Easter: Knowing the Love of God

The one theme which stands out above all during Great Lent as we approach Easter is how much God loves us. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:16-17). God loves us infinitely more than we can imagine, and this is why He also gave us the Holy Spirit to be our comforter, and as He said, “I will never leave you or forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). This is the focus of our faith. We believe that God became man, so that by dying on the cross, Christ can save us, and by rising from the dead, He can offer us eternal life. Christ’s love for us draws us to Him. Why would anyone want to resist such a love?

According to John, “the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one” (1 John 5:19). That is a powerful force, which comes against us. The “wicked one” only knows how to lie, hate and destroy. This means that we need to be able to discern truth from among all the world’s lies. The truth is that Jesus is God and He loves each and every one of us. When we fully understand that truth, we cannot help but be in awe of what God has done through His Son. Christ was not just some man who happened to be executed because He wanted to be King of the Jews. Jesus was the only human who was perfect, never having sinned even once. He was pure goodness and love. Christ demonstrated His divine power through amazing miracles, including raising people from the dead. He often performed these miracles with thousands of witnesses present. Christ was God, who humbled Himself and willingly accepted crucifixion because He loves each and every one of us and wants us to be with Him for eternity.

As Christians, it is our responsibility to develop our spiritual maturity by cultivating a relationship with Christ. The best way to do that is through prayer, or in other words, just talk to Jesus. Prayer is the most available means to cultivate our relationship because it is always accessible, no matter where we are. Your prayers do not have to be too long or involved. Just express what is on your heart.

 Another way to develop our spiritual maturity is by participating in the Sacraments, especially taking Communion. The whole purpose of Communion is to receive remission of sins and to be united with Christ. It is a mystical union, which we experience through the Holy Spirit. Receiving the Eucharist is one way we energize the Holy Spirit within us, who brings us closer to God. During Lent, we should also participate in Confession. I have to confess, myself, that until this last year, I had only gone to Confession once in my life. I was terrified, especially because there were decades of sins I had never confessed. If you have reservations, one thing I can tell you is that only by facing a human being, like a priest, do we truly feel repentant of our sins. Confessing to a God who we cannot see is easy! I genuinely experienced the love of God when I participated in Confession and knew my sins had been forgiven.

We can also develop our spiritual maturity by remembering what we ourselves say each time we recite the Lord’s Prayer: “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Preparing for Easter requires us to forgive all those who have sinned against us and hurt us. After all, by reciting the Lord’s Prayer, we are basically telling God to only forgive our sins, if we forgive others. That means God may not forgive our sins. Before approaching a person who you need to forgive, spend some time thinking about your own sins. Ask yourself, if you committed similar sins, and maybe even committed those same sins against the same person. If you really think about it, none of us is any better than someone else. We have all sinned. That is exactly why we must forgive others their sins. We show them compassion by forgiving them. Reconcile with anyone you are estranged. This may also mean that you must ask someone for forgiveness yourself. 

When you have prepared yourself during Lent, Easter will be much more joyous! In our Orthodox tradition, we spend Holy Week at church, attending services that recreate the events of Christ’s betrayal, crucifixion, and resurrection. The prayers and Bible passages are intended to remind us of the sacrifice Christ made for us. They are intended to put us in the right frame of mind, so that when Easter arrives, we have a deeper understanding of why we are so thankful that God offered us a way to Heaven. The Orthodox services during Holy Week are unique to our faith, particularly the services on Holy Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. On Thursday, Christ is placed on the cross. On Holy Friday afternoon, He is taken down from the cross and in the evening, we follow in a funeral procession to bury Him in His tomb. On Saturday morning we joyfully anticipate the Resurrection and at midnight we jubilantly sing “Christ is Risen,” while a darkened church is set alight by the flames of our candles. We experience the joy of Easter by reliving it!

© 2019  Helen Kamenos  All rights reserved

http://www.helenkamenos.com/

Increasing Faith

Christ often remarked on the faith of various individuals during His ministry. One example was when the disciples were confronted with a boy who they could not cure from epilepsy. Later, the disciples asked Jesus why they could not cure the boy. He said, “Because of your little faith. For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. But this kind does not come out except by prayer and fasting” (Matthew 17:2-21). On another occasion, Jesus and his disciples were in a boat. Jesus slept as a violent windstorm arose. They woke Him up crying, ‘“Lord, save us! We are perishing!” And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, you of little faith?’ Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a dead calm.” (Matthew 8:25-26).

We often suffer from “little faith.” We do not completely trust God. We worry and become fearful. We entertain doubts at times. We become depressed over our circumstances, wondering what we can do to change them. Christ declared, ^“Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today” (Matthew 6:26, 34). If only we could have faith the size of a mustard seed!  

As Christians, we are to purposefully work toward increasing our faith. We do this by experiencing God. Praying or talking to God is the easiest way to experience Him. If we pay close attention, we will find that He answers us. He may respond through an answered request or His response may come through a loved one or a friend. Have you ever thought about phoning a friend, when suddenly your phone rang, and it was his/her voice? Have you ever had a loved one speak words of encouragement at just the right time that you knew came from God?   

