Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’ ‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’ ”Matthew 13:24–30, NIV
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called—one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says: “When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men.” (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.)
It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Ephesians 4:1-16 NIV
As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in Scripture it says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone,” and, “A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
1 Peter 2:4-10 NIV
His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.”Matthew 13:36–43, NIV
Brethren, beloved friends, I implore you, “Stand your ground.”
Dear Romanos:
ReplyDeleteThank you for your recent comment. I ask your prayers as sometimes it seems I am beset all around. I appreciate your exhortations.
Incident to this post of yours, I commend to you Fr. Jonathan's post over at Second Terrace of today entitled Bored with Theosis- clear thinking, and while it speaks of events and things specific to the Orthodox parishes in America, it nevertheless speaks of much deeper things and has clear thinking and strong words for us to hear.
Sorry, here is the working link:
ReplyDeleteBored with Theosis
Thanks for the comment and the links. The article was a bear for me to get through, and I am pretty sure I didn't really understand most of it. I certainly don't know most of the personalities described. I usually fly far below the tracking range of Orthodox radar, and so I miss colliding with this kind of stuff. But one passage near the end made some sense, and in fact describes what I am doing in this post...
ReplyDelete"His Eminence, Archbishop Demetrios, will preside at the New York meeting since he is the senior hierarch of the Ecumenical Patriarch here in America. I saw him, once, at a celebratory banquet. All the other speakers had made their encomiums and pleasant speeches. Tributes were made and applauses were sincere. But when it came his turn, the Archbishop rose and began reading lines from the Prophecy of Isaiah -- lines that were not at all jovial, and were strident and austere. They were lines of warning for a nation that had forgotten wisdom and had embraced stupidity: it ignored where it was in Creation, and what Time it was. We all clapped, of course, but a few of us wondered what had really happened."
I've encountered Greek bishops doing this kind of thing before. My favorite bishop, Anthony of San Francisco, now reposed, was likely to pull a fast one like this.
The Orthodox Church, for all its antiquity, is likely to strangle itself with the cords of its own protocol and canonicity, unless men of God come forth to undo this Gordian knot with more than mere talking. The Word of God cuts finer than any sword, and will quickly undo the knot that has paralysed the Church for centuries, in the right hands, at the right time.
The word is food and drink to our hungry and thirsty souls.
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