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us therewith be content. But they that will be rich fall into a temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil...”

The idolatry of money - and the “stuff” it buys - hardens our hearts against God and our neighbor; a man who loves money cannot love people, because he has placed a dead idol on the throne of his heart. Perhaps the current economic difficulties are allowed by God to teach us this:  Better to be content with a simpler lifestyle and unburden our hearts of the bad “love” in order to attain the good love! This would be a most suitable offering to the Child who was born in poverty for our salvaton.

May we all enjoy a peaceful and spiritually profitable Holy Fast of the Lord's Nativity! 

 St. Kosmas Aitolos on Love of Neighbor

If we want to fare well in this life and to go to Paradise , and to call our God love and father, we must have two loves: the love for God and the love for our neighbor. It is natural for us to have these two loves, and contrary to nature not to have them. Just as a swallow needs two wings in order to fly in the air, so we need these two loves, because without them we cannot be saved.

The Martyrs won Paradise through their blood; the Ascetics, through their ascetic life. Now you, my brethren, who have children, how will you win Paradise ? By means of hospitality, by giving to your brothers who are poor, blind, lame.

Let us have love for God and for our fellow men. Then God comes and brings us joy and implants the eternal life in our hearts, and we fare well in this life and also go to Paradise , there to rejoice forever!

Has God given us wealth? It is our duty to eat and drink so much as is sufficient, and to have enough clothes; the rest we should spend for the poor. God has not given us wealth in order that we might eat and drink to excess, and make costly clothes and build stately houses, while the poor die of starvation. Such, then, is our duty. Realize it. From today on act in this manner, and you shall be saved.

We who are pious Christians ought to love our enemies and forgive them. We ought to offer them food and drink, and entreat God for their souls. And then we should say: “My God, I beseech Thee to forgive me, as I have forgiven my enemies.

If you want God to forgive you all your sins and write your names in Paradise , say to your enemies three times: “May God forgive you and have mercy upon you!”