Come receive the light from the unwaning light, and glorify Christ, Who has risen from the dead.
-Paschal Hymn from the Holy Resurrection Service
“The dark” can be a very daunting environment. As a child I believed that the only reason I feared the dark was the possibility I was not alone, and a monster may jump out of the closet; however, looking back, I believe that this was simply a foreshadow of a fear which comes from a much more profound reality.
In the dark we feel isolated, and in this perceived state of loneliness we are forced to realize that when confronted with variables, including closet monsters, we will not be able to handle them on our own! By ourselves, when in isolation, we are not able to overcome the adversities which approach us at varied moments in our lives; from closet monsters to the adolescent and adult insecurities that breed despair.
How blessed I was as a young child that my parent’s bedroom was within “screaming distance,” and my mother would answer my pleas for help and comforting. Although I could hear her footsteps approaching from the hallway it was not until my mother entered into my room that I would immediately find relief, being filled with security and joy. Even before she would turn on the light in my room, my trust that after opening the door she was in my room was all that I needed to overcome the fear of closet monsters; not because I thought the monster had left, but because I believed that being together with my mom – the monsters could not harm me!
How blessed we are as children of God, that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is the Light of the world (John 8:12), and if we have faith in Him, we will never exist in the isolation of spiritual darkness where insecurities lead many into despair, but we will truly live lives united with Christ, through the Body of Christ, which experiences life filled with hope and love. Have faith that Christ has entered into the darkened room of your soul, and with the great and eternal Light of God, there is nothing that can harm us!
Christ is Risen from the dead, by death He has trampled down death, and to
those in the tomb, bestowed life!
To the glory of God, many of our church members have worked tirelessly to bring the church renovation project to a speedy completion, and our community will experience the fruit of their labors this weekend. Services this weekend will be held within the church building, after almost two months of celebrating Divine Services in the
Constantine & Evanthia Community Center church hall. All are welcome to join us for Divine Services; this weekend's schedule of services are as follows:
2nd Saturday of the Souls
8:00am Orthros (Matins)
9:00am Divine Liturgy
Sunday Divine Services
9:00am Orthros (Matins)
10:00am Divine Liturgy
May our Lord bless us and accept our prayers!
Many times we hear Christians refer to a personal relationship with God, and this statement has always perplexed me. Personal Relationship?… confusing words, indicating that a relationship with God could take any form and carry any structure of dynamics, either initiated or desired by the individual involved. With this imaginative parameter, or lack thereof, the individual dictates the relationship; its dynamics and terms; therefore, dangerously inferring that the individual person establishes the relationship, not God. As biblically-centered people of faith, we understand this is an impossibility as God Himself initiated our relationship by creating us out of nothing, and He has continued to engage His people through His Word, which is eternal.
The Resurrection of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, which after the journey of Great Lent we will celebrate together at the end of next month, enhances the reality that God sent His Son in the same fashion, for all of mankind; as our Lord and Savior, to save us from the oppression of death, and provide rebirth through the Light and experience of His Resurrection. This reality, recognized in faith, both solidifies the Biblical portrayal of our relationship to God as His servants, and establishes our relationship to God as His children. Any personalization that occurs is in the form of how quickly, and in what fashion, we choose to recognize and commit to these roles. Ultimately we pray that this relationship with God will lead to the reception of His great mercy, and the eternal experience of His love and energies in the Kingdom of Heaven.
As members of the Body of Christ, we are privileged to participate and experience the authentic ‘personal relationship’ with God each time the Divine Liturgy is celebrated. Foretaste of the experience awaiting us in the Kingdom is found in the Eucharist – coming into union with God by receiving the Body and Blood of Christ! In His Church, we find the forum and medium to experience the personal relationship with God in the most authentic way, through the sacraments, most primarily in the reception of Holy Communion. Therefore, the reference to a ‘personal relationship’ with God may be used when referring to those who recently were sanctified by receiving Holy Communion, a vast difference from imaginative, individualized, self-established relationships with God.
Let us focus, as individual members of the Body of Christ, on (re)establishing our ‘personal relationship with God’ by preparing and receiving Holy Communion in Christ’s Holy Church! With the fear of God, faith, and love draw near…
Note: the biblical understanding of the Master – servant or Father - child relationship
encompasses all references and images of God found in Orthodox Christian tradition, including but not limited to: Physician (Holy Unction Service), Artificer (Baptism Service), and Merciful Master (The Blessing of the Loaves Service).
+Fr Luke Palumbis
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