“As members of one Body, each is responsible for the health of the whole Body... to reconcile when a neighbor has no peace with us, even when we are not to blame.”

- Arch. Zacharias, Remember Thy First Love, pg 295. 

Reflection: 

We are all members of Christ’s Body, the Church(1). As members of the Body of Christ, we are responsible to live our life in Christ, through Whom we are transfigured into our best-most authentic self.  We continually grow through repentance, for the health of the entire Body of Christ.  

St Paul reminds us, “If one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.”(2)  Do we consider and interact with everyone around us, and those we encounter even online, in this manner? 

Christ tells us that in order to live a life in Him, we must first reconcile with our brother(3) (neighbor). We cannot truly offer our lives to God, while holding resentment.  Forgiveness(4), our hearts being at peace with one another, is necessary in order for us to authentically offer anything to God, to truly love Him and our neighbor. 

Archimandrite Zachariah reminds us, that even when people have something against us regardless of whether it is justified or not, our Lord wants us to follow His example and do what we can to bring peace between us and our neighbor. 

In a time when tensions are high, we may slip into judging and experiencing harsh feelings toward others. Christ, His Gospel, and our responsibility for the Body of Christ do not pause for any season, nor offer exceptions for any event during the year.  Christ is the only Truth.(5)

We are accountable and responsible for every word, deed or even thought - no matter how that word, deed or thought is expressed. We must be the light of Christ in the world, which so desperately needs His love and peace. 

Let us strive to release any resentment from our own hearts through our repentance and confession(6), so that we may bring peace to others and be able, with assuredness and authenticity, to offer our prayers and lives to God with a pure heart.  

Resources:

1) 1 Corinthians 12:12-31

2) 1 Corinthians 12:12-31

3) Matthew 5:23-24

4) One Example of Forgiveness

5) John 14:6

6) On Confession and Repentance

 “If you increase your awareness of the presence of God, then you will increase your gratitude toward God. Now you say the “Our Father” and you don’t feel anything… but if you felt that God is indeed your Father, you wouldn’t be able to bear saying those words!”

-St Paisios Spiritual Counsels, V. 5 Passions and Virtues. pg 287       

Reflection:

Do our prayers often feel empty? Do we find it hard to dedicate time for prayer and when we do, our minds wander? 

These days, we have so much screen time and external stressors, our day passes by us without realizing it. While not always being able to attend Church services in person, and more time spent at home, our focus is shifted to growing our personal relationship and connection to God.  

How can we grow our personal relationship with God, and increase our awareness of His presence? We should approach our relationship with God the same way we would approach a relationship with our loved ones. To love with all our heart.(1)

To love God with all our heart and so forth, means to think more often and more readily about God and about what is pleasing to God.  It is a natural attribute of our heart that the one whom we sincerely love is constantly with us in our thoughts.(2)

To speak about and converse with the Lord God as often, as long and as readily as we can.  It is an attribute of our heart to speak as often, as long, and as willingly about and with whomever we sincerely love.(3)

To the greatest extent possible to try to learn the Will of God, since it is an attribute of our heart to know the will of someone we sincerely love, and to fulfill it with diligence and pleasure, no matter how difficult it may be.(4)

As we grow in fulfilling our Lord’s greatest commandments(5) by thinking, speaking, and seeking Him more often, we begin to move through our day, realizing with gratitude, His presence with us.  Our relationships with others simultaneously become more Christ-like. Then as we pray the “Our Father…” we will indeed feel, as is true, that we are never alone, that He is right there beside us.

Resources:

1) The Greatest Commandments Scripture passages

2) Metropolitan Gregory, How to live a Holy Life. pg 22.

3) Metropolitan Gregory, How to live a Holy Life. pg 22.

4) Metropolitan Gregory, How to live a Holy Life. pg 23.

5) The Greatest Commandments Scripture passages

 “The greater joy is derived from sacrifice...The joy felt when one receives is a human joy. However, the joy felt when one gives is a divine joy."  -St Paisios the Athonite, Spiritual Counsels, Volume V, Passions and Virtues. pg 305  
                        "Through the Cross, joy has come into the whole world..."
                                                                           - Sunday Orthros Before psalm 50 

Reflection:

Human joy is limited; we end up getting used to whatever external thing we have received.  Divine Joy fuels us for eternity; filling our lives with motivation, purpose, and deeper meaning.  When we sacrifice for God and others, there is something holy in that action, something deep within us is stirred about. 