Sometimes God allows us to experience Him through events in our lives. Think back. What events have molded you into the person you are today? Do you believe that those events were coincidences? Do you believe that only you were responsible for the twists and turns you took throughout your life? Think! Is it possible that God brought you through those twists and turns, through the tribulations of your life to make you into the person you are at this moment? What does He have in store for your future? What blessings has God bestowed on your life, despite the hard times you faced? When I think back through the events of my own life, I see God’s hand at every turn. No matter how difficult life may have been, no matter how much I suffered, each turn brought me closer to God and made me who I am today. I thank God for His faithfulness, even though there were times when I was not faithful. “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). The word “together” is actually translated as “in synergy” with God. This means that God works all things for our “good” with our cooperation. When I turned toward God through my most trying times, God allowed me to experience His presence.  

At times, God will put it on our hearts to act on His behalf, to do something. Have you ever done something, which was very difficult because God asked you to do it? It has been my experience that the most challenging tasks were the times when I received the greatest joy and blessings. These required a great sacrifice on my part and required that I trust God implicitly. At these times, I obeyed Him with self-abandonment, surrendering my will to God’s will.

Adam and Eve ate of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. According to Thomas Hopko (1983), “Knowledge in the Bible is not an abstract, intellectual thing. It is not a product of thinking. It is the result of living experience…Eating of the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil” means experiencing wickedness. It means committing sin.” The hymns of Cheesefare Sunday vespers, describes Adam sitting outside the gates of Eden, weeping and mourning the loss of the presence of God. We, too, sit outside the gates of Paradise, grieving the loss of our intended home, longing for the presence of God. We realize that we are not at home in this evil world, that we belong with God. We realize that we are “exiles,” as Hopko (1983) puts it. However, as Christians, we possess the hope of our salvation, when we will be reunited with our Lord and will finally be home in Paradise, where “he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4).               

For Eastern Orthodox, Great Lent begins Monday, March 11 in preparation for celebrating the resurrection on Easter. It is a 40-day time period of focusing on our spiritual growth and increasing our faith. It is a time of fasting to help discipline our bodies by bringing it under subjection to our will, which in turn, will help discipline our minds. Some give up certain types of food, others give up T.V. or Facebook, and yet others prepare by increasing their time of prayer and almsgiving. For the Orthodox, this is not a time of gloominess or sadness. It is a time of reflecting on all the blessings God has bestowed on us and thanking Him. It is a time of joy in anticipation of the glorious resurrection and thankfulness for God’s mercy.

The most significant purpose of Great Lent is to spiritually strengthen us and to develop a more intimate relationship with God. We prepare ourselves for spiritual battle. We put on our spiritual armor, which Paul describes in Ephesians 6:10-18 because we fight against the devil himself and his demons. We put on the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the spirit, and the shield of faith, “with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one.”  We become spiritually strengthened as we focus on Christ and talk to Him often, no matter where we are or what we are doing. We direct our thoughts on Him. When we are at a loss for what to pray, we can recite the Jesus prayer, which is the simplest and most powerful: “Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

As we pray, fast, read our Bibles, and participate in almsgiving during Great Lent, we will experience God and our faith will increase. And as we experience God more deeply, we will discover an incomprehensible joy and peace. Faith is not simply believing that God exists. It is experiencing God. “All of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18). Experience will allow us to see the glory of the Lord. The Holy Spirit transforms us into the likeness of Christ little by little, and as we behold the Lord, He reflects back to us the image of what we are intended to become: more humble, merciful, kind, compassionate, forgiving, loving, faithful, full of integrity and truth. The more we cooperate with the Holy Spirit to become like Christ, the more our faith will increase.  

Therefore, this year during Lent, ask God to purify you and to increase the love in your heart, to make you more like Christ. If you dare, ask God to show you what you need to change in yourself. Ask God to help you become the person He intended you to be. Ask God how you can bless others and how you can glorify Him in your life. Ask the Holy Spirit to allow you to increase your faith and experience God.  

Hopko, Thomas. 1983. The Lenten Spring. Crestwood, New York. St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press. pp. 23, 28. 

I pray that this will be the most blessed preparation for Easter that you have ever experienced!

© 2019  Helen Kamenos  All rights reserved

http://www.helenkamenos.com/

The Three Rs

Great Lent has begun. For the Greek Orthodox, this generally means fasting for 40 days and the 7 days of Holy Week. Many participate in the Lenten fast in diverse ways, doing what they feel they can to make this a time of preparation for celebrating the resurrection on Easter. Some give up certain types of food, others give up T.V. or Facebook, and yet others prepare by increasing their time of prayer and almsgiving. For the Orthodox, this is not a time of gloominess or sadness. It is a time of joy in anticipation of the glorious resurrection and thankfulness for God’s mercy. The purpose of fasting is to discipline our body by bringing it under subjection to our will. This is a way for us to practice the disciplining of our minds, as we bring it under subjection to God’s will. The most significant purpose of Great Lent is to spiritually strengthen us and to develop a more intimate relationship to God.

