This weekend marks a joyous period in the life of our Church, for on November 15th we begin the Nativity Fast, the 40 Day preparation for the Incarnation of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The importance of the Spring Lent and its preparation for the Feast of Feasts, Pascha, means that many Orthodox do not place as much emphasis on this “Winter Lent”. Some might wonder why we Fast, because the period before the Nativity is not an especially somber time, unlike the events of our Lord’s Passion. Indeed, with the joyous spirit of a secular holiday like Thanksgiving, images of parties and gatherings, as well as observances such as Christmas vacation, there are those who question whether the Feast is necessary at all for our modern world.
This Fast is also known as Phillip’s Fast, because St. Philip the Apostle’s Feast Day falls on November 14th, one day before the beginning of the Fast. St. Philip, John the Evangelist tells us was from Bethsaida, which was also the home of Philip’s fellow Apostles, Andrew the First-Called and Andrew’s brother, St. Peter. St. Philip’s zeal for the coming of the Messiah was so great, that he is known to have brought a group of Greek Jews to see the Lord, just as he most famously, demonstrated true faith by telling a skeptical Nathanael to, “Come and see!” (John 1:46)
Too often, we are also skeptical; if not of our Lord (like Nathanael), then of the many guides our Church gives to us. We question why—when so many of our Christian brothers and sisters eat and drink freely—we are asked to abstain. The reason, of course, is simple: just as we prepare ourselves for His Passion and Resurrection by sacrificing our own passions, we are meant to prepare for our Lord’s birth in a humble cave, by demonstrating a small kind of humility, at least in spirit. Our Lord, consenting to born near beasts, did not enter this world as a King. Is there a better way to honor His condescension by cleansing our bodies and hearts, so that we will approach Him quietly, reverently?
“Come and see!” said Philip to Nathanael. As we begin the feast named in this Saint’s honor, may we hold true to his words, and ask for his intercessions to our Creator, that we stay on the proper path to the humble manger.
+SEVASTIANOS
Metropolitan of Atlanta
9th Sunday of Luke: ‘A Fierce Condemnation of Greed’
By Protopresbyter Nikolaos Patsalos
On the Ninth Sunday of Saint Luke the Gospel reading (Luke 12:16-21) again revolves around the great temptation of the misuse of wealth. The Parable of the Foolish Rich Man is well-known and, at the same time, of enduring interest to everyone, not only to those who have a lot of money.
The man mentioned in the Gospel today was so rich that he didn’t have room to store all his wealth and goods. It appears that his sole interest in life was to acquire more and more goods. He was the type of man who, instead of being in love with the beauty of life, was someone with a life-long passion for an abundance of material goods. The poor man was under the illusion that, by hoarding wealth, he was storing up happiness.
This kind of concern really is a sickness. In other words, it’s an erosion of the soul because of which, instead of people working in order to live a decent life, they live and work in order to make profits. The rich man in the Gospel isn’t merely rich; he’s completely devoted to and absorbed in how to become even richer. He’s the personification of a person whose sole interest is money and worldly goods.
The question is: to what extent does this way of thinking satisfy the minds of people today? Obviously, the Gospel refers to riches in a number of places, but what’s condemned isn’t the possession of wealth itself, but the way in which it’s used. According to the logic of the Gospel, it’s a considerable trial to be rich. If your wealth is a source of joy for your neighbor, then you can be called rich in Christ. But if your riches are purely and simply there to serve your own selfish needs, so that you can eat and drink to your heart’s content, then, as far as the Gospel is concerned, you’re avaricious and that’s all there is to it.
Greed and avarice are terrible passions. In monasticism, one of the three life-long vows is not to possess anything. In other words, the rejection of and severance from all earthly possessions so as to be able to acquire possession of heaven. Outside monasticism, this is put into practice by developing a healthy relationship to material goods and money. Our aim should not be how to become rich on earth by piling up riches, but how to cover our necessary earthly needs. And it’s certainly true that people can live respectable lives with only a few, simple things. What makes it difficult to understand this truth is the manic consumerism of modern culture, which, instead of simplifying our lives makes them even more complicated.
The outlook of the foolish rich man never changed, because riches and an abundance of goods become the aim of life in themselves. We’ll be seeing the truth of this in a few days, as we approach Christmas. The only thing that today’s modern world will highlight is the consumerism associated with Christmas: the food, the gifts, the sparkling decorations and all the other subsidiary aspects of the feast of the Nativity of the Incarnate Lord. So, although, it’s an event which, as true Christians we should experience mystically and simply, our warped outlook wants us to celebrate it like the ‘foolish rich man’, that is, with abundance. The Gospel, however, pours scorn on greed as an attitude and way of life and promotes the virtue of simplicity and the golden mean so that we have the opportunity to experience the true riches of God.
Greek Orthodox Nun Elucidates the Plight of Christians in the Holy Land
Dear Brother Archons and friends of the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate,
Mother Agapia Stephanopoulos, a Greek Orthodox nun who has lived in the Holy Land for many years, recently granted a lengthy and detailed interview to journalist Tucker Carlson on the persecution of Christians in the Holy Land. If you have not watched this interview in its entirety already, I strongly urge you to do so, as Mother Agapia provides a uniquely illuminating perspective on the difficulties that our sister and brothers in the faith face on a daily basis.
As you watch this revealing and often shocking interview, please remain in prayer for the Greek Orthodox Christians of Israel and its environs, and for all the embattled Christians of that war-torn region.
Watch the interview here, and see a full transcript here.
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