When we sacrifice for God and others, we cannot help but want to give more(1), because our experience of authentic joy results from following in Christ’s footsteps and sacrificing for God and neighbor.

It may be difficult to think about making sacrifices in our current circumstances amidst the pandemic.  It is times like these that we Orthodox Christians are called to shine even greater.  We may have lost much already, but there is someone else who can always benefit from our sacrifice.  God sees our sacrifices, and rewards us with inner peace and joy - ultimately bringing us closer to Him and one another.

When we sacrifice without any expectation of anything (words or deeds) in return, it comes from our love for God and neighbor.(2)

“Concealed within our love for our neighbor is our great love for God”.(3)  The two go hand-in-hand: when we love God, we sacrifice for Him, when we love neighbor, we sacrifice for them; within each is concealed the love for the other, since each of us are made in the image and likeness of God. 

True divine joy comes from divine sacrificial love, that which Christ showed us through His Incarnation, His Passion, the Cross, and Resurrection.   Do we wish to feel deep, authentic joy? Let us live a Christ-centered life in the Church and love God and neighbor as He loved us.(4)

Resources:

1) YouTube Practicing Gratitude Makes Us Joyful “When you give love, then joy comes.” St Paisios Volume V. pg 305.

2) See Philotimo - "the spontaneous, self-sacrificing, love shown by humble people, from whom every trace of self has been filtered out, full of gratitude towards God and neighbor.  Philotimo comes from a deep, abiding connection with God, so that one is constantly moved to do and seek that which is good, right, and honorable. Out of spiritual sensitivity, such people forget all that they give, but remember even the slightest good that others do to them, and repay it 100 fold." - Spiritual Counsels V. 1, pg 18.

3) St Paisios, Spiritual Counsels, Volume V. pg 201.

4) John 13:34

“By Divine Providence, Thomas, was not present at the burial of the life-giving body of the Mother of God, but arrived on the third day, he was greatly saddened for not having witnessed her funeral and burial. By a common decision all the Apostles opened the tomb so that this Apostle could venerate the body of the Theotokos. Opening the tomb, they were all astonished. For they found the tomb was lacking the body…” - Synaxarion of the Feast of the Dormition(1)

Reflection: 

Do we ever feel frustrated or sad that certain life-events or ‘progress’ in our life (schooling, job opportunity, marriage, etc) are not happening when we expect?

Thomas was late to both Christ’s Resurrection, and the Theotokos’ funeral and burial. However, had it not been for Thomas being late we would not have had crucial details about our own salvation revealed to us. God allowed Thomas to be absent when Christ first appeared to the disciples, in order for the details of Christ's resurrected body to be revealed in scripture.  These details help us learn about our salvation of both body and soul, informing our daily decisions.  

God allowed Thomas to be late to the funeral and burial of the Theotokos, so that we could learn about the Theotokos’ bodily resurrection/assumption by her son and our God(2) - prefiguring the bodily Resurrection for all humanity.  

In both situations God allowed Thomas to be late, not having the timing he would have wished for. We read that Thomas was saddened, we can guess even disappointed, because he was living the moment from his perspective rather than God’s perspective(3)(what is best for us in our salvation).

God’s timing in our lives is perfect.  Sometimes it is very difficult to see how, but opportunities in our lives do present themselves and come together when it is best for us, according to God’s knowledge and Will.  This in part, presupposes that our relationship with Christ is growing, and that we are humble enough to listen to His gentle direction. Just like Thomas, what we may perceive as a delay, might allow for a larger blessing in our lives. “God has foreknowledge, but He does not pre-ordain. For God there is no past, present, and future.”(4) Let us trust in Him.

Some people say, “When it is not in God’s time, you cannot force it.  When it is in God’s time, you cannot stop it.”  In as much as we are humble enough to recognize and follow God’s Will, this may be true.  We must always have our hearts and minds open to paths and opportunities that we have not previously considered.  