Cultivating our spiritual growth aids us in meeting the challenges of our everyday lives. It teaches us how to enhance the joy and peace in our lives. We can do this by practicing what I call the three Rs: reading, reconnecting and reflecting. During lent we should spend more time reading the Bible, reconnecting with God through prayer, and reflecting on Christ, as well as our own weaknesses.

Reading the Bible gives us a foundation from which we can begin. It reminds us what it means to be a Christian and allows us to understand God through Christ. No matter how often we read a passage, new insights will be gleaned each time because our own spiritual development changes as we are confronted by new challenges in life or as we gain greater understanding. We build upon what we have learned in the past, allowing us to mature in the faith. As we mature, we ready ourselves for new insights or a deeper understanding of our faith.

Prayer can be practiced through reading prayers of the church, praying for our loved ones or just by talking to God. You can dedicate a specific time of your day or you can talk to God in your car or while you work. One crucial component to include in our prayer time is listening. God speaks to us through the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. When God speaks to us, His messages are filled with love, wisdom and truth. He teaches us, guides us and comforts us. Listening to God is crucial in developing our spiritual growth.

Reflecting on Christ means we contemplate His sacrifice for us and His love for us. We remind ourselves that He is God who became man to die for us. We remember that He came into an evil world and lived a perfect life full of love, grace and truth. We consider His teachings, His miracles, and His suffering for us. We remember all the blessings He has bestowed upon us and are thankful. But we also reflect on our own weaknesses. This begins by remembering our sins and repenting. This is a process we prefer to avoid. However, reflecting on our sins and weaknesses allows us the opportunity to learn from our mistakes. It provides an occasion to ask God to guide us in overcoming these frailties. It allows us to learn how to love God and others more perfectly. After all, Christ gave us only two commandments: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22: 37-40). Our life’s purpose as Christians is to love. We must not allow ourselves to rationalize our sins or offer excuses when we do not act in love?   

For example, many of us struggle with anger at one time or another. The Bible teaches us that it is acceptable to be angry, but we should not sin out of anger. The key issue is how do we respond when we are angry. There are two reasons for anger, righteous anger for being treated unjustly or anger motivated by pride. We can be angry when someone has treated us unjustly or has sinned against us. This can be considered righteous anger, but we should reflect on whether we have caused the behavior because of our own sin. In other words, we have no right to be angry at someone who might have reacted to our own hurtful words or actions. We may also become angry toward someone who has insulted us and therefore wounded our pride. In these cases, we should always remain humble and practice self-control.

Once upon a time, there was a peaceful driver, who found himself in traffic on the 405 freeway. As Mr. Peaceful was motoring along, an impatient driver swerved in front of him and nearly caused a collision. Mr. Peaceful became angry, especially since he had to slam on his brakes to avoid an accident. However, he realized that he was safe and decided to pray for Ms. Impatient, who may yet cause a collision and hurt herself or someone else. Mr. Peaceful continued driving along calmly, safe and sound. However, Ms. Impatient was soon cut-off by a more aggressive motorist. She became so angry. She was not going to be outdone. Ms. Impatient decided to teach that motorist a lesson, so she sped up and swerved around Mr. Aggressive and purposely came so close, she nearly collided with his little sports car. Mr. Aggressive had to slam on his brakes, causing the car behind him to crash right into him. Fortunately, God saw what was happening and sent His angels to prevent anyone from dying, but Mr. Aggressive suffered various injuries, including broken ribs and was rushed to the hospital. Mr. Aggressive should not be too angry because his actions caused Ms. Impatient to become angry, but Ms. Impatient allowed her anger to cause an accident. She saw what happened in her rearview mirror and felt bad for her poor behavior. Mr. Aggressive, on the other hand, would love to find Ms. Impatient and teach her a lesson. Both Ms. Impatient and Mr. Aggressive suffered from an inflated sense of pride, which led them to poor choices, but at least Ms. Impatient recognized her sin and repented and wished she had stopped to help.

When we acknowledge our sins, we can grow from the experience. Mr. Peaceful did not allow another’s actions to affect his peace and joy. He forgave Ms. Impatient and was therefore able to remain peaceful by keeping his conscience pure. By reflecting on her actions, Ms. Impatient learned from her mistake and will probably drive more respectfully in the future. Mr. Aggressive, on the other hand, will most likely find himself in a similar situation in the future. I pray that God watches over him and keeps him safe.

Remember the three Rs during Great Lent. Spend more time reading the Bible, reconnecting with God through prayer and reflecting on Christ, as well as on your sins and weaknesses. During this Lenten period, may God perform a great work in all of our hearts to allow us to grow spiritually, to love more perfectly and to develop our relationship with Him more intimately. 

© 2017  Helen Kamenos  All rights reserved

http://www.helenkamenos.com/