After arriving early to San Francisco for a set of clergy meetings, I spent some time sitting in a local coffee shop, located in the Mission District. The majority of the patrons and employees would be the object of conversation and recipient of stares in most districts of ‘Anytown, USA.’ Yet in the Mission District, in this coffee shop, dressed in clergy attire and polished shoes – I was the square in this gathering of circles. The stares were abundant, and for some reason the eclectic music was turned substantially louder after I sat down and opened a book. I felt almost as if I was being looked at in a suspicious fashion. I was definitely an outsider to say the very least. My initial reaction was one of discomfort and I began searching for the door until I saw a new patron enter with a large dog, not just any kind of a dog, but a Bull Mastiff (the same breed I own)! I walked over to the owner and began talking to him about his dog, and then started playing with the stocky canine. The looks were priceless as the patrons and employees saw a 6’9” priest in a black clergy suit wrestling around on the ground with a slobbery hulk of a dog! As I gathered my belongings and walked out the door, a table of patrons smiled at me and said, ‘Hey, come back again Father, you seem normal.’ What a compliment!
It occurred to me that this brief setting, and interaction, is not dissimilar to the way Christians are received by the societies we live in. The Christian message of a self-sacrificial lifestyle offered for the glorification of God, is not one commonly lived, promoted, or witnessed in the world around us. When we strive to actively live our lives in this fashion, the world tends to look at us in a strange way – perhaps even as outsiders. Suspicions mount, and often times this leads to an ‘underground expression’ of our Christianity. The dynamic lifestyle of love many times is then relegated to a “private expression of spirituality,” perhaps isolated from all other facets of our lives. The bright light of Christ is sadly tucked away under the table of seclusion – perhaps instigated by an uneasiness and sense of discomfort.
However, in any situation you never know when a Bull Mastiff might walk through the door! Common ground always exists! Whether consciously or unconsciously, all people yearn to have a closeness with God, as each and every one of us were created in the image and likeness of God and were given a soul, which naturally desires union with the Lord. Recognizing this God-given foundation, we may build an edifying relationship with the societies around us; the society of our local town, the society of our workplace, the society of our schools, the society of our neighborhood, and the society of our own families! Offering God’s love to the societies around us displays Christianity rather than hiding it, delivering the bright light of Christ to the top of the table, and shining light unto the whole room of the society.
With faith and courage, together and one-at-a-time, we will bring our Christian lifestyle out of the isolation of private expression and pronounce it to the world around us. As we continue to express the love of God to our neighbors, the suspicion and strange looks will begin to fade. Societies will continue to invite Christianity, making it the norm, and ultimately recognize that it is what all our souls desire!
+Fr Luke Palumbis
Prayer of Stewardship
“Lord Jesus Christ, Thou art the good steward, who redeemed Adam and Eve of their failed stewardship by offering Thyself for the life of the world. Thou didst teach us in the feeding of the multitudes that whatever we give to God is returned to us multiplied. Thou didst praise those good and faithful servants in the parable of the talents who returned to the Master their gifts. So help us to learn the joy of stewardship, remembering that everything we have comes from Thee and belongs to Thee. We know, Lord, that we often live in fear of the future and insecurity. Help us to remember the lilies of the field and so to trust in Thy providence. Grant to us a cheerful
and generous spirit. Enkindle in the hearts of all Thy people a zealous love for Thee. For Thou art the Good Steward, and to Thee we give thanks, praise and glory, together with Thy Father who is from everlasting and Thine all holy good and life-giving Spirit now and ever and onto the ages of ages. Amen”
How blessed we truly are to have received so much from our Lord. Our families, friends, possessions, the ability to do and, of course, the very air we breath are just a handful of the infinite blessings that our Father in Heaven has given to us freely — to have received so much undeservingly, we truly may consider ourselves ‘beloved’ in the eyes of God!
As recipients of this great love, we must strive to prayerfully find ways to honor the One who has given us so much. We attempt to offer the same love we receive by selflessly giving, as Christ selflessly gave. Through this giving of our time, talent, and treasure, we transcend the lonely and misleading title of individual, and become stewards in the Lord’s vineyard, maturing as members of the Body of Christ. The honor of being a steward in The Vineyard, and members of the Body, necessitates that we offer of our time, talents and treasures to our brothers and sisters in Christ, and the Church, which Christ Himself has established upon this earth as the hospital which heals through the sanctification of souls and bodies.
Now almost two-thirds through 2008, let us prayerfully and authentically examine our commitment to be stewards in the Vineyard of the Lord by asking ourselves if we have offered the best we have to the Lord by means of our time, talent, and treasure. Praying with your spiritual family in the context of the Divine LIturgy, uplifting and supporting the community through individual prayers, volunteering at the church through the numerous ministry programs, filling out and fulfilling a stewardship pledge card on an annual basis, etc.
As spiritual pilgrims, now at the beginning of a new Ecclesiastical year (September 1), let us mature as stewards of the House of God, and (re)commit ourselves to an active life in the Church at Saint Basil’s. The church office can provide information on various forums through which you may continue or establish your involvement in the life of the Church, and/or provide stewardship pledge cards to be filled out. If we approach this stewardship journey with prayer, then to God will be all the glory!
Please read the stewardship prayer on the top of this page to establish the next step forward on your spiritual pilgrimage!
+ Fr Luke Palumbis
The 2008 Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America’s Clergy-Laity Congress uttered a profound and urgent theme: “Gather My People Home.” The impact of this theme is felt when we understand the ‘who,’ ‘how,’ and ‘what’ involved. Let’s examine this simple, yet powerful theme one word at a time. . .
“MY” – it is inferred in this statement that God Himself is the speaker (reference Zephaniah 3:20), therefore, ‘my’ is a reference to God.
“PEOPLE” – grammatically, the people referred to are God’s people, not a segmented, or selected group of individuals, but all of mankind.
“HOME” – eschatologically this refers to the Kingdom of God (reference John 14:2), and in the present time in which we live, it refers to the Church (reference 1 Timothy 3:15), which is a manifestation and experience of the heavenly Kingdom on earth, through the sacraments.
“GATHER” – Initiating this theme is the verb ‘gather,’ which commands an action to take place. The action is to go out and bring together God’s people by leading them to His Church.
“My People Home” is relatively easy to understand, however, the true dynamism of the statement is found in the initial verb, ‘Gather.’ In this statement, God is commanding whoever hears the statement. Therefore, the thousands in attendance at the Clergy-Laity Congress, together with the hundreds of Basilian readers, the thousands of Saint Basil website viewers, and all those who have read scripture have been commanded by God Himself to “gather,”— go out and inspire others to come to the House of the Lord…Church!
His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios highlighted four distinct groupings of God’s people who need special attention in our effort of gathering:
1) Non-Practicing Orthodox Christians
2) Those who intermarried into the Orthodox Christian Church and are not engaged.
3) Youth
4) The Un-Churched; those who do not attend any church and have no particular religious affiliation
Think for a moment…do you know anyone in any of these four categories?…perhaps even yourself? Now think of yourself as an instrument and tool of God, whose purpose is to “gather God’s people to Church.”
There are many aspects of community life at Saint Basil’s, which you may use to (re)introduce one of God’s children to His Home: Saint Basil Family Night, Bible Study, Catechism Classes, 20’s/30’s, 40’s/50’s, Youth Programs to name of a few — not to mention the Divine Liturgy itself!
As a community of faithful, let us not simply allow this theme application to the 2008 Archdiocese Clergy-Laity Congress, but let us apply it to the life of the Saint Basil community and the life of each and every one of us as individual Christian pilgrims!
God has commanded you, will you respond?
+Fr Luke Palumbis
“O Holy God, Who created man from the dust and fashioned woman from his rib
and joined her to him as a helpmate, for it so pleased Your Majesty that man should not be alone on the earth. Do You now, O Master, send down Your hand from your holy dwelling-place and join this your servant (Bridegroom) and this Your servant (Bride) for by You woman is brought into union with man. Join them together in harmony, crown them in one flesh, grant to them the enjoyment of fair children.”
— From the Orthodox Christian Wedding Service
Healthy marriages must have commitment and connections between the spouses, ultimately bringing offerings of love that we as people can offer to one another. The connection typically leads to the commitment — and seemingly many believe this commitment, after some form of religious or civil ceremony, produces a marriage. Although this process appears convenient, it ultimately builds upon a foundation which is weak in nature, as it was produced by man. Unfortunately this has been witnessed time and time again, with a lamentable divorce rate of almost 50% in the United States alone!
Christians view this process as temporary; this process leads us toward marriage, and is termed as engagement. Christian marriage is something beyond this process, as it is something beyond what we can build alone and offer to one another. Marriage is only established by God Himself, and it is a great mystery as God, through His Church, joins two people together — placing their souls in union with one
another for all of eternity. Despite legislation or any false sense of egotism, this is something that man can not establish. The foundation is strong, without fault, as it is built by God. God establishes this union only when He may be present and bless all aspects of the union; spiritual, emotional, and physical. After this foundation is built by establishing a marriage, the man and woman build their unified life together, with God’s help, as He heals any faulty building through the couple’s commitment to a process of forgiveness and repentance.
Perhaps if individuals understood this Christian experience of marriage, sad statistics of divorce would begin to be undone with healthy experiences of marriage. When a marriage is reduced to simply the commitment that two people offer to one another, then when the terms of that commitment are no longer exciting, the marriage may easily be abandoned. However, when a marriage is understood and experienced as a mystery that God has established for all of eternity; something beyond human capacity to regulate and control — we become participants in something divine, not easily abandoned.
Please include in your daily prayers all those in the union of marriage, asking the Lord to strengthen the understanding and experience of that which God has established. To God be all Glory!!!
+ Fr. Luke Palumbis
Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen!
Watching our preschool children play in the festival grounds last week, I witnessed one
boy crying as he sat hunched over by himself, off to the side of all the action. After a
brief moment, two other boys approached him, inviting him to play with them on tri-
cycles—quickly all three were laughing and playing together. This boy’s entire day
changed because he was invited to play with his classmates!
A man from Lebanon recently shared with me his love for the people of Cyprus.
Numerous times, while under foreign attack, the citizens of Lebanon have been forced
to flee, many to the island of Cyprus. This gentleman was one of those individuals, and
he told me that he will always feel at home, and a great sense of love for Cyprus
because the people were so welcoming!
The Patriarch Abraham received three visitors, which were a manifestation of the Holy
Trinity, and he immediately pleaded with them, so that he might have the opportunity to
extend to them his hospitality. Abraham not only stepped forward to offer hospitality,
he also approached his wife Sarah, so that she too might offer hospitality to their visitors.
After being welcomed with such an invitation and authentic hospitality, the Lord
blessed Abraham and Sarah with a child!
God is standing in front of you with His arms outstretched, waiting for you to step into
His embrace, and the experience of His perfect love. As you step closer toward His
embrace, the warmth of His outstretched arms closing in around you will produce such
comfort that it invokes a security beyond measure.
A profound beauty of Christ’s Church is that all have been invited and are welcomed to
enter, in order to experience His embrace. Once any individual steps into the front
doors of the narthex, they place themselves into the position of approaching God’s
embrace, the beginning of this embrace is experienced when the community
members welcome, and offer hospitality to the one stepping into God’s house. As
Christians, a blessed responsibility has been given to us all — to be ministers of God’s
love by being inviting, welcoming, and offering hospitality to all those who ap-
proach an experience of Christ’s Church.
As we welcome visitors and one another at Saint Basil’s, let us pray that our Lord will
one day welcome us into His Heavenly Kingdom! To God be the Glory!!!
+ Fr. Luke Palumbis
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!
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
“The poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”
Gospel Account of John 12:8
Jesus’ response when asked by Judas Iscariot why expensive ointment, which was being used to anoint Him, was not being sold and used for the poor, provides us with an insight into our approaching Him through worship, and the environments in which worship takes place. To authentically worship God is a sacred experience, which sanctifies the worshiper and brings joy to the Lord.
To process of this blessed experience. Most profoundly, we prepare ourselves internally to express our dependence on the Lord, and then with thankful hearts and minds, receive His gifts of love and sanctification through His Church. Furthermore, as we prepare for sacred worship experience, externally we prepare ourselves to the best of our ability to approach the Lord with honor and respect, as we enter into an experience of the Lord Himself! The external preparation is secondary to the internal, and the very participation of the worshipper; however, when a particular level of spiritual maturity is achieved, the externals may become manifestations of the internal – proclaiming externally the internal presence to approach worship, with the fear of God, faith, and love… (From the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom).
In addition to our individual preparation, the environment of the worship experience must be addressed to the best of the worshiper’s ability. Sacred space is central to Orthodox Christian tradition, and is manifest in the beauty of Orthodox worship environments, whether found in an established church building, complete with iconography and sacred vessels of worship, an outdoor chapel that is neatly maintained, or a home altar where family prayers are offered on a daily basis. Any space where a person of faith offers themselves
to God is sacred and it is the responsibility of the worshipper(s) to maintain and beautify this space as a way of honoring the Lord, and the experience He expends to us through worship. This is our modern Christian experience of emulating Lazarus’ sister Mary, who anointed the Lord’s feet with costly ointment (John 12:3).
May our Father in heaven look favorably upon our humble efforts to beautify the sacred space of Saint Basil Greek Orthodox Christian Church with this current phase of iconography, which we offer for His glorification and the veneration of His saints!
King of all, you accepted also to be baptized in the Jordan by the hand of a servant, so that, having sanctified the nature of the waters, you, the sinless one, might make a way for our rebirth through water and Spirit and re-establish us in our original freedomPrayer from the Blessing of the Waters
It is most providential that God authentically and completely understands us; our emotions, struggles, life and even death, as He experienced them through taking human flesh by the incarnation and birth of His Son, out Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Beyond our understanding and experience of humility is the offering that God made to His creation, in the form of His Son. As recipients of this Divine love and compassion, we are obligated to recognize and offer glory to our Father in heaven for His love and all the forms we receive it.
In the month of January, we recognize and glorify one particular event where Christ’s humility and love for us may be witnessed, His baptism! January 6th the Holy Orthodox Church celebrates the Theophany of our Lord—His baptism at the hand of Saint John the Baptist! (Matt3:13-17, Mark 1:9-11, Luke 3:21-22, John 1:29-34). In the sacrament of Holy Baptism, water, which we experience and equate n daily life to a means for cleansing, is transformed by the Holy Spirit so that it may be used for a cleansing of the soul and a renewal of life in the Body of Christ.
It is Christian tradition that baptism only happens once in an individual’s life; therefore, at the feast of Theophany, rather than recognizing it with repeated baptisms, the Church offers the service of the blessing of the waters. Regular water is again transformed by the Holy Spirit, through the prayers of the Church, into a medium of blessing – Holy Water. This transformed water is to be drunk by people of faith as an experience of particular blessing, and sprinkled through environments where people of faith dwell; homes, work places, etc.
As a community of faithful, let us offer glory to our God, the God who loves us to such an extent that He chose to humble Himself beyond measure or understanding, for us! This January 6th, as we celebrate the baptism of our Lord, let us truly and authentically offer the Lord our thanks, and experience the abundant blessings that He extends to us through His Church.
Psalm 98
O sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things. His right hand and his holy arm have gotten him victory. The Lord has made known his victory; he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations. He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God.
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises. Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody. With trumpets and the sound of the horn make joyful noise before the King, the Lord.
Let the sea roar and all that fills it; the world and those who live in it. Let the floods clap their hands; let the hills sing together for joy at the presence of the Lord, for he is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity.
Psalm 98 proclaims a celebration, which not only people of faith but all of God’s creation is invited to participate. This celebration is in recognition that the Kingdom of God will reign unto the ages, and His Divine Love has been extended to all of His creation.
During this season as we celebrate the Nativity of the Lord, the Feast Day of our Patron, Saint Basil the Great, and the coming of the New Year, let us be aware of the source from which these feasts and celebrations come – the Love of God! We will truly experience the celebration of these beautiful and transforming feasts when we recognize that their greatness spawns from a never-ending love that has been, currently is, and forever, will be extended to us. As cognizant recipients of God’s perfect love, we ascend to the status of Children of God, an honor beyond the constraints of our created minds!
Truly we have reason to rejoice – the Lord, our Father in Heaven, loves us! This year, as knowing recipients of His sanctifying love, Christmas will mean more than gifts and dinners, the feast of our Patron Saint Basil the Great will mean more than simply slice of Vasilopita, and the coming of the New Year will mean more than a party with friends and a new leaf – as knowing recipients of God’s Love, through each of these celebrations we will grow closer to our brothers and sisters in Christ, sharing amongst ourselves the love of God which has been given to us, and helping establish His Kingdom on earth!
May our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ bless each of you this season, as we strive to honor the love His Father extends to us, by extending it to each other! Merry Christmas, and Xronia Polla!
+Fr. Luke Palumbis
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