Ultimately we are responsible for choosing with our free will the direction of our lives.  God's timing may be hinted through our circumstances or through other people, but we must choose to love God and neighbor and follow His Will. Let us live in a way that is close and open to God so that we may discern His Will in our lives, since He, our loving Creator, knows what is best for us.

Resources: 1)The Account of the Dormition Story

2) Resources about the Dormition of the Theotokos

3) “His omniscience does not constrain us. He respects our freedom; He does not abolish it. He loves us; He does not make us slaves; He gives us worth. God does not intervene in our freedom; He respects it fully. Consequently, we are responsible, because we do what we want. God does not compel us… You act freely and you decide to do the thing that God knows in advance without compelling you, and that is why it is you who are responsible.” St Porphyrios, Wounded by Love,pg 191

4) St Porphyrios, Wounded by Love, Pg. 191 

 “You were filled, o pure one, with an infinite joy, at the message of the Archangel Gabriel, of your passing unto heaven from earth.”

 

“Mary, though you contained God who cannot be contained, and were made to be His sanctified dwelling place, you are covered by the land of Gethsemane.”     - 1st Stanza of the Lamentations to Panagia(1)

Reflection:

As we approach the Dormition of the Theotokos(2) tomorrow, we do so with great joy since it is the 'Summer Pascha'! According to the tradition of the Church(3), the Archangel Gabriel spoke to the Virgin Mary announcing that the Lord will take her in three days.  This was a kind of second Annunciation.  

When she notified those around her, and the Apostles were gathered together from the ends of the earth by God, they began to lament and weep at the news.  The Theotokos urged them, “do not turn my joy into mourning.”(4)

The news from Archangel Gabriel was her ‘infinite joy’, as the hymn above denotes, the joy that she would be reunited with her son and God.  This too is our infinite joy, after Pascha itself, the Dormition, rising and ascent of the Theotokos by Christ, shows us what awaits all of humanity at the Second Coming of Christ and the Resurrection of all. 

The Theotokos shows us the joyful result of following Christ.  She shows us the result of making choices in order to live a life in Christ that transforms our soul and body into the dwelling place of God.  True joy, divine joy, comes from giving. When we sacrifice for God and others, then we experience eternal joy.
Are we doing what it takes in our lives to become a dwelling place for God?(5)

In accepting God’s Will, the Theotokos bore God physically.  We, accepting God’s Will in our lives, are to bear God within our hearts spiritually.  If we follow her example completely, we too will make Christ continually incarnate through our every word, deed, and thought.  

The Summer Pascha is a celebration of witnessing the Salvation that Christ has opened unto us, showing our first and foremost intercessor, the Theotokos, residing with God in Heaven, completely, body and soul.   

May the joy of the Dormition of the Theotokos brighten and strengthen us and fortify our resolve to live in Christ!

Resources:

1) Our Great Intercessor, Small and Great Paraklesis & the Lamentations 2) Dormition Resource Page

3) (Not Dogma, but understood to be true, revealed through the hymnology of the Church and writings of the saints which are both also inspired by the Holy Spirit)

4) Account of the Dormition

5) 1 Corinthians 6:19 “do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?”

“Just as Christ’s glory was revealed on the Cross and at His Resurrection, so the All-Holy Virgin’s glory is vividly revealed at her Dormition, which is called glorious, but also in the ascension and translation of her body into heaven. 

All of this shows that glory is linked with humility, and honor comes from obedience to God’s will.”(1)

Annunciation of the Dormition The Dormition of the Theotokos

(Today, 3 days prior to her passing)

Reflection:

The Dormition of the Theotokos is known as the ‘Summer Pascha’(2). Christ’s Resurrection is glorious in itself, since it is His saving action for all creation. The Dormition of the Theotokos is glorious, because Christ glorified His mother, raised her up, united her soul and body and took her up into heaven with Him. This event shows us what will happen at Christ’s Second and Glorious Coming with the Resurrection of all. Christ glorified her because of her role in His saving Incarnation.  She was chosen due to her pure way of living, her humility, and she freely chose God’s will each and every day. We glorify her because Christ our God glorifies her.

The humility of the Theotokos is vast.  She is rarely mentioned in the Gospels, and did not seek recognition as Christ’s mother, nor a special position in the Church after Christ’s Ascension(3). Instead of seeking praise from other people, she kept herself empty of pride and sought only to love Christ our God, and her neighbor (all of humanity).  Do we seek praise, glory, or honor from others or even from God Himself? Should we?

The Theotokos shows us through her example that we are not to seek glory or honor from either neighbor nor from God Himself. Rather, as Christ tells us, “seek first the Kingdom of Heaven and His Righteousness...”(4)  

We are called to seek Christ, to love Christ, which moves us to love our neighbor, and vice versa.  As we grow closer to God and neighbor, we are moved to humility as we freely choose to align our lives in God’s will.  Day by day we begin to follow the example of the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, not seeking recognition for ourselves but wishing to love Christ and share His love with everyone we know.  

Human glory or praise is temporary, leaving us unfulfilled and constantly searching for more.  To be glorified and honored by God is to be rewarded by being eternally united with Him in His Kingdom.  Let us follow the example of Panaghia to refocus and enter deeper into our eternal relationship with God and neighbor.

Resources:

1) Met Hierotheos of Nafpaktos, The Feasts of the Mother of God, pg 405. 2) The Dormition of the Theotokos which we celebrate this Saturday, August 15th, is the Summer Pascha.  The Theotokos is human like the rest of us, so she passed away naturally as we all will.  Since St Thomas the Apostle was not around when she passed and was buried, he asked that the tomb be opened so that he might pay his final respects.  When they opened the tomb when St Thomas arrived three days later, it was empty.   Our Church teaches that she was the first of humanity to have Resurrected in Christ.  The rest of the saints are with God in their soul, but she is the only one who’s body and soul have been reunited, resurrected and ascended into heaven.   This event shows us what will happen at Christ’s Second and Glorious Coming at the end of time. 

3) Met Hierotheos of Nafpaktos, The Feasts of the Mother of God, pg 404.

4) Matthew 6:33

“We should never forget that we are just like the Theotokos, the Ever-Virgin Mary: our soul and her womb are the same, for she is the archetype of the human soul and the model of its response to God.”(1)

The Annunciation | The Nativity of Christ | The 'Directress' Reflection:

 

The Theotokos is our first intercessor before God, and the utmost example of living according to God’s will.  St Paul said, “It is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me” as a reflection of his relationship with Christ. But it is the Theotokos who experienced this physically by giving birth to God, no other saint has this relationship to God.

Her womb and our soul are the same, she is our example.  That which she experienced through the Annunciation (accepting God’s will) and Incarnation (giving birth to Christ), we are called to imitate spiritually. 

“Just as Christ is the creator of all things, including His mother, and made her His mother out of love for mankind, accepted to be born from her, so too Christ first creates faith within us, and then becomes the son of that faith, from which He is embodied through the practice of the Faith in our lives.”  

Do each of our thoughts, words, and deeds embody Christ? 

Our calling as Orthodox Christians is to enter into a deep and abiding relationship with Christ through our life in the Church.  So much so, that hopefully we too may imitate the Theotokos and make Christ ‘incarnate’ each day, through our very being.  We can start by following her example at the Annunciation, by freely choosing to accept God’s will in our lives. 

The more we study and pray to the Ever-Virgin Mary, the easier it becomes for us to follow in her footsteps, the easier it becomes for her to lead us to her son and our God.

Through the intercessions of the All Holy Lady, Theotokos, and Ever-Virgin Mary may we enter into an ever-deepening relationship with Christ, and follow her example through our living the Faith, providing Christ to everyone around us with every thought, word, and deed.

Resources:

1) Perkins, Raising Lazarus, Integral Healing in Orthodox Christianity. Pg 134. 

2)  Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

3) St Maximos Confessor Questions to Thalassios “Just as the Word, who, as God, is by nature the creator of His mother who gave birth to Him according to the flesh, and made her His mother out of love for mankind, and accepted to be born from her, so too the Word first creates faith within us, and then becomes the son of that faith, from which He is embodied through the practice of the virtues